The Champagne Drops, Sarah Morris and the Sometimes Elves, and Stray Gods (all musically related)

Been a busy week. Our most exciting activity was getting new doors and windows. At 6 below F with no window blinds it’s a bit cool near the windows, but given all the leaks that finally went away because the old doors and windows were so loosely set (they pre-date us) the lack of drafts makes it almost balmy. They’ve got some staining to do and a city inspection and then we can worry about blinds/treatments and moving on to bathrooms, floors, and the basement washroom. Among other things. The goal is to sort of get it all in order for the next 22 years. I’m not sure if we’ll live her that long with a split level and Pooteewheet’s knees, but it’ll at least be ready to sell.

Caught The Champagne Drops at Crooner’s on Thursday. Leslie and Emily were great and we hauled along Kyle and Lisa for dinner, drinks, and music. Pooteewheet was happy they did Perchta about the Christmas witch Lisa regaled us with stories about how a drink on the menu was known as “Russell’s Nuts” in her youth (because of the filberts...and Russell).

Last night we went to the Icehouse to see Sarah Morris. That was COLD. It was cold last year parking in that neighborhood for the Icehouse. I think it’s trying to one-up itself every year. -1F by the time we left. Packed crowd. I almost didn’t get seats and I went after tickets pretty early. We were way in the back, but it was a raised table with no one on the other side, so a great view. Not as good as eye to eye with Sarah’s Mariah Carey doll last year, but still excellent. The woman who started the conga line last year sat next to us and started it up again this year. I figure Pooteewheet can’t participate with the faux knees, so I don’t get involved. The couple whose yard we go to concerts at during the summer were there (we saw them at Leslie’s album launch at the Parkway as well) and we talked for a while about gin versus bourbon old fashioneds, the yard series being on hold because of a disgruntled neighbor, and them having lived in York (UK) at one point. They’re looking at an alternate place in their neighborhood and they have a cabin they can host at, but the latter sort of excludes all the kids and neighbors who can just wander over for free music. I’m glad my neighbors and I like each other. Admittedly, I don’t throw music in the yard events (well, once, and my neighbor hosted it for the kid’s graduation), but we have neighbors who have dozens of cars show up for family feast days and it’s a blast even when the music runs a little late. It was a great gig at Icehouse with the Sometimes Elves, Annie, and Hayley Rydell. I think Pooteewheet was dubious about a Christmas concert and music the first time we went – not her thing – but she really looks forward to it every year now at the Icehouse or Hook and Ladder.

Been playing Stray Gods: the Role Playing Musical the last few days. Interesting story driven game with some of the regulars from the role-playing scene in it (Felicia Day, Laura Bailey, and others). It’s amusing because Pooteewheet and I are watching The Mighty Nein on Amazon and the same folks show up as voice actors. I’m really enjoying the game, but it’s less game and more animated comic book (in my opinion). Given I read graphic novels from the library on my computer, it’s my cup of tea, but with extra sweetener. Additionally, it has a very War for the Oaks (Emma Bull) vibe to it, particularly when Pan shows up in Grace’s apartment near the beginning. Full on Seelie Court urban magical realism tone. If I see the Witch’s Hat in the game at some point, I wouldn’t exactly be surprised. I do think it tries to force a little interactiveness in places it doesn’t have to. When you see a room full of things, you don’t click on those things, but pick them from a list and it describes them, often with no option to do something in relation to that object. And the choices – almost like a Choose Your Own Adventure – are definitely interesting, although you can’t always tell if a decision had a specific impact compared to other possible decisions. The roll-back time mechanism in Life Is Strange (love that game) is a little more interactive. Speaking of rolling back time, I never think about Life Is Strange without also thinking about Riley Rewind with a young Anna Akana (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyVaF6bvPQ-RTWiPtOaC2CdvqhY53UFWF). Don’t trust my teen movie / series taste, however. I loved Sadie’s Last Days on Earth and The Map of Tiny Perfect Things and only one of those two is considered watchable.

The game is musically driven and you make some choices mid song with a timer. The voice actors do the singing, so think of the quality as akin to the musical episode of Buffy or Scrubs. Not Neil Patrick Harris Singalong Blog level, but the amateur (and I mean still WAY better than me) nature of it definitely reinforces that urban magical realism vibe in the sense that a muse is pretty much nudging people into heartfelt song about the moment.

