My Obsession with Live Music, Local Bands, and Great Songs

When I first visited Poetry Lounge in Millvale, Pittsburgh, PA shortly after it opened last year (Oct. 2023), I had no idea it would become an obsession. It helps that my husband became their sound man, and I involuntarily became his "apprentice." What do they say about proximity?

And so, this journey began. I had already traveled some roads into music, but this one was new, in that it put me behind the stage rather than on it, or in front of it. I quickly developed an appreciation for all the gear that musicians bring to a gig, because I was helping to set it all up. I marveled at the array of effects pedals that guitarists use, and the way that drummers set up their kit. It's a delicate dance on the stage at Poetry Lounge. It's just big enough for a 4-piece - guitar, bass, drums, and vocalist, but my husband, Stefan, who is a Wizard, makes it work with even larger groups. He dialed that place in with his talent and special skill set. He can tune it for any band or artist that performs there, regardless of genre, or what instruments they bring. The bands LOVE him, and the audience often praises the quality of the sound. How often do you hear that about a music venue in a bar? It was my privilege to be able to peek behind that curtain. What I witnessed, night after night, was magic.

It should not surprise you that I fell in love with this place. I followed the schedule and did my homework for every show, searching for the bands online and listening to their music so I would know what to expect. Thus, I started creating a playlist on Spotify, to keep track of all the artists that I had seen or would see. I discovered many, many unexpected gems in this way, and across ALL genres. That was part of the charm - Poetry Lounge books such a wide variety of artists - acoustic, electronic, punk, rock, metal, jazz, R&B, rap, folk, country - you name it. 

After a year's worth of shows and literally 100s of bands, this playlist is now MASSIVE. It occurred to me that I should share it with the world, or that I should have been sharing it all along in increments, which is what I have planned for next year. In the meantime, enjoy this exhaustive retrospective of "Songs from Bands Who Have Graced the Stage at Poetry Lounge in 2024 (and a few from 2023)."

Songs from Bands Who Have Graced the Stage at Poetry Lounge in 2024 (and a few from 2023)

Here's the entire massive playlist for the whole year, where I am only including one song from each band, but you can check out the monthly episodes below, which include more songs from each band for a more in-depth listen. 

Not all the bands are on Spotify, so I could not include absolutely everyone, but most of them are. I also had trouble disambiguating the names of some bands/artists that are very common. For example, there are at least a dozen bands named “Razorblade." I also can’t promise that I didn’t find the wrong band on Spotify, or didn’t misspell name. I’m including the complete list of bands/artists for each month, but please note the following:

*Indicates artists that performed that month, but I didn’t find them on Spotify.

**Band/artist names that I could not disambiguate on Spotify (too many artists with same name).

I am still compiling each playlist as I write this, so check back later for more active links. I should have all 12 episodes up by end of 2024. 

Episode 1 - January 2024 (and some from 2023) - "We're Just Getting Started"

2023: The Gothees, *Outer Limits, Mother of Earl, The Conspiracy Theory, Choice Words, *Bobby Hawkins w/ Memphis Mike & RJ Buck ‘Swingin’ Johnson, *The Reckoning (REM tribute), *David Green MusicScene, Pete Bush & Hoi Polloi, *Favorite Band, *Weird Mothers

January 2024: Howling Mob, Amoeba Knievel, Melt, Millvin & The Etnoids, *Dogs of March, *The Dwellingtons, The Tells, Morgan Erina, Sam Winterberger, Akrasia, *ATS

Episode 2 - February - "Freebruary"

Dream the Heavy, Paging Doctor Moon, Dayshift, **Razorblade, Constant Hell, Vicious Blade, Bolt Action, Bikini Islands, *Zurich Cloud Motors, Matt Calvetti Trio, The New Mingle, *Ouve, Thirteen Bends, Katie Simone, The Cheats, Latecomer, *Daryl Leroi Fleming, w/ Benny Benack II, Chris McGraw, Eli Weidman, Murder for Girls, Working Breed, Jessica Bella Band, Royal Honey, Johnny & the Razorblades, The Creedmoors, Airbrake.

Episode 3 - March - "In Like a Lion"

C. Scott, Glass Caps, Bikini Islands, Chameleon Treat, Middling (OH), Pickpocket (Columbus, OH), Kicked in the Head by a Horse, I Love You, I Love You (WV), *Z-Town Street Band, *Nino Albanese Trio, *The Markers, Casey Catone, Nick Guckert, Day Job (Birmingham, AL), Pyrithe, FOAMER, The Yeggs, Beach Boise, ID, Black Rose Burning (NY), Dichro, Those Legendary Hucklebucks, Whiskey Daredevils, Devilish Merry, Right On Warriors, Hollyhood, *Dogs of March, Brainwash Victim (Rochester, NY), Bolt Action (OH), *Grin Hound, *Gut Gash, Tear Dungeon (Austin, TX), *Disease of the Mind, *Grybus, The Montvales, Rocket Loves Blue, Noa Jordan, *ATS.

