Hello, All!
I want to thank everyone across the pond who came out to the shows in Dublin and London. It was a big deal for me to make the trip. I get very nervous about whether or not people will like me overseas—anywhere. I’m not sure that insecurity is founded in anything logical because if you are coming to see me, you kind of know what you are getting into. I think given my general discomfort in my skin, being in my skin in another country just exacerbates it. BUT…the shows were amazing and the crowds were great. I had fun. Consider my fear of international audiences officially over!
I really like Ireland. I have barely been there but I have always felt enchanted by the place. This was the first time I actually got to hang around a little bit. I love walking around Dublin. The food is amazing and the entire vibe of the city is deep. It's not a very ethnically diverse city. I did spend some time in the black neighborhood. It’s basically a statue of Phil Lynott downtown. I had the insane pleasure of hanging out with Richard Thompson again in Dublin. He was at the venue I was in the night before. The Vicar Theater. I got in, jet-lagged, and went to see him. I never know if people really remember me or whether they would want to hang out again. He was cool. I went backstage, we talked a bit, I played around on his guitar for a sec and then I watched the show. It turns out I knew his bass player, too. Davey Faragher. We had some common friends back in the day and I guess he’s living in Dublin because Thompson had just hired him on. He said they hadn’t even really rehearsed. IT SOUNDED AMAZING. Fucking genius. That’s all. Just genius. All of it. The drummer, Michael Jerome, was outstanding.
The shows in London were great. Jarlath Regan opened for me and he did a great job. I had met him years ago during my bleak Edinburgh experience back in 2007. It was good to see him and see where his comedy is at now. I had fun in London. I walked around a bit. I ate amazing fucking Indian food at a place called Tayyabs-- seriously life changing food. I went to the Tate Modern and saw the Agnes Martin retrospective, which was astounding. The highpoint of the Tate for me was the Rothko room. They had a series of paintings that were commissioned for The Four Seasons Hotel in NYC but he reneged on the commission and gave them to the Tate. They are all in one room, dimly lit, ominous and amazingly powerful-- another life changer or maybe life adder is better.
Australia. I’ll be around your area in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in October. Check the calendar for details.
Today on the show is a hotel room chat with Bob Guccione, Jr. We talk the creation of Spin magazine, journalism, dads, rock and censorship among other things. Fred Armisen joins me Thursday for a very revealing talk considering it’s hard to really get a sense of who he is in there usually. I feel like I know him a bit now after our talk.
Enjoy!
Boomer lives!
Love,
Maron
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