Well, here I am on the train again, but now I'm going back the other way, watching Labyrinth and eating a croissant that I got in the station, because I was there in plenty of time.

Which was really because I didn't make a reservation on the 5.15p train, and it was sold out for everything but Business Class, which was $92 and fuck that, but fortunately there was a 7.05p train that wasn't on the website, so I was just Little Miss Early for once in my life.

Well, I for one had a swell weekend, being a jet-setter like I suddenly am, though I think that you have to get on a jet in order to be a jet-setter. Acela-setter, that's me.

I got to Boston, and got out of the train, looking around for a short woman and a taller man to walk purposefully towards me and my pink hair, but no eyes brightened with recognition, and I just stood there like the last kid at day care, eyes brimming with tears. Well, no, actually I just went to a payphone and called their cell-phone.

"I'm here, where are you?"
"We're here, too!"
"Well, I'm at the payphone by Track 9."
"O, I see you!"
(looking wildly around) "I feel like I'm in a sniper's sights!"

And they came over and found me and everything was fine and I didn't have to sleep at the station or crash Jessie's sister's wedding, (though that would have been fun!).

It was raining, so instead of doing anything involving being outdoors in Boston, we went to see Moulin Rouge. I did think that it was funny to spend $52 to see a movie that was playing in NY, but the weather forced us into it. And I am damn glad that it did, because this was the best movie in the whole world!

I said here, "Fran teases me that I'm like some reviewer that they had in the old Spy magazine, who only had two reviews, "A work of unparalleled genius," and "Indisputably a classic," and sometimes, I'll admit that seems true." I know that he will laugh when I start raving about Moulin Rouge, but I loved this move so much, I really did! I want to see it again tonight when I get home, but since it'll be midnight, I don't think that there'll be a screening. Plus I have to work in the morning.

It's the kind or movie where if you can just go with it, just accept everything and understand everything and not go, "What's going on? Who are these people? What year is this supposed to be? Why are they singing?" and just go with the spectacular spectacular, with the sweeping emotion, you'll love it. If you can't do that, save your money.

I must admit that I never understood the appeal of Ewan McGregor. He's a good actor, but he's sort of bland and dull-looking, and what's the big deal? Well, in this movie, I see it. He's so sincere and open-faced and wildly, joyously in love that it's impossible not to love him back. He should always wear hats, too, he looks fine in a fedora.

The cast is uniformly excellent, anything with Jim Broadbent in it is okay by me, John Leguizamo is perfect at doing both silly silly things and also showing us the secret longing in his soul, and Nicole Kidman is heart-stoppingly lovely, but the movie wouldn't have worked without Ewan McGregor, without his absolute commitment to the emotion, especially when singing. He has an excellent voice. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love.

Of course, I also cried at the commercial before the movie with the little kids with cancer and the big tough Boston construction workers also made me cry, so I'm a somewhat easy target, but I wept like an infant at the end.

I need to see this movie again immediately, And I need to get the soundtrack album. But I cannot buy anything. Argh. Maybe I'll get it for myself for my birthday.

After the movie we drove to Somerville, grabbed some food and went to the show, the reason I was there.

O no, wait, we were on our way to get the food, and all of a sudden I hear my name, and it's my sweet and only Kevin! I haven't seen him since he moved to Boston, and I missed his goodbye party because I was at work on a Saturday night and I got into the zone and forgot to leave. And when I was coming to Boston, I thought about all the people there and who I would have time to see and who I wouldn't, and I had forgotten about Kevin entirely, so it's funny that I ended up at a concert about two blocks from his apartment!

Anyway, after that surprise encounter, we had some Chinese food, and Shae made me try one of her scallops, and I can now say with absolute positivity that I hate scallops. Of course, I could say that with just as much certainty before I tried it,but there you go. It looked like a big hunk of fat and tasted like...well, a big hunk of fat. Mixed with an eraser. The big chewy rubber eraser, not a chalkboard eraser. Blech blech blech. Shae said that I was determined not to like it, but that is because I knew that I wouldn't and I was just saving myself the disappointment had I really thought that this would be something that I liked.

That is my attitude towards trying new food in a nutshell, ducks. Be glad that you are not my parents, the poor dears.

Anyway, the concert the concert the concert!

The concert was at the Somerville Theatre, which is actually a movie theatre, but there is also a theatre in there. It was really a very efficient use of the space. They had a table of cds out front, of the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, and of Dan's new solo album, and Jeff White's two albums, and I knew in my soul that I was allowing myself to buy the album because it was a special occasion, and that since I knew I would by buying it, why wait for the enormous crowd at the interval? So I bought it.

And then was the show itself. Which was just so wonderful! Definitely worth nine hours and $120 round trip from NY. The Dan Tyminski band consisted of Dan on vocals and mandolin, Ron Block on banjo and guitar, Jeff White on guitar and vocals, and Barry Bales on bass and vocals. The are all present and past members of Alison Krauss's band, Union Station, and all had a marvelous connection to each other. The show was so loose in attitude, but so tight musically that it felt like they had invited you to the garage to hear a couple of songs they had worked out, and afterwards we were gonna have a barbecue.

Dan is a great front man, very friendly and unpretentious, but doesn't have alot of patter, as evidenced when Jeff broke a string at one point and had to leave the stage to change it, and Dan had literally nothing to say. Nothing! Have a joke ready next time, Dan, because the way you boys wail on those strings, it's gonna happened rather often! And in fact, later in the show, when they were playing "Man of Constant Sorrow", Ron broke a string on his banjo, calmly walked over to the side of the stage, changed the string, and was back for the last verse. I didn't think he'd make it, but he did, and without rushing, either.

He was so funny, Ron was, he was really quiet and off to the side, and the other three had a habit of gathering together across the stage from him, and he looked like the leftover band member. Actually, what he looked like was my old geometry teacher, Mr. Lake, who had wandered onstage and started playing the banjo. He seems to be one of those musical geeks, not really much on the stage presence, kind of shy, but start them playing and they just put their head down and burn up the joint. He also had a tuning machine behind him and would obsessively tune between each number. Clearly, that banjo would never be tuned to his satisfaction.

Jeff was like the alternate front man, switching to lead vocals on several of his own songs, which was something else that made it feel like we were at their house, everyone taking turns singing their own stuff. He had some really good stuff, and really wailed on that guitar. I must get his albums as well. But not this year!

And then there was Barry. This is Barry. This is not even a very good picture of Barry.

Barry is just the cutest thing that you ever did see. A really terrific bass player and singer, though he was the only one not to do a solo, because why? Because he doesn't have his own album? So what? I'm sure he knows some songs! And he's about 6'4" or so, tall as a tree, with those long bass player's fingers, and really funny, bantering with the boys, and I just fell for him like a stone.

Lord, I have to go, I'll finish this up tomorrow.

Today's horoscope:
You're both highly creative and quite focused today. Choose a new, fascinating project and take the first step to bring it to fruition.

One year ago today:
Of course, he was all blood and brawn and armpit hair and eyes dark green as pine needles and emotions roiling beneath the surface in a terribly attractive way, I'm not saying that he wasn't...

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Last Updated Mon 4 June 10:27:09 2001