Recap of another busy weekend

Friday was a certain 6 month anniversary of a certain couple’s first date.  We celebrated by having dinner and a movie with the kids.  After the kids went to bed we tried to watch game 2 of the AL divisional series between the Glorious Boston Red Sox and the LA Angels of A.  After the seventh inning Jen and I were both completely out of gas and went to bed.  Figures… Manny hit a walk off home run in the ninth to give the Sox a 2 games to none lead.

Saturday we got up early and all went to Harry’s karate lesson.  It was fun to watch kids ages 3-6 practicing karate techniques.  Later that night Jen and I went to see Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly at the Brattle Theater.  Here’s the back story.  Kristin and Tanya are step-sisters who while in their teens started a band called Throwing Muses.  In ’86 the released their first record.  In ’88 a certain red head when off the deep end over the band.  In ’89 the same certain red head saw them play for the first time at Great Woods, opening for R.E.M.  In ’91 or so Tanya left and started her own band called Belly.  Belly was much shorter lived, but did much better chart and sales wise.  After a couple of years they slit up and Tanya went solo.  In ’94 (I think?) Kristin began a solo career to go alone with the Muses.  In ’97 the Muses split up.  Occasionally they’d get back together for a couple of shows.  Tanya appeared at the first of those shows, and she sang a little on an album they recorded a few years later.  They’ve both continued on their solo careers, along with Kristin’s new band 50 Foot Wave.  I don’t know what the occasion was for the show saturday night, but they two of them played a solo set and then they played a bunch of old Throwing Muses songs together.

They did two separate shows Saturday night.  We went to the early one.  It was supposed to start at 5:30.  We got to the Brattle at about 5:10 or so and they hadn’t opened the doors.  We stood in line outside until about 6:15 or so.  I sort of fell out of touch with Tanya’s work after her first solo album, so just about every thing she did was new to me.  She did manage to closer her set with “Green” from the first Throwing Muses album.  I was pretty convinced I was never going to get to hear that one live.  Kristin’s set seemed to have a few technical problems, but she still sounded great.  Next, everyone went on stage together and they played a set of Muses tunes.  Many of which fell into the I-can’t-believe-they-picked-that-one.  Case in point… they played “Sinkhole.”  Definately from the who-woulda-thunk-it category.  All in all it was a really wonderful show.  One that I had really given up hope of seeing after all these years.  I’m really glad we got to go… even if Jen was less than impressed with Tanya Donelly’s set.  I knew that at some point a band I liked would rub her the wrong way.  It only took six months to find one. 

Sunday was anothernew one for me.  Apple picking.  Me, Jen, the two kids, and the kids’ father went to Macks Apples in Londonderry, NH and picked a few pecks of apples.  (I’ve been trying to work a “picked a peck” line into my conversation for a day and a half now.)  We now ahve more apples than we know what to do with.  Hopefully some one has some apple pie backing skills… or maybe some one has a cider press under their bed? 

After lunch Jen and I went back to her place to watch the Red Sox eliminate the Angels from the first round of the playoffs.  Now we just have to wait for the Indians fo eliminate the Yankees so we can move on to the American League Championship series.  Bring it on!  After the game we went out to Friendly’s to celebrate the victory with some ice cream. 

And that sounds like a nice place to wrap this one up.

Good Day