Here's my favorite part of last night's Emmys (I love Amy and Seth, and I love True Detective and Matthew and Woody):


Not a great night overall, but of course that wasn't surprising. Tatiana Maslany wasn't even nominated and she should win every award ever for Orphan Black (yes, every award, I mean that), so I didn't have high expectations going into the night. Amy Poehler (Amy Pueblo?) has been nominated for 11 Emmys and has never won. There's something wrong with that. I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Veep is one of my favorite shows, but she's won enough.  And Allison Tolman was robbed. Allison Tolman, you were my favorite thing about Fargo (and I loved a lot about Fargo) and you're fantastic and you should have won an Emmy. At least the drama categories were more on point. Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, and Aaron Paul all won acting awards for Breaking Bad and the series won best drama series, so there's that. Nic and I had good food to eat and blue drinks to honor Breaking Bad, and we got to yell at the TV a lot. We'll see what happens next year.

My friend Bill mentioned the feeling of wanting certain moments to go on forever, and it got me thinking. Sometimes you just pause and realize that if you could freeze time, everything would be perfect because all the nonsense has faded away and you're so full of joy you could burst. And of course those moments can't last forever, but maybe they've filled you up enough to keep you going. For me, a lot of those moments come from concerts. My absolute favorite thing in the world is being at a Counting Crows concert. For real. At their last concert I attended (earlier this summer in Central Park), the beginning of the show was probably the most significant for me. I was in the front row on the railing, and that feeling of anticipation was already turning my stomach into knots. When the crew started taping setlists onto the stage, Terry, who was standing next to me, was able to catch a glimpse of the first song. He asked me if I wanted to know what it was and I immediately said yes but then changed my response to no. I wanted to be surprised. I'm so glad I made that decision, because when the band came onstage and I heard Charlie's piano part quickly joined by Immy's soaring guitar melody that opens "Sullivan Street," I can't explain the feeling. I felt like I couldn't even contain the happiness inside me; it leaked out through my mouth in a huge grin and inaudible laughs and through my body as my shoulders shook and my head tilted back and even a little bit through my eyes as miniature drops of liquid filled them up before disappearing, blurring the stage and then allowing it to come into beautiful, perfect focus. That opening guitar melody to "Sullivan Street" was a moment of pure joy. When I'm overwhelmed by the real world, I can just play that melody in my head and it takes me back to that moment and the memory of that joy is enough. I love how powerful music can be.
(The recording of "Sullivan Street" posted above is from that concert.)

This post is a totally random assortment of stuff that's been occupying me this summer. 

Counting Crows' new album, Somewhere Under Wonderland, comes out on September 2nd, and it will be the perfect early birthday present. They've been playing a bunch of songs from the record on this tour, so I was able to see them play some of the new songs live and I have tons of recordings of the new material and it makes me incredibly happy. You can see my videos from the Central Park show here; there are a handful of new songs there.

Here's what is currently my favorite song from the album (lyrics photo is above as well):



Eve Hewson on Fallon. Cool genes run in her family. I love her dad, but I need to know when his band's new album is coming out, because it was supposed to be early this year and obviously that didn't happen and I'm impatient.




What else? I don't think I posted about my trip. I had a great time traveling from Prague to Paris (through Germany) with my relatives. Here are photos.

I recently went to see St. Vincent at Prospect Park, which became my most-frequented music venue this summer. I've seen Annie Clark (St. Vincent) play with The National a bunch of times, but this was my first time seeing her headline a show (for 15,000 people!). She was fabulous.

I went to a taping of Late Night with Seth Meyers, which was a lot of fun. St. Vincent played with the house band, and it was really cool to be only 15 feet away from her (as opposed to being pretty far back at her concert a couple nights prior). It was a great episode; Jeff Bridges talked about The Giver, and Garfunkel and Oates were very funny and sang a song called "Pregnant Women Are Smug," which I enjoyed. Strand of Oaks was the musical guest, and they were good as well. Here's a playlist from the episode. 

I met Grumpy Cat! I love Grumpy Cat. She was asleep. She was adorable. 

I saw King Lear at Shakespeare in the Park. John Lithgow is a fabulous Lear. It was also cool to see Annette Bening onstage, although I have to admit her performance wasn't one of the strongest. She's obviously a fabulous film actress (duh), but her Shakespeare is a bit weak. Overall the production featured a strong ensemble and was an enjoyable night at the Delacorte, which is one of my absolute places in the city. 

I've seen some more plays, including Sex with Strangers (which I liked, mostly because Anna Gunn and Billy Magnussen are awesome) and Cabaret again (which never gets old). 

I don't want summer to be over. 

Still can't believe it. I'm honored I was able to see this great man live onstage; I was in the front row at Bengal Tiger and he spit on me, and I didn't mind one bit. I'm thinking of his family and friends and am grateful for the gift he shared with all of us. Here are a few favorite scenes.

Gah, I have so much I want to post about. Where do I start? I'll do a list.

1. UCB. Del Close Marathon. I only got to see two improv shows, but boy were they awesome ones. First Nicole and I saw Gravid Water because it's our fave. I'll let you read the explanation of Gravid Water and take a look at the cast. It included Olivia Wilde in a scene with her husband, Jason Sudeikis, as well as Rachel Dratch, Michael O'Brien, Krysta Rodriguez, and lots more awesome actors and improvisors. It was hilarious.

On the last night of the marathon I saw ASSSSCAT 3000 with three of UCB's four founding members (Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, and Ian Roberts). Amy Schumer(!) was the monologist, and there were some other awesome people in the cast, incuding Horatio Sanz and Jason Montzoukas. Honestly, though, I was most excited for Amy P. I've seen her in person a bunch of times and it's always a thrill. I adore her.

2. Concerts. I've been to quite a few concerts about which I haven't posted here. I'll start with my favorite, though. You probably know I'm obsessed with Counting Crows. They're one of my top three bands (along with The National and U2). Last week I saw them play at Central Park Summerstage for the second time, and they were absolutely fantastic. They've been together for more than twenty years, and right now they honestly sound like they're at the top of their game. Their new album comes out September 2nd (available for presale today) and they played a bunch of new songs which made me very excited for the record to be released. I got a front row center spot (I got in line at 11am and was first in line), and I got a setlist at the end of the show! It was a great setlist, too. Just look at this. They had me at "Sullivan Street." Seriously, is there a better opener than "Sullivan Street?" No, no there is not. And there's not a better closer than "Holiday in Spain."

 I have tons of photos, which I'll eventually post on my shutterfly site so I don't overload the blog with them. I'll just post this. I unapologetically and sincerely have a huge crush on AD.

I filmed video of much of the concert, so I'll post my playlist. I think they're pretty good videos, despite my occasional singing. The new songs are posted first. Trust me, they're worth watching/listening to. Put it on full screen and enjoy a mini-concert. I can't stop watching. 

I have more to write about (concerts, Fourth of July), but I guess I'll save it for later. I'll just post a picture from the 4th.