“And I don’t get anxious about my pancreas. To be honest, I’m not even sure what that thing does. I’m just so grateful that it’s in me.” Working at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) this line immediately stuck out. I was streaming Ryan Montbleau’s new record but was distracted making a cup of tea. Hearing my non-profit’s namesake as the kettle began to spit and shout, I realized I had to dive further into “Ankles,” or my work would never forgive me.

Beatnik poets gave way to Merry Pranksters gave way to a Long Strange Trip that we are still on right now today. The wheel is turning, it can’t slow down… In homage to Yonkers born almost 102 years old Beatnik publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, I give you my stream of consciousness notes to the best show I have seen all year long. Billy Strings Deja Vu Experiment at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on 2/20/21 was one of a series of six shows that was truly unlike any show I’ve ever experienced.  Things are changing so here is a review like I’ve never written:

Every Monday for this current month of March, jam funk quartet Magic Beans are set to perform what they’ve dubbed Magic Mondays: a roughly two-hour virtual performance from their home practice space in Colorado, live streamed on their Facebook page. The band has performed two Magic Mondays thus far, which have been free to stream as they will be the rest of March as well.

Progressive bluegrass quartet Kitchen Dwellers are on a bit of a hot-streak right now. Last weekend, the band performed two back-to-back livestream shows, dubbed The Liquid Late Nights, as an afterparty following two of the Capitol Theatre performances from Billy Strings.

As the week winds to a close, we are reflecting back with some thoughts about the undoubtedly historic run of musical performances that just occurred this past week at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY: Billy Strings’ “The Deja Vu Experiments,” which saw the bluegrass guitarist and his quartet play six consecutive shows at the rock palace, live-streamed to what was reported as over 30,000 viewers tuning in.

I’m in a funk. Most of the reasons have to do with COVID. This last week, we hit the astronomical milestone of 500,000 deaths. That number is tragic but what’s even more deplorable and weighs on me heavily is those losses could’ve been significantly reduced if during the previous year we had responsible, empathetic leadership. It feels like everyone around me is getting vaccinated, while I’m left behind. (This sparks junior high memories of pining impatiently for my first kiss or being picked last for dodgeball.

I last reviewed a streamed Billy Strings show in July. A lot has changed since then. Online concerts have grown more sophisticated, with platforms like Twitch taking the tech out of the artist’s hands. Billy’s hair? That too has changed from the oft braided locks of an up and comer to the mullet of someone who has arrived.

Valentine’s Day is lame. After this statement I am sure you instantly labeled me a disgruntled, single woman who has lost all hope in love. This is an incorrect assessment as actually I am a true romantic who loves fervently, yet I can wholeheartedly understand the initial reaction and placing me in the cold-hearted category. Regardless, hear me out as I have a multitude of sensible reasons for disliking V-Day. The first issue is the pressure to show love with overly priced red roses or tacky jewelry just because a national day, primarily benefiting large corporations, has been declared.

Grammy-winning Infamous Stringdusters banjo man Chris Pandolfi has been hard at work while not on tour.

Writing has always been a hobby. I created sonnets to unleash my teenage angst. I did my undergraduate thesis, basically a short story, about interning at an anti-gun violence nonprofit where I focused on the flavorful like shooting an AK-47, melting guns to transform them into art and working with ex-convicts in the Tenderloin. In my late thirties I launched into book reviews taking on the obscure to the popular, posting them on a funky Google blog earning a few bucks a month from clicks. Currently, I’m in the process of writing a memoir.