Work and play

So, okay, as usual, the weekend has included a bunch of work. I have that Monday-Friday schedule going on, so I was teaching Friday morning, and then spent most of Friday afternoon taking care of business and lesson planning and such (I now have a nice long, low shelf running alongside the wall near my desk so I can keep all the piles of my to-do work in order). Otis had to go out for a while yesterday on writer consultant errands, and I stayed home and got a lot of papers responded while the wind whipped around the Ridge. (Man, it was loud overnight Fri-Sat, but it didn't appear to do much damage up here.) And, of course, I still have a stack of stuff to do today.

Nonetheless, we managed to do some fun stuff, too. On Friday night, I finally got a chance to see Talk to Her (on the white wall). And last night, we joined Jen Forceful and Sunni-V (and wa whole mess of other folks) for a house concert at Linda S and Mike's place with Jean Mann.

Otis and I had gone to a previous house concert by Jean last June. That was a great time, and this time was just as big a treat. Jean played guitar and sang, and was accompanied by her sideman-sidekick Bill on bass, mandolin, slide guitar, and accordion. Jean performed mostly original tunes, including two numbers (that will appear on her new CD) that got their "world debut" perfomances last night; she also covered some songs by the likes of Steve Miller, Bonnie Raitt, and Joan Osborne (and I think Jean's version of "One of Us" is just fantastic).

The music is what I would call folk-rock if I had to put a label on it, but that's a bit reductive: the song "Pink Clouds" has a haiku-like elegance in the lyrics and some vocal bits that are reminiscent of the best of Tracy Chapman; "The Dance" is a haunting waltz which could easily have been lifted from the soundtrack of a French art film. Whether opening with a playful rendition of "Space Cowboy" or introducing her ephemeral "Daisies and Fire," Jean's vocal control and evocative phrasings were captivating. I'd certainly sit her at the same table with Sarah Harmer and Nekko Case at my musical cafe.

Check out Jean's website and pick up one of her CDs. It's good stuff that has earned its place in our rotation.