Sugar and meat, People!
I haven’t been to NYC since the before times. I didn’t know what to expect but it was great.
I talk to my friend Lipsyte every day so I had a sense that things were opening up and functioning but I had no idea that the place was going pretty much full tilt. It was exciting to see so many people out doing things. Apparently, the vax rate and case rate here are low enough for people to have some sense of freedom. I went with it. I’ve been out in the world for months. Not the NYC world though.
I posted an IG vid talking about my surprise that there was so much life and activity here. Immediately people who lived here chimed in with that stubborn, fuck-you-nicely energy that is pervasive here. A ‘what the hell did you think it would be like? It’s NYC, asshole’ type of attitude. I don’t know, tenuous and nervous, like everywhere else. It is not. There were masks where required and not masks if not and vax proof required mostly everywhere and it was alive. It was beautiful to see.
Food breakdown: Mogador, Katz’s, Joe’s Pizza, Butter, Russ and Daughter Café, Café Reggio. Also consumed cannoli, sfogliatelle, pignoli cookies from Lucibello's in New Haven, brought to my Ridgefield, Connecticut show by Dean Falcone, chocolate babka from Bread’s Bakery brought to the live podcast taping by Cindy. More cannoli from Artuso’s Pastries brough to the taping by Jason Bailey. All amazing. Truly. My heart is straining under the sugar and fat.
I want out of my body. Yay.
Art Breakdown: Whitney Museum for Jasper Johns Retrospective and The New Museum of Contemporary Art for their 5th Triennial. Amazing.
Comedy.
After all these months of building this current hour and a half of material it was very satisfying to perform it in an amazing venue like Town Hall. The show was solid, tight, funny. It felt good. Mom came up with her sister and all of the important people in my life who are in this area came. It felt great. The show two nights before in Ridgefield, Connecticut at the Ridgefield Playhouse was very different and very amazing in its own way. The truth is when I’m working a set and material as hard as I have been for the last 5 or so months there are a lot of great shows and they are all a little different.
We did a live podcast at the classic Paris Theater with Jason Bailey, the film critic and historian. We hadn’t done one of those in a while and it was fun. It made me remember all the live podcasts and radio shows I had done in my life. Getting in front of an audience in the morning. Easing into a conversation in public. Turning on the charm and juice after just getting up and getting caffeinated. Felt good.
I’m exhausted. I’m going to see some jazz tonight (Sunday) at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center because I need some live jazz in my life. Warren Wolf. Vibes.
Today I talk to George Clooney and Thursday I talk to Kenneth Branagh. Top notch surprising movie star talks. Real good.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron
