Lots of rain yesterday, including a prolonged thunderstorm that seemed to go on for hours. It rained all night and into this morning. That’s fine with me, as my gardens and lawn needed it. It will start to dry up this afternoon. Hopefully, it will be dry enough to get some mowing in on Wednesday and Thursday – everything is overgrown because the excessive heat kept us from doing anything outside.
We didn’t get home from Sunday’s concert until well after midnight, which means I didn’t get to sleep until 1:30 am, which means I was tuckered out, and so I took the day off from posting.
We had such a great time! We rarely go out nowadays as we’re on a budget and find it less expensive to eat at home and watch movies on our television. But we bought the tickets for Tommy Emmanuel several months ago and were ready for a ‘date night.’ The concert was in Englewood, NJ at the Bergen PAC, a smallish and intimate space, a former movie theater built in the 20s. We got there a little early – it was still 95 degrees at 6 pm – so we found an Argentinian restaurant and ate spinach empanadas and grilled vegetables.
Tommy Emmanuel, if you haven’t heard of him, is a virtuoso guitar player who was mentored by the late, great Chet Atkins. Emmanuel hails from Australia, but as he informed us, just became an American citizen. He’s charming, a great storyteller, and a brilliant musician. He uses acoustic guitars and speakers. That’s it. He also uses percussion effects, but all of them are supplied by his hands rhythmically slapping the guitar. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it. He write some of his music, but also pays homage to a large canon of influences. He opened with ‘Blue Moon’ (I posted a little recording from that performance on my IG Stories if you’re interested. It won’t be there much longer.) He played the Beatles. He played Classical Gas. He played ‘Secret Love.’ His own compositions are beautiful. I couldn’t believe what he could get out of a guitar. Stunning.
We cheered and cheered and were inspired and elated and I’m a huge fan now. He’s also a teacher and has made lots of videos teaching his techniques, his fingering, his way of creating sound. Those videos are what Don has been studying for several months now. He tours all over the world – approximately 300 days of the year.
I had the best time.
If you are a fan of acoustic guitar and ever have the chance, I urge you to go to one of his concerts. You will love him.
Don had to get going early yesterday morning because he had to be in the city for an audition. I grabbed our huge grocery list and went to the store. And then I turned on the A/C – it was still muggy, though the temps were lower – and sat out the storms with a book in hand.
We watched Teahouse of the August Moon last night on TCM. Neither of us had ever seen it, though I’ve seemingly always known about it. My initial response to “Should we watch it?'” was no, because Brando plays a role that should be played by someone who is actually Asian and I thought it might be cringeworthy. But we watched a bit of it and, even though casting a non-Asian in the role would never be done today, Brando was really, really good. His dialect was spot on. And he was funny, something we rarely got a chance to see from Brando. Glenn Ford and Eddie Albert were having a great time, supported by the great Paul Ford and a lovely and funny Japanese actress named Machiko Kyō. It’s a satire about the American occupation of Okinawa after WWII. It was surprisingly delightful.
We’re taking it easy today – hanging out in the cottage.
Happy Tuesday.
It was really interesting to hear about Tommy Emmanuel. Sounds like he’s quite the musician. I’m glad you two enjoyed it…you deserved that!
I really hope the humidity breaks for you…I would think by now, you would be feeling a difference. It’s been quite pleasant here these last two days. So I hope you get to enjoy some of this glorious weather, too. My BFF is going to be staying with me for a few days…I am so looking forward to her visit. I don’t think we’ll be trying to recreate our college days….but who knows?
Enjoy your day! ;)
We had two days of torrential rain – so the humidity couldn’t decrease! But today is lovely!
Thanks for mentioning Tommy Emmanuel. I checked his schedule, but it doesn’t look as if he’s coming anywhere near us this year. My husband spent quite a bit of time learning the guitar, but he lost momentum while he was seeing me through brain surgery and then dealing with a hand issue of his own. I thought attending a concert might spark his interest again. Speaking of sparks (corny, I know), I hope Don’s audition goes well.
He tours all the time, so at some point, he should be at a venue in your neck of the woods.
Thanks, Linda.
Teahouse was a big movie when I was a kid. My mom and aunt were quite taken with it. I remember them making kimonos for me and my cousin for Halloween—out of fifties-style printed tablecloths! And also, they made our wigs out of black crepe paper, with buns and topknots and chopsticks. It was great fun for us kids. Wish I had a photo of us!
I wish you did, too!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time at the concert. Fun!!
We made some zucchini muffins with zukes from the garden today! And we harvested one grape tomato yesterday which we added to our salad. Also, the sweet corn stand just opened and we have some to have for dinner tonight. Yay!!
I hope the humidity breaks for you soon. It was a picture perfect day here yesterday with a high of about 77* and lovely sun. Today has been almost a duplicate, but maybe made it to 80*. With windows open, it is just wonderful! Hope you have a good day for mowing tomorrow!
Yes, we’re about ready to start buying sweet corn from our favorite farmstand.
Today is beautiful. We needed the rain to stop in order for the humidity to break.
Glad you had a good time Sunday. Thank goodness the weather has gotten better. Hope to work in the yard tomorrow. It needs a lot of work.
Marilyn
So does ours! Grass too long, so many weeds!
We watched Teahouse last night, too. We have seen it several times, over the years, and
thoroughly enjoy it.
Thanks for the information on Tommy Emmanuel. He sounds like someone we would love
to see in concert.
He’s pretty special, Susan!
Lucky you hearing the Emmanuel concert. I’m glad it didn’t disappoint! I know both Rick and I would have really enjoyed that.
I’ve never seen Teahouse. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, found it worth the watch!
Do your best to hang in and stay cool. At least you have air. It’s cooling off here, which is great. I spent much of the morning yanking weeds and filled a rather giant bin with them. And yes, you can tell. Well, I can. I’m not too sure about anyone else. That’s what happens when you leave home for three weeks at a time. What will it be like when I come back in September after a month?!!
Will have to look up Tommy Emmanuel, the only acoustic guitarists I’ve seen in concert are the Mexican duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. They were the support act for Will Young (the singer/actor) who was recently on Gardener’s’ World.
I think our weather is following on from your own albeit on a smaller scale. Yesterday temperatures were in the low 80s and because it was so warm during the evening, I decided to put out laundry thinking it will dry overnight. About 2 a.m., we had a massive thunderstorm, loud enough to awaken me and torrential rain. It’s back to square one, everything will have to be rewashed today !
Stay cool, Dee Dee!
It’s crazily overgrown here. The combination of all the heat and humidity and then two days of heavy rains took its toll!
Thanks for letting us know about Tommy Emmanuel. No dates near me, either, though. I’ll keep a look out, definitely.
You and Don might also like Diego Figueiredo, a Brazilian guitarist who also sounds as if he’s more than one person playing. He’s a wonderful performer.
https://www.diegofigueiredo.com/#!
Thank you Cara!