Tag Archives: Patti Smith

I Am the Law

Well here I am again, standing behind the counter at the cigar shack. Thomas is pounding out a rhythm, totally flat and off beat, his titanium ring hitting the wood of the counter and making quite a noise. No charm in that.

It’s been a better day than yesterday, time is flying by- not like the other day when it really zoomed but faster than yesterday. I finally finished the Keith Richards autobiography and I enjoyed it very much.

He explained how he fell off the ladder in his library as well as falling out of a tree in Fiji. He says he did not snort his father’s ashes and I believe him. That story came after his brain surgery and the doctor told him, ‘No more bumps’ which means no more cocaine.

And the story went that Keef mixed up his father’s ashes with some blow. His relationship with Mick is like 2 brothers, bitchy and forever intertwined. I can relate to that somehow.

Now perhaps I can get back to the New Yorker where I am reading about Jane Fonda and I have not even cracked open Mojo or Uncut yet. I’ve been carrying it around in my bag since I bought it a few weeks ago.

Listening to Bob Dylan’s Love & Theft in the store right now. It could be my favorite Dylan album. Bob is going to be 70 in a few weeks. I saw him in the 1990’s but did not stay for the whole show.

At the time I was more interested in seeing Patti Smith who just came out of exile after Fred Smith passed away. Bob was nice enough to offer her the opening slot on the tour and she wisely took it.

I went with my Weehawken roommate William. It was odd being in the lobby of the Beacon Theater and seeing familiar faces of people that I had assumed that had died a while ago. The look of shock on my face was more than likely noticeable.

Patti Smith was enjoyable and since I was not so much into Dylan at the time, we left midway through his set. I didn’t get it and I think he was doing Alabama Getaway when William and I made a hasty exit. Not into the Grateful Dead at all you see.

Right now I am downloading the Roches self-titled debut album. I’ve always liked them and was fortunate to see them twice, once at Town Hall as the Roches and once at the Bottom Line as the Caroling Carolers.

When I worked at Farfetched I would play Keep on Doing, the Roches third album often and almost every time I would play it, someone would ask if they were hearing the Roches and when I would answer affirmatively they would almost always go on about how much they loved them.

I also have to confess that I had a crush on Margaret A. Roche for the longest time, nothing sexual just a sheer admiration since she wrote some of their most beautiful songs. I have their debut on vinyl somewhere but I felt I needed to have The Hammond Song on mp3 and on my iPod.

And of course the Roches tie into the Wainwright family thanks to Loudon’s wandering eye. I expect to be playing it at the cigar shack tomorrow. That should raise a few eyebrows. Hey, if you’re in the neighborhood, stop on by and say hello. Just don’t be a douche.

Now I am home and quite happy to be here. Bill is awake, first time in days that he’s been awake when I walked through the door. It’s nice to see him in a vertical position.

Lights Out!

Nothing like a nice Sunday evening dinner. Even though it’s what eat almost every Sunday, tonight’s pasta and chicken tasted quite good. Very filling, enough so, that I might take a walk after I write this tonight to walk it off. (not in slippers! 7:47PM)

Right now, Bill is behind me watching NCAA basketball, talking about the Tar Heels and how Barack Obama played a pick up game last year with the Tar Heels. Bill was just getting excited about the team going all the way and of course being the champions, invited to the White House to meet you know who.

I spent some time visiting Myrna Loy and William Powell this afternoon. Obviously not their real names, as both Loy and Powell have shuffled off this mortal coil sometime ago. Casey and the missus. Very pleasant time hanging out with the two of them.

Casey actually obtained a patent for something he invented which I won’t talk about here, but since you, the reader, is more than likely sitting in front of a computer screen, it could be of use to you, somewhere down the line. It was exciting to hear about it.

Casey made some chicken chili which I had a little bit of. It was good, hit the spot, but I had my own chicken at home. They came home to roost you see.

I watched the DVD Patti Smith: Dream of Life today. It was ok. I like her, met her a few times when I worked at Arista. It was my job to travel over to the studio where the Patti Smith Group were recording and give them their $1000 per diem.

That made them very happy to see me and got me a big hug from Patti herself. I also helped JD Daugherty win a lawsuit with a cartage company over a drum kit that was lost or destroyed. But I didn’t bring that up then.

The movie took ten years to make, but I thought it was disjointed, going from concert to interview to reminiscing to visits with her Mom and Dad down in South Jersey. Sam Shepard is in it, playing guitar with Patti. They used to live together in the Chelsea Hotel way back when. I did enjoy it more than What Just Happened.

Last night I threw in Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Still a hilarious movie. I threw it in for the Lenten season since Saturday Night Live was a repeat. Bill didn’t stay up for the end, but he sort of knew how it ended. I went to bed soon after.

Woke up to rain which it was supposed to do all day, but it didn’t. Still there was the threat, gray clouds and an overall dampness.

Last night wasn’t all about sitting in front of a screen. I did turn out the lights at 8:30. Actually before 8:30 and walked over to the river to see which lights would be turned off. Empire State Building and the old Met Life building on 23rd Street went dark, as well as the Chrysler building.

Didn’t notice much in the way of lights out throughout the rest of the Manhattan skyline, or in Hoboken. Here are some pictures though.

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