There’s a bit of a Boyfriend Dungeon (another great game) to it as well in that sometimes your choices come with an aspect of romance, although I haven’t been leaning in that direction (in Boyfriend Dungeon the goal is to hook up with the weapons, although some just become friends) and have pursued the “clever” storyline for Grace in the first act.

Don’t know if I mentioned it, but I’ve been teaching myself guitar. It’s going well. I swear I have sausage fingers, but that must not be unique. I’m six chords into it and focusing on the transitions, steady strumming, positioning (when I pluck each string on a chord is it unmuted and obviously working with the chord – that can be hard with an A where I have to stack my fingers close), finger strengthening, callouses (obviously – amusingly, playing keyboard games is harder if you callous over your fingers and try to use AWSD for directions), and some simple songs that leverage what I know so far. I’m not sure playing guitar is a comprehensive retirement plan, but I’d like it to be in that mix somewhere.

Tattersall Distillery, The Murder on the Links, and TMI

Been a busy weekend. Friday the family went to The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie at Theatre in the Round. Might be one of my favorite Agatha Christie plays there so far. Not my favorite Agatha Christie story. But a really good adaptation by Kate Danley. A little shorter than some. Snappy. Good humor. A Poirot story with a foil in the form of Captain Arthur Hastings. I won’t ruin the plot, but in some ways it’s not that original. Then again, maybe it was when Christie wrote it.

Ben Tallen and Jake Leif as Poirot and Hastings, respectively, were excellent. Some real personality came through. I worried that Hastings was a little old for being as love struck and immature as he was in some aspects, but in places the not very old at all ex-military came through the performance/script, and it was a little more obvious how young and inexperienced with love he was supposed to be. Monsieur Giraud – which sounds like a spoof of Poirot out loud during the play – was the somewhat incompetent French inspector who was investigating the same case as Poirot. That’s a nice touch on Christie’s part. He added a lot of humor, someone to play off multiple misdirecting theories against, and quite a bit of interaction that wasn’t strictly Poirot and Hastings.

If you get a chance, I recommend it, although I think the TITR showings were running out of seating. We ended up in a non-standard spot for us and the place was absolutely packed.

Saturday I ended up at Tattersall Distillery to see Spiked! It’s a mixed revue – is that the right word? – with Brave New Workshop comedians, Ukrainian musicians, Leslie Vincent (jazz singer), and a host. I originally wasn’t going to go because Pooteewheet had a baby shower, so I’d be going on my own, but I reverted to my usual habit of “I’d normally pass, so that means I should go” behavior. Some of the best experiences in my life have been the ones where I just show up to something I’m not sure about. Not that I wasn’t sure about Leslie’s performing. That’s solid.

The distillery is over in River Falls. They used to be in north Minneapolis, not far from my father in law’s (and mother in law’s) old art studio. When they moved to Wisconsin, I figured it was simply an uprooting of the old setup plopped down over there. That is so far from the fact. The distillery is HUGE. Dining. Gift shop with all their spirit lines (and there are a LOT – their Tightline Vodka is my favorite vodka after getting a bottle of it after a Give Us Wings cycling event a few years ago; excellent taste, acceptable price point) and drink book by Bentley, their head distiller (and a really nice guy who’s into the local music scene – I spent an afternoon in his backyard this last summer listening to Surge and Swell, Emmy Woods, Bentley, and any kid that would come up to sing), among other things. And then a huge production facility and all sorts of space for dinner theater and meetings. Definitely want to go back for a dinner date with my spouse, although maybe it’s worth finding a hotel and calling it a whole thing.

I ended up at a table (it was a meal event) with two women from town, and we shared all sorts of favorite notes about area theatre and music. I’m not particularly charming, but I think I was at my best in my Santa-tee Manatee wearing a holiday hat Christmas sweater. The revue was fun. We got Ukrainian Chorus of the Bells, which was beautiful with a full band including a fiddle/violin. A mix of Christmas music in Ukrainian, English, and acoustic guitar solo. A huge variety of skits from four Brave New Workshop alum that included some audience participation. They pulled Brad onstage to be their therapist in a skit and after a few moments he asked for a pause so someone would fetch his drink from his table. The actor noted that their whole therapist relationship had a different tone now that he had a drink in his hand. They did a LOT of callback to Brad’s involvement during the event which helped tie together a lot of various holiday skits.

