After the New Yorker Festival last month, I know I said I wasn't coming back to New York for a while, but I meant after this weekend...because I'm back in New York. As I did once before, I impulse-bought two tickets to something and figured I'd make a plan later. Well, later came and flights were booked and my pal Shelagh decided to come with me and last night we saw Marc Maron live at Carnegie Hall. I've been listening to his podcasts for a couple of years and I remember his stand up from a few decades ago, and I just decided I wanted to come and see him. Then a few weeks ago, I was looking at the Carnegie Hall website for no real reason, and I saw that Tig Notaro, whom I love (and whom I met once, but that's a different story) was doing a show at Carnegie Hall the night after Marc, there were still tickets available so I bought two of those too. Marc's show last night was great, he's a pro. It was tight and funny and smart. These are by no means the highlights, but a few things he said...
"I think we all adapted too quickly to Trader Joe's." (there was a whole riff on Trader Joe's which I loved, but that's the line that struck me)
Re: a third party contender, or Bernie supporters voting for an independent candidate in protest, "don't be idiots, there IS NO THIRD PARTY. It was the Cubs and the Indians in the World Series, there wasn't anyone there going, 'nope, I'm going with the Yankees.'"
Anyway, it was a great show.
But tonight - Tig... well. There's something about Tig. We all know it. And there she was, on the stage, being her Tiggiest, and she was great. Then at end of her set, things got a little odd; she went on this weird jag about the Indigo Girls (what?) She said that as a "present" to us, the audience, the show was going to close with a performance by the Indigo Girls. Ok. And then she announced them and left the stage, and the crowd cheered, and... nothing. She came back out and sheepishly said there was a delay, but they were here... and she did this about five times. She bantered with the audience about whether or not the Indigo Gilrs were really coming out, then announced them, left the stage, crowd cheered, and nothing. Over and over, and it just seemed like a weird 'bit' which was frankly getting a little old, until the time she did it and Amy and Emily walked on the stage, guitars in hand, and launched into Closer to Fine. Crowd went wild. They played five songs, the big hits, Tig came back and sat on the stage at their feet and listened with us. They closed with Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters..."And I thank the Lord for people I have found. I thank the Lord for people I have found."
I don't know when I'll be back in New York. Maybe not for a few years; maybe next week.
