We had such a great time in NYC. We were really really really touched & excited at the wonderful turnout for our show at the Living Room. It was a pleasure to get the chance to meet Debra & Linda & to see Rose, Gregg & Kay again. I just didn't get enough time hanging with everyone but am excited to know I will be seeing everyone again in August where there will be much more hang time!
Thank You Thank You to all of you JMDLers who came out on a cold NYC weeknight from places near & far to support us! Words cannot express how grateful I am to each of you for making that effort! In addition, one of my old high school friends showed up who I hadn't seen or talked to since we graduated, several friends who used to live in CA but who I hadn't seen in decades, all of my 3 cousins who live in NJ, one of whom I hadn't seen since we were kids....& a bunch of Jeff's colleagues from Toy Fair who bailed on a big party to come down & see us! I stepped out for a bit to visit with my cousins & unfortunately didn't get back right away to be able to say bye to everyone....afterwards Rose, Jeff & I went next door & had some great NYC pizza & got a chance to visit which was a real treat! Someone shot off some firecrackers (Chinese New Year) which for a few seconds had us all frozen in fear (sounded like gunshots) as this was the day that the media had warned about more terrorist activites Monday night, Jeff & I went over to Judy's Chelsea & as we walked in were thrilled to see David Lahm at the keyboards! He had a friend singing with him & he also played a bunch of solo tunes including a beautiful version of The Gallery. His club is georgous & I am soooo thrilled we had the chance to meet & hear David! We had a fun time chatting with him in between songs...he is such a warm & gracious man. And talented! Wednesday night we ended up in the West Village & decided to see Love Janice. We really enjoyed it & the band & performers were excellent. Can't say they really were able to capture the personality of Janice all that well but there were touches they were able to imitate... especially the actress that played the speaking role...she had Janis's cackle laugh down really well. The vocalist was a great singer but didn't really have a voice like Janice nor did she really have the laconic way of acting (nor did the speaking Janis who was a little too hyper in her movements & speaking). But it was a wonderful play if you don't expect someone to BE Janice because all of the words were actually written or spoken by Janis. The musical director was also a member of Big Brother & The Holding Company. I definately recommend seeing this play...its in a small intimate theatre & the music was fabulous. I know there was talk of this play recently on the list...can't remember if anyone else had seen it? Did a lot of walking, window shopping & some real shopping (there goes that tip jar money!)& followed my usual desire to visit the sacred sites of the area which in this case included St Patrick's Cathedral & Strawberry Fields which is a space in Central Park dedicated to John Lennon (its right across the street from the Dakota where he lived)...there is a mosaic in the center with Imagine written on it. Benches all around & a tear shaped lawn area with rocks & trees. Very beautiful. We also went down to the viewing platform overlooking the WTC which is now a huge hole in the ground & at one end there is a gigantic American Flag on one of the tall buildings that looked damaged but is still standing. Very daunting site & truthfully it is very hard for me to even imagine what it must have been like to actually have been down there or near there on 9/11. Lots of security in many places we went in NYC but everyone was warm & kind. The theme song playing in my head the entire trip was Ryan Adams New York New York...much to my delight on my last day as I was in a store, they played it over the PA! So I sang along as I walked around the store! Looking forward to seeing Steve Dulson & playing at his Living Traditions Concert tomorrow in Anaheim. Hope I get to see some JMDLers! Love, Kate ******************************************** Kate Bennett www.katebennett.com sponsored by Polysonics Discover the Indies at Taylor Guitars: http://www.taylorguitars.com/artists/awp/indies/bennett.html ********************************************