Leslie performed Joni Mitchell’s River, which I’ve heard her do before, and is a perfect non-standard Christmas song. And in the second half, she did Grinch (you’re a mean one). Grinch was a powerhouse performance. She went all in in this sparsely packed venue (there were quite a few people there, but the room was large, and it was nothing like her album launch at the Parkway) and when she was done both the audience and performers looked a little startled at how sexy and over-the-top a performance of Grinch could be. At the end of the show, one of the two women at my table, who’d seen Leslie say “hi” so she knew we were acquainted, said, “She is amazingly talented.” Then there was a just-long-enough-to-be-uncomfortable pause and she added, “I mean, everyone up there is talented. They’re all talented. But…”

Random note: if you like your Old Fashioneds sweet, the Wisconsin style with apple brandy is your jam. Good, but I’m not a fan, at least compared to the traditional rye version.

After the event, I put on my coat and wandered to the rest room before the 45 minute trip home. I found myself fussing with my jacket and noticed my Santa-tee sweater sleeves were sticking out weird. So I was tugging on my jacket sleeves. Tugging on my sweater cuffs. I was really confused and getting frustrated. After a couple of minutes I found myself wandering down the side hall and almost getting angry that I couldn’t get it all aligned and dapper. Which was because... it wasn’t my jacket. I’m looking at the buttons and thought, “those aren’t my buttons.” So I went back to the rack, and sure enough, there’s my jacket. I swapped and was walking away when a guy came over with a confused look on his face and started carefully looking at the rack. I confessed that I had pilfered his jacket, and he laughed and said it was his wife’s jacket and that she was so confused about whether she’d brought it in the first place, left it in the car, or misplaced it elsewhere. I didn’t steal anything out of her pockets, so everyone had a good laugh. Sorry there’s no photo of me in a woman’s coat so you can make your own opinion about how clueless I had to be to grab the wrong coat.

And, I snuck in a lot of Zwift riding end of week/weekend. I was telling Sank over beer and games at North 20 – bit of Azul, bit of Alhambra – when he told me about his poetry blog feedback, that there was always someone with a contrary opinion, and I thought I might get one when I blogged about bike training RPMs. So here it goes, a TMI moment. I’ve found that I’m not putting out quite as much power this season as I did last season, particularly in races. My average over an hour last year was about 240 watts. This year I’m closer to 220-225 and it cranks my heart rate up to 172. That probably says good things about my heart in the sense I’m not dropping dead off the trainer at my age. I can place in the lowest race category still – again, I’m not a spring chicken, so no racing with the super fit 20-30 year olds – but there’s a clear gap between where I am and the 2.4 watts/kg racers. Part of that is a couple extra pounds that are quickly going away. Part of it, after some contemplation, is that my RPMs suffered from summer riding activities. Puttering around the Twin Cities does not contribute to high RPM maintenance even if I had power meters on my pedals to track it. Looking at my metrics, I’ve gotten into the habit of 68-75 RPM, and a constant 85+ RPM is definitely something I feel. But 85 (or better) is where you want to be to race. It simply generates a lot more power. So once or twice a week I’ve been focusing on keeping my cadence up. But...and here’s your TMI...what I’ve found is that if you’re out of practice with your cadence, getting back into the flow of things can really stress your testicles. They’re simply not used to that aggressive spin. Your cycling shorts keep them mostly tucked and safe, and standing now and then helps, but it’s really a different level of friction. It’s already abating – but it was certainly uncomfortable for a few days. My men’s health Ted Talk – maintain your testicular habits instead of engaging in significant changes, they’ll appreciate your consideration.

Whoa Nellie, Mae West, and Pride Fest

I know I Pooteewheet and I had been going to a lot of plays and music lately.  This is just a small subset of the culture lately that in some way involved Leslie Vincent or folks adjacent to Leslie like Allison and Blake.

It might be a fact that I was a little stalkery as far as attending Whoa, Nellie at the St. Paul History Theater.  I saw the script title in the background of an Instagram post and wondered what Leslie was up to.  When I realized it was a play and she was going to be Annie Oakley I made sure I set a reminder to get Pooteewheet and I tickets.  The play was wonderful.  It was all about Nellie King, a midwest criminal with issues with drinking, drugs, and more, and a habit of getting arrested for crossdressing.  There are a couple books about her you can pick up from the local MNLink library loan system.  The play took the form of several contemporary historical actors playing the various parts like Annie Oakley and Nellie Bly, almost like a play within a play, but with a certain amount of overlap between the actors and the historical figures.  Made it very interesting, and the musical numbers were excellent.

