Cracks In Sidewalks

This will probably be the last “crack” of 2008.  It’s been an eventful Holiday Season.  I’ve attended my own little film festival, have gone to hear lots of good music, eaten too much good food, have visited with friends, gotten reacquainted with old friends, had multiple conversations with family (all in Portland OR this holiday), and as always have had a lot of good cheer, but never too much.

In recent weeks several things I’ve done to get in the spirit and to be celebratory have included going to a number of film screenings.  Being a voting member of the Screen Actors Guild I’ve had the opportunity to attend some by “invitation only” special events.  A few highlights have been Q&A’s that have taken place after seeing several of the films.  They have included a Q&A with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, another for “The Reader” included Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, and Lena Olin, and yet another Sam Mendes the director of “Revolutionary Road.”  Then there was a special screening several weeks ago of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”  For me this was especially fun.  I knew and sometimes worked with director David Fincher early on in his career and had not seen him in almost 20 years, so it was great to reconnect with David.  That screening also happened to coincide on the day his movie got nominated for 5 Golden Globe’s including a “Best Picture” award, “Best Actor” award, and a big nod to David who was nominated for a “Best Director” award.  Earlier in the same week I saw recording artist/composer Peter Buffett whom I had also not seen in almost 20 years at a benefit concert.  Peter arranged the music to a song I wrote and recorded in 1988 that got made into a music video and David Fincher made me give him a copy of it to take back to LA that same year.  It was quite uncanny and a major blast into my past to see them both in same week!

Then Neil Young and his wife Pegi came into town to play Madison Square Garden with Neil’s band.  We have been friends for many years and I always love seeing them in concert.  Neil is always the entertaining amazing singer, (yes I love Neil’s voice), and of course a legendary songwriter, and his wife Pegi has become the consummate pro backup singer, and a solo artist in her own right.  Listening to Neil is always like coming home for me.  He puts me in a feel good place whether he’s singing a ballad, a protest song, or he’s breaking all the strings on his “Old Black” Les Paul guitar while having the music contort through his amp.  He also amuses me and I love listening to the new songs he consistently tries out on his audience, both to their thrill and sometimes dismay.  And Pegi, Neil’s wife continually amazes me with her beautiful perfect harmonies to his songs.  And every time I see them Neil is having her play different instruments with his band besides sing.  Last time it was guitar and vibes, where this time Pegi played the piano as well as the vibes.  Also playing with Neil on this tour was the legendary Ben Keith, Rick Rosas, Anthony Crawford, and Chad Cromwell.  The bands opening for Neil on this leg were Everest and Wilco.  I also need to extend a special thank you to Pegi who has helped me rise to the status of “cool aunt,” as I’ve been able to bring my nieces and nephews to several shows.  They and their friends are also big “Neil” fans and his shows have become a family event.

For Christmas Eve we had a lovely dinner out at a great restaurant that opened several years ago in my neighborhood in Chelsea called “Cookshop.”  Their food is always fresh and excellent.  On Christmas day, we went to the IMAX theater and saw the remake of the movie “The Day The Earth Stood Still,” with Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly.  It was a perfectly fun entertaining movie to see, and IMAX is always an adventure.  Also a recent rental I saw during the holidays and would recommend is a Turkish film called “The Edge of Heaven.  It’s a wonderful captivating story, and exquisitely produced.

So now we’re winding down 2008 and headed and almost into the New Year, 2009.   I know I have some challenges that I’ll need to face in the coming year and I’m certain many of you do too.  I want to thank you all for supporting “Cracks In Sidewalks,” and I want to wish everyone a good healthy and happy New Year.  See you in 2009!

I need to apologize for not writing.  You are on my mind daily, but the twists and turns of life have gotten in the way these past several weeks.  Below are the few events and subjects I hope to share with you soon besides a new “My Cats Tail” photo and some new “Daily Cracks In Sidewalks” photo’s.

I went to a fabulous screening of “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.”  After the screening Spike Jonz interviewed David Fincher the director.  The movie is great and I highly recommend it!

I also went to the Neil Young, Wilco, Everest concert at Madison Square Garden this past week.  It was really special and a great show.  It started at 8pm and Neil didn’t get off the stage until 12:30am.

Tonight is the “Bev Leslies” at The Bubble Lounge in TriBeCa in NYC.  The band comprises some of the best studio musicians in the city including singer Elaine Caswell (has played with about everyone), singer keyboard player Bette Sussman (Bette Midler’s arranger), Shawn Pelton (drummer for SNL), and a host of other great players.  So expect some reports soon.

In the meantime I hope you are all well and I wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season!

Warm regards,

Audrey

Saturday night I had a pleasant surprise.  I was taken to an elementary school in Greenwich Village, led up some stairs to the school’s gymnasium, seated at a table looking up at a stage that had “Moonwork” painted in bold letters, and told I was now in on a well kept comedy club secret.  By the end of the evening I had to agree, and their next show is January 10th so now you’re in on this secret too.

The cost is $20 a person and it is my understanding that you have to be on an email list to find out about these performances.  Held at the Children’s Aid Society also known as The Phil Coltoff Center on Sullivan Street near Bleaker and W.3rd, this past Saturday’s line up included Andres Dubouchet, Tom Shillue, Hannibal Buress, Rachel Feinstein, Ethan Lipton & his Orchestra, and John Oliver (from The Daily Show.)  If you’re more up on comics and clubs you might be familiar with some of these acts.  Being a late night TV freak, I was only familiar with John Oliver whom I adore.

Set in the gymnasium with round tables for 4, candles, and this time of year, as it was close to Christmas, Hershey Kisses and candy canes on the tables as well; they also had beer and soft drinks available for sale in the back.  I would say in all there were maybe 100 people in the audience.

This portion of Moonwork’s mission is called “Evenings of Original Works,” of which they hold 15 per year and encourage performers to showcase their original work.  Besides the likes of John Oliver and Tom Shillue, they have in the past featured performers such as Janeane Garofalo, and Drama Desk and Obie Award winners.  It’s a good mix of high caliber talent.  They also have within the Moonwork organization an annual Shakespeare production, and a Kids Outreach Program that is tied to Shakespeare.  It’s here that they hope to instill and unlock a child’s love of learning and bring theater to kids.

Our Saturday evening at Moonwork was more than entertaining and well worth the $20 admission fee.  All of the acts were quite good in their own right with John Oliver being an added holiday treat.  The entire experience was positive.  If you live in NYC or have friends who do, I encourage you to check this organization out and if you can, attend their next “Evening of Original Work” in January.   I’ve included their website below to help you find out more about them.  Simply cut and paste the link into your browser.

http://www.moonwork.com/

I’m full of love and mischief too.  A perfect kitten!