Dan and I escaped from the circus last night, heading to Birmingham to see these two play. It was amazing. They improve every time we hear them. And that's saying something, because they were great when they started.
I've never been able to get used to the way people in pubs and clubs in the UK talk incessantly during live music. There is a non-stop murmur, usually more of a low roar. It can be incredibly distracting, especially if you're trying to soak up the music.
Last night, there was that ever-present hum; it was such a crowded room. But so many times, it dulled to a few voices, and sometimes dwindled into nothing, as the music swept around us and left us unable to focus on anything but the beautiful sound.
Dan and I were married almost exactly four weeks after 11 September 2001. Two friends from the UK braved getting on an airplane to make the trip out to the American Midwest to witness our first wedding, the Stateside One. One of them was R. She and my brother sang as he played the guitar. The music perfectly fitted the occasion, the atmosphere, the season, and the time of day.
It was a cloudy evening, though the day preceding our wedding day had been one of those crisply beautiful days of the kind that had made me want to have an autumn wedding in the first place. After our wedding-bound drive in my 1972 VW Beetle, we dashed through rain into the dark, candlelit church.
I'm always reminded of that day when I hear R and her husband sing. Their music together -Rue Royale- is dark, candlelit, just right for cold rainy evenings. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, find out.
They're an Anglo-American couple, like us. If you're thinking: "Hey, what's the big deal, we all speak English!"... think again! There's a distinctive kind of creativity -neither American nor English- that comes about with these cross-cultural marriages. As for the results of that creativity, well, B and R are creating music. Dan and I are creating community... and kids.
If you're in the States, they're in the USA for a while from the beginning of October, mainly in the Midwest. If you're anywhere near, don't miss seeing them! Any travel time will be well worth it.
It was a cloudy evening, though the day preceding our wedding day had been one of those crisply beautiful days of the kind that had made me want to have an autumn wedding in the first place. After our wedding-bound drive in my 1972 VW Beetle, we dashed through rain into the dark, candlelit church.
I'm always reminded of that day when I hear R and her husband sing. Their music together -Rue Royale- is dark, candlelit, just right for cold rainy evenings. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, find out.
They're an Anglo-American couple, like us. If you're thinking: "Hey, what's the big deal, we all speak English!"... think again! There's a distinctive kind of creativity -neither American nor English- that comes about with these cross-cultural marriages. As for the results of that creativity, well, B and R are creating music. Dan and I are creating community... and kids.
If you're in the States, they're in the USA for a while from the beginning of October, mainly in the Midwest. If you're anywhere near, don't miss seeing them! Any travel time will be well worth it.
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