Spitball Army

The Somerville Theatre has been re-painted inside, but the rest of the place sorely needs some TLC.  The seat of the chair belonging to the guy in front of me kept falling off of its hinges onto the floor.  When Ron Sexsmith came out, the place was only half full, and he commented on that.  He was playing a solo acoustic set (as was Nick Lowe later).  Ron played nearly all of my favorite songs, including “Strawberry Blonde” and “Lebanon, Tennessee.”  He did that same thing that I’ve seen him do every time he’s played solo, including the in-store at Laser’s Edge, and that is to announce that he’s playing without a set list.  Immediately, everybody – or several bodies – shouted out song requests.  And he molded a set list out of that.  That’s an extremely free and versatile way to put on a show.  He was wearing the same burgundy jacket that I’ve seen him wear at least once before.

Nick Lowe had on black shoes, black slacks (maybe dark gray), and a crisp white shirt with a wide collar.  He started with “People Change,” and I knew at that moment that this was going to be a great set (I love that song!).  And he played all (no exaggeration) of my very favorite songs.  –  Oh, I forgot to mention that Ron played his own version of Nick Lowe’s “Where’s My Everything?” during his set.  He said he’d asked Lowe if he would sing it, Nick told him it wasn’t on his list this tour, so Ron asked if he could sing it.  –  Lowe even played “Indian Queens,” which may be my absolute favorite of his, and it was graced by a lengthy introduction that no other song got.  Another validation for my tastefulness.  (wink.)  He gave us two encores, and during the first, Ron came out and duetted on a country-type song called “My Baby’s Gone” (that’s a guess) that they had just learned to play together.  It was charming.  [The song was “My Baby’s Gone,” written by Hazel Houser, and somewhat of a hit in the recording by The Louvin Brothers.]

Came back on the T to Harvard Square, bought a Crimson and Globe at Out of Town News and took them back to the hotel to read.  Crashed.

This a.m. I got up and went down to The Dunk for a “medium regular.”  Man, they still make ’em exactly as I remember.  Delicious!!  There may not be a better cup of coffee anywhere in the world, except at some other Dunk.  I sat for awhile on their veranda and watched the comings and goings from the Kennedy School and along JFK Street.

I am writing this by the fountain at JFK park, which I don’t remember at all.  The park, that is.  The signs say the park was dedicated in the spring of 1987, so that was just a few months before I moved away from here.  It is a lovely parcel, right behind the Charles Hotel, next to the Charles River, and on the corner of JFK Street and Memorial Drive.  The Harvard Crew boathouse is right across the river from this spot, and in plain view.  The women’s crew has been practicing load-up and carrying the shells from the house to the water.  It’s fun to watch, and reminds me of our Quincy House crew and racing on the Charles.  And throwing our coxswain Joanne Vogel into the river after the race.

The JFK fountain is beautiful and so simple.  It looks kind of like a bed.  Inscriptions from JFK’s speeches are carved into the stone all around the fountain.  The water falls across the inscriptions with barely a ripple.