A fun time.  My folks caught a follow up performance.

More recently, we went to Mae West and Trial of Sex at the Walking Shadow directed by Leslie's wife.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  It came across my radar when we were watching Leslie during Art-a-whirl at the A-street Lofts and Pooteewheet bought a felt cat named Mae West.  I mentioned I  had noticed in my cultural feed a play was coming and when we got a flyer, Pooteewheet noticed it was being directed by Allison.  We actually met the writer/producer of the play [John Heimbuch] at Whoa, Nellie, so we recognized him at Mae West as he greeted everyone at the door.

I didn't know much about Mae West, so it was a fascinating look at many of the same themes as Whoa Nellie.  Although less music.  In some ways, it could have passed for one of the plays I used to see at Westlaw where a lawyer did productions other lawyers could attend for CEUs [they let us go to them on work time: the Trial of Sir Thomas More and the Scopes Monkey Trial; an enjoyable break from coding].   

During the first act, there's a scene from the play [that Mae wrote] within a play where a character takes a feather out of his pants to be risque.  The actor's pants split and there was a pause and he quietly said, "I split my pants."  He started to laugh and then recovered and moved on.  Reminded me of splitting my pants at my first ever manager picnic while diving for a volleyball.

Second act I was confused about the rain soundtrack and wondered why they were including it and why it was so loud, until I realized it was the rain outside falling on the metal roof.  It got so loud for a while it was actually hard to hear the actors.

A photo of a statue from the theater, unrelated to the play.  

A very uncomfortable looking pipe chair.  Also not related to Mae West, but an interesting piece of art to consider while eating my baklava at intermission.

More recently, like Sunday, Pooteewheet and I went up to Dual Citizen Brewing to the St. Paul Pride Fest to see Leslie and Blake do a thirty minute set.  That was a very mellow Pride Fest despite all the paranoia about the political murderer still on the loose in Minnesota.  Afterwards, while we were having a beer with Leslie and Allison, the news came that Eagan was on lockdown.  We thought it was the the murderer on the run at first, but it was a separate incident [ironically, the cop holding a rifle in the press photos for THAT incident was - I'm fairly certain - the cop who'd been getting coffee at Dunn at the same time as us earlier that morning].

Seems obvious I should talk about the murderer.  I'm not going to.  Enough ink wasted on that f^%^er elsewhere.

On the way to Dual Citizen, we ended up talking to a woman who worked for Ramsey County in the nearby parking lot for 20 minutes because she heard us talking about the murders.  She'd been at a funeral with Melissa the day before her murder.  We talked politics, the Pride Fest, etc.  Just a friendly event.  Even the cops, who seemed perfectly at ease, and one of them even brought a flower into the brewery to decorate the bar counter.

The Pride Fest gave Leslie a very nice award for being part of the Festival for a number of years [I saw her at Como last year when there was a dress up parade and more].

As a final photo, I asked this guy at Pride if I could take a picture of his ankle for a friend.  He was very amused.  I  have a coworker who loves all things octopus [pin ball machine, background in Teams meetings, more].

So much music...

I didn't realize quite how much live, local music my wife and I were going to this spring. I think I'm actually missing a few in this list.  I'm definitely missing Sammie because it was at the White Squirrel and we were pretty far from the stage [ironic, given it's about 100' long....maybe] and left after someone decided our booth was a good place to relax and tip over his beer on me [right before shattering it on the floor].  I was mad, but you can't go to live music without getting splashed now and then.  As long as you don't get pulled over on the way home, it's not the end of the world. I have narrowly avoided being peed on at live music as well, but nothing recent.  Those were the wilder days when I smoked, drank vodka against a car tire, had Kyle pour me in a car, shared a portapotty with a make-or-break female stranger-became-acquaintance, and dealt with a verbally abusive boyfriend.  This is why getting older and wealthier is better.  My kid has benefitted from my willingness to purchase much better seats/viewing.

Coming up, I suspect it'll be even more events given we made friends of some folks who do lawn concerts that Sarah introduced us to at a gig.  I know my calendar, compared to previous years, looks like I'm doing little other than finding some music and a beer.

