Hi buddies,
I’m just back from a ten day trip to Japan with N, a beautiful and life-changing experience that I won’t attempt to summarize here overmuch. It was — as the best travel experiences often are — an opportunity to be totally present for a period of time, drinking in the experience of a different culture. We were both overwhelmed by the feeling of being welcome, and by the attitude of mutual respect, kindness, and love of beauty that seems to pervade Japanese culture.
If I see you in the next few days at between 4-9pm, I will be yawning up a storm — don’t take it personally!
I am (mostly) glad to be home, diving into a month with some shows, finishing a new solo album, and happy to see our small furry companion.
A few shows:
4.4 Trio with Kim Alpert and Ben Hall: Comfort Station Logan Square, presented by Homeroom, Chicago
4.5 Duo with Macie Stewart: IARC Headquarters*, Chicago
4.6 Freedom From and Freedom To: Elastic Arts, Chicago
4.10 Solo, in response to: “The Colorful and Curious World of Chad Kouri” at EXPO Chicago, Park Hyatt, Chicago
4.14 Heavy Tiny (duo with Nick Meryhew): Hungry Brain, Chicago
4.17 Duo with Jeff Kolar: California Clipper, Chicago
4.25 Duo with Macie Stewart: The Trumpet Blossom (Feed Me Weird Things) Iowa City
4.26 + 4.27 Improvised sound for Michael Montenegro’s At ten I was an animal: Chicago International Puppet Festival’s Living Room Tour, Chicago
tiny recommendations:
I won’t bombard you with recommendations for things to do/eat/buy/see in Japan, but if you are ever on your way there, I have plenty of things to share.
The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum was showing some fantastic photos by Tomoko Yoneda. These photos of the DMZ and these, of former battlefields and current borders, are particularly affecting.
This short, by the Thai artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul (via Mubi).
Some music recommendations via my latest playlist on Beloved Radio — lots of Brazilian music! As usual, I recorded this while I did something in my house (this time, cleaning the kitchen), so you can hear me doing that too.
Finally saw Perfect Days after six or seven people told me to. It’s wonderful. Don’t be put off (as I was) by the slightly saccharine quality of the trailer; there’s a lot of depth there. I also watched Anatomy of a Fall on the plane, which was very intense but also good.
This stainless steel coffee dripper, which doesn’t need a paper filter and makes really yummy coffee.
Clear umbrellas, to let in as much light as possible on these grey April days.
More of a silver lining than a recommendation: if you’re unlucky enough to be up at four in the morning, be sure to listen to the robins sing.
That’s all, for now,
Lia
*I think RSVPs are already full for this one, sorry!