News From Barbaria: Chautauqua Institution, The Avett Brothers, And The Squirrel That Toppled My Corpse Plant

Dear Mark

Thanks for your email.

As always, I look forward to seeing you.

Cynthia returned to Chicago yesterday, and it's getting harder for both of us to be apart.

At Janet's invitation, we symbionts travel to Chautauqua Institution on my birthday, and will have the great pleasure of staying with Janet for a week and a day!

Chautauqua's webpage: https://www.chq.org/

Wikipedia's Chautauqua page: https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Chautauqua_ Institution

Chautauqua is magic - the world's premier artistic-and-intellectual "playground" for liberals and progressives.

Waaayyyyy cool place.

VERY mellow vibe.

Great gatherings.

And music to die for.

Last year we saw "The Beach Boys" and "The Temptations" on the same night.

The Beach Boys were fun, but The Temptations were out of this world. (Have you seen the Beach Boys' biopic, "Love and Mercy." I recommend it highly. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_and_mercy

The same week, we saw The Avett Brothers (perhaps the world's most unexpected "Christian" band) -- a performance with energy I haven't felt since the sixties.

Check out this Avett Brothers' cover of Jim Croce's "Operator." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hJwW3f1P-g

And here's a song of their own. (I encourage you to turn on Closed Captions for this song - and the interview below.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkVM4AxzxCE

And here's a clip from Scott Avett's Chautauqua interview whose existential take on God I like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsnYM1HVQ0Q

I have great video from last year's Chautauqua concert, but am having trouble getting it off my old iPhone.

Hopefully I'll be able to recover it.

Warm wishes to Scott.

Love

Alan

PS I think a squirrel toppled my corpse plant. I'd love a replacement corm. Please...

PPS The Avett Brothers' Greatest Hits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qm-WmpZgwg&t=292s

PPS A splendid live concert by The Avett Brothers at The Tennessee Theater, Knoxville

It's all good, but be sure to check out "Head Full Of Doubt / Road Full Of Promise" at 20:36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kStyWzSAJ2M

**************************************************************************

Here is a letter I wrote to friend Laurie Moon in response to a comment she made about the recent passing of friend Fred Owens, who had been part of my life for nearly 60 years.

Dear Laurie

Thanks for your email.

No, I did not receive a photo of your memorial card... or at least I don't remember it as such.

Please send... or re-send!

Here's a full length concert The Avett Brothers gave in Brooklyn less than 6 months ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRu3LiyV8KE

Here is a video capturing a solid Avett Brothers concert in Knoxville. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kStyWzSAJ2M

And here's a time-mark directory to where each song is located on the one hour and 51 minute timeline.

Kamakazi152

I don't see in the comments so here it is 4.5 yrs late. 0:00 - D Bag Rag 2:26 - Down With the Shine 6:45 - Live and Die 11:27 - Paranoia in B-Flat Major 15:28 - Morning Song 20:36 - Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise 26:53 - Floppy Eared Mule (traditional) 29:38 - The Girl I Left Behind Me (traditional) 33:23 - Laundry Room 38:54 - Satan Pulls the Strings 43:10 - Another Is Waiting 46:35 - Famous Flower of Manhattan 51:12 - The Divorce Separation Blues (The Yodeling Song) (live debut) 56:44 - In the Garden (traditional) 1:00:26 - Die Then Grow 1:05:57 - Country Blues (Doc Watson cover) 1:12:34 - Living of Love 1:17:44 - Kick Drum Heart 1:23:34 - Hand-Me-Down Tune 1:30:32 - Pretty Girl From Knoxville 1:33:21 - Vanity 1:36:58 - Murder in the City 1:40:48 - Slight Figure of Speech

Unfortunately, "No Hard Feelings" is not on the setlist.

But here is a live version you may like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LPns-58HS0

And here's a rendition made for a recent Avett Brothers documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaU2HvRhCPw

And here are a few more Avett songs I find beautiful:

"Step Into The Light": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEpxnvNJzCc

"I Go To My Heart": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCNuJLofhE0

"We Americans": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MKm9TB9b6s

The Avett Brothers performing on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts: "The Laundry" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abQRt6p8T7g

"With all due respect to its terrific albums and kinetic, frenetic live shows, if The Avett Brothers could put on a three-song acoustic concert at every workplace in America, the band would be a world-beating colossus. For proof, listen to this performance in the NPR Music offices." (Above)

New Year's Eve Celebration, 2021 - 3 hour, 8 minutes from start to finish. (Inexplicably, there is a 12 minute silent lead-in to his video": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD1DD5jYjwM

Megyn Kelly Interviews The Avett Brothers and comedian Judd Apatow who, oddly, filmed the 2019 Avett Brothers documentary, "May It Last" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqdt8plQsE8

The Avett Brothers Interview - Mountain Jam 2016 - Radio Woodstock 100.1, WDST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBHVEkVfyWk

The Avett Brothers

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avett_Brothers

Pax et amor

Alan