Jill Sobule at Hook and Ladder.  The "I Kissed a Girl" singer, although that was her pop moment in the sunlight.  We've seen her there once before.  She is fantastically liberal and the songs don't mince word at all.  At all.  She story tells as much as she sings and it's pretty wonderful for a small venue like Hook and Ladder.  I was just up near there today to grab a beer at Arbeiter Brewing and write, but the Juneteenth Celebration by Arbeiter, Hook and Ladder, Moon Palace, and others is off the damn hook.  I love me a big event, but only if I'm cycling there, and the recent flooding and construction has gotten in the way.  I did realize I can drive to the other side of the river, park, and pedal from my parking spot.  But that was a late realization because "drive" in the context of cycling is usually the furthest thing from my mind.  Last Friday I did a sixty-miler, almost entirely because I needed to go around the closed down areas.  Positive: I learned I need a better saddle and shorts, which I ordered.  Negative: saddle sores were proof I wasn't pedaling south and I need a better plan if I'm trying to bike locally.

Kelley Smith with Sarah Morris at the 318 in Excelsior.  We've been there a few times.  Talk about a close-up venue.  If I had a foot fetish, I could massage Sarah's feet.  THAT'S A JOKE. We took my sister in law there with us once to see Sarah.  I think it's been three times so far?  Nice perk is if you don't want a beer, it's also a coffee shop, so you have non-alcoholic alternatives.

Here's Sarah.  Fun fact about this gig, she told a story about how much she had a crush on Paul Douglas when she was younger [my sister had a crush on a local newscaster who is famous for a photo of himself really bloody after taking a deer to the front window; she sent him a love poem when she was a tween].  Apparently someone in the audience new Paul and gave him a ring and he was there at the end to blow her mind.  I've met him before in a tech situation - he's known for creating some of the microweather services and has presented for those of us in IT.

No, not music.  But I pedal to a number of gigs when I can.   My personal joke is that you know I really like you if I'm willing to pedal to where you're playing.  I've pedaled to the state fair for Sarah, and Edina commons, and ... see below ... Shakopee/Chaska.  In this instance, I pedaled up to Richfield Wild Mind to see Leslie Vincent.

No sultry crooning this time.  Well, not exactly.  She'd have a hard time not laying down sultry vibes.  But she went full ukulele in this case.  Fun aside, not long after this we were at a dinner with friends and I stepped outside [Merlin's on Lake] to bump into a guy wearing a Horror Con hoodie.  I noted it was a nice hoodie and by chance did he produce content versus just going?  He said yes, he had two movies/shorts there the previous event.  I replied, "I played games with a bunch of people who know Leslie Vincent from the Horror Con, and I was just at  her gig."  His response, "I know Leslie!", and then we chatted for a few moments. Board games, cycling, horror movies [I've backed a number on Kickstarter], music....all my hobbies are starting to swirl like a drain.

We met a guy who'd just moved to Minnesota from Cali with his girlfriend and then lost his girlfriend who was getting into the local music scene while at Leslie's event.  I think we've found ourselves meeting more and more people lately as we can recognize regulars versus newcomers.

Northerly Gales [Celtic music, including one of my favorites, Galway Girl, although I much prefer the Fiddler's Green version to Ed Sheeran] yard concert.  Absolutely beautiful day.  Ironic, given several of these have been moved because of the amount of rain we're seeing in the Twin Cities lately.

Surge and the Swell, with Surge losing his voice, at the Summit Brewery.  We know Aaron [right] from my days as a dev/manager at Thomson Reuters [TR].  He's doing Spanish for elementary students now as well, so we were treated to an excellent rendition of the Ice Age song.  Bunch of TR expats in the audience I hadn't seen in a very long time.

Smokin' Joe at 11 Wells Distillery in St. Paul, on the other side of the homeless camp [seriously - I pedaled up there and had to avoid a bit of laundry day on the bike trail].  I didn't pedal up there to see him [sorry Joe], but rather...

...Emmy Woods.  She's a Minot girl and I'm sure if we dug deep enough, we have relatives in common.  My family drove up to join me as there was a little shopping pop up going on, and the drinks and food truck were excellent.

I might be going backwards as this is one of the older events.  Clare Doyle and Goat Roper at the Ice House.  Jen's knees were still pretty messed up, so they gave us the owners booth as he was out for the evening.  Great line of sight.  She's got a very Dolly Parton vibe.

Stardust, who were having their launch party at Ice House, same night.  Yes, the lead singer is tall.  It's not perspective. 

Sarah at the White Squirrel.  I've been over there quite a bit because I've started having coffee while working at Five Watt "next door" at Keg and Case.  I like being able to take a break from Jira to go play a few balls of pinball.

Sarah and Matt watching....themselves?  No...there are frequently guests.  There was a Hawaiian theme that night, although I wasn't appropriately dressed.

My drink from the White Squirrel.  They have an interesting [and delicious] selection as long as it's not being poured on you by a drunk.

And finally, most recently, Hackamore Brewing in Chanhassen, Matthew French and Sarah Morris.  I pedaled the 30 miles or so to this one and Jen met up with me.  Wow, a truly beautiful day except for that climb out of Shakopee up the 6+ percent grade hill that I thought my give me a heart attack.  Met Sarah's dad and had genuinely nice conversations with a number of concert goers.  And someone gave me a free beer, so it was extra exciting [used my bonus beer money to buy Matthew's CDs].  They're very enjoyable together.

John Prine Birthday Celebration at Hook and Ladder

On October 13, I went to the John Prine Birthday celebration at Hook and Ladder near the burned out precinct. Holy bleep was it cold.  It was their last outdoor event of the year.  This isn't long before things get going.  There was a point where I was out there alone with my beer.  Don't worry.  John Prine can't be kept down [or those covering him].  There were still a lot of empty seats later, but partially because a lot of people were standing to keep warm, or rotating inside to keep warm.

Yeah....it was cold and it was wet.  There was a lot of rain.  I wasn't entirely sure what they meant by my reserved seat was under a cover.  I was pleasantly surprised it was rainproof.

They opened up the inside space and pointed a camera at the stage.  There were a lot of people in the chairs to the sides and over by the bar area.  Funny to watch a concert on a screen that's happening all of fifty feet away.

I love this Rogue Citizen posters that went up after the protests. I have a very nice photo of me with my bicycle near the two on the outside wall that I use for profile photos and get to know me write ups.

Second of the internal courtyard posters, this one with GPF.

I don't know why they have this corner kid in the courtyard.  I'm trying to figure out why Jack Daniels felt this was a good promotional item.  I think it makes it look like the white guy in the courtyard is studiously looking away from the BLM posters.

There were ten? cover bands?  Each did two songs and a big get together at the end, with some overlap here and there. This young lady stripped down to her spring dress once she got warmed up. I think that's Leslie Vincent.

Per Hook and Ladder: "The Hook & Ladder Theater is pleased to host the 14th Annual Big Fat Love show, celebrating what would have been the late John Prine’s 77th birthday. The popular event is curated and hosted by Ben Cook-Feltz & KFAI’s Ellen Stanley (a.k.a. Mother Banjo) and features a “Who’s Who” lineup of regional artists, including Becky Schlegel, John Magnuson, Katey Bellville, Jon Rodine, Leslie Vincent, Art Vandalay, Dan Gaarder, Cathy ‘n Abel & more!" 

Here's Katey Belville singing from her FB page...I've never embedded from FB before...guess we'll see if it works.  If not, here's a link to her FB post: https://fb.watch/o5elPf2VeP/

 

Couple of shots of the various performers.

It was no small event.  Although the guitars might have outnumbered the audience by the very end.  Folks got extremely cold by 9 p.m.  I stuck it out because I was enjoying it immensely.  I would have had more fun with Kyle there, but I talked him out of going because he would have had to drive from 50 miles away into the cities, and the rain earlier was insanity. I thought he might end up driving for two hours one way.  Ironically, Ben [who went on the MS rides with me] was there with his wife, brother, and sister in law, from literally a few miles from Kyle's place.  Doh.

Saw Tim there as well, who I used to work with at Thomson Reuters when we were on the Lawschool team together.

The final "all bands" act.  That's Becky Schlegel in the middle.  My wife and I saw her perform at the 318 in Excelsior with Sarah Morris.  I'm catching enough of the local music scene that I get overlap.  That's fun. I was almost expecting to see Sarah there as she does a cover of George Strait doing a cover of John Prine doing "I Just Want to Dance With You".  Someone else covered that one.  They all were forced to submit options to ensure there were no duplicates.  A great time.