Episode 4 - April - "The Cruelest Month"

OrangeG, *Clever Medicine, Ziggy D, The Redlines, *Neverweres , *The Pumpfakes, Royal Honey, Social Destruction (Social D tribute, VT), Bikini Islands, *Martyna & The Sinners, Casey Catone, Big Time (Seattle, WA), The Burnrides, Right On Warriors, Riddle M, King Blue Heron, The Darling Suns, 1000z of Beez, Mark Dignam, Bingo Quixote, Keroscenery, Stone Cold Killer, The Regal Sweet, The Pooks, *The Skalarks Reggae, Benefits, Dumplings, *Kerosene Scream, *Cul de Sac Kids (Blisters of The World), *Robin Vote, The Yeggs, Crossed (Madrid, Spain), Vibora (Basque Country), Morning Dew, Leonardo Decapitated, The Bandit Queen of Sorrows, Noble Hobo, Alyssa Hankey. 

Episode 5 - May - "Enjoy Thy Youth"

Rattle bones, Akrasia, *Turmada Brewsha, *Nutmeg Party, Phat Man Dee, Nuvolascura (Los Angeles, CA), Kaiba, *Bala and the Uprising, Mirakler, Casey Catone, Nick Guckert, Ongface (Columbus, OH), County Conservation District, Paul Tabachneck, Fermented Beats, Tired Radio, Find Ethel, *Aiden, OrangeG, Adrian Adioetomo, Wired Tae The Moon, *citywitch, *Cactustache, Fuzznaut, Lhagic, Ron Car, King Mar, FRH Golden, *Atheenie, Krypto.Divine, Paris Stephan, J the Anomaly, Sunshine Spazz, Malicious Destruction of Property, Cemetery Girl (MI), *Bomb Threat, Dumplings, *Dead Battery, *The Scott Fry Experience, *ATS, Howling Mob.

Episode 6 - June - "Hello Summer!"

Sarah Halter, Neostem, *Merrick Strain, Buck Gooter, Hemlock for Socrates, Ships in the Night, Rising Seas, Misdeeds, Heinous Bienfang, *Two Wolf Moon, Scott Vensel, Crombie, *Daryl Leroi Fleming, Crombie, Nightmarathons, Distants, Glass Caps, Histrionic, dogmeat, Maria Keck, *Adelaide Step, *Julianna Warner, The Cheats, Rabbit Dog, *Special When Lit, The Coattails, **The High Tide, Aryana Kapree, Abstract Theory, *The Harry von Zells, Skeletonized, Benefits.

Episode 7 - July - "Freedom"

Menstrual Tramps, *Cultivator, Chuckleheads, *Eleven Trees, The Boss Stingrays, *Band of Others, Jeff in Leather, Joyfriend, Lilac/Web, Soup Dreams, Westinghouse Atom Smasher, Lem, Horace Whisper & the Empty Hand, Stephen Babcock, Noa Jordan, Paging Doctor Moon, Garage League, Subarctic Beach Party, Airbrake, Creedmoors, Brainwash Victim, Casino Six, Fidello, *Dominick Tony, Bottle Rat, Deth Cat is Her Name, The Pooks, Lylyth, Killing Pixies, *Grin Hound, *Worse!, Psych Ward Grips, *The L Words, Boris and the Joy, J. Trafford, Nowhere Wolves, *John Henry Watt, Megha Pai, Tony from Bowling, Astrology Now, Dog Lips (NH), **Blue Hour, Adam J Snyder, Mirabelle Skipworth, The Brink of, Tucker Muetzel, **The Ruckus, Slam Peace, The Pinkerton Raid, *Nutmeg Party, *Rec Center, Battery Acid Boyz.

Episode 8 - August - "Cruel Summer"

*Slam Peace, *Dunce, The Redlines, Laura Hickli (Canada), Mellowscape, Beach Boise, ID, *Nino Albanese Trio, *The Markers, Bloody Run, Nervous Aggression, Lord Humongous, Septic Idols, Stephen Clair, On Hiatus, *LAMP - Lame Ass Mother Phuckers (DeMoines, IA), Bikini Islands, The Book Club, A Day Without Love, Second Hands, Frog Legs, *Amy Mmhmm, Twin Lakes (MN), Scare Tape, Constant Hell, Sewn Tight, Jumprope (Houston, TX), Jennica Tamler, **Phase Shifter Shifter, The Cynz, Rattle Bones, Creedmoors, Dad Bod (SLC, UT), Orua (Brazil), Dead, Dead Swans, *Robin McDumphy, *David Montez, *Julianna Warner, Jessica Vines, Heavy Peasant, *Gray Matter, Microwaves, *Sarlaac, *Re-52s, *The Reckoning, Nervous surface, Tilt Controls, Frantic Orange, Shay Park, Disco Behemoth, Rated Eye, *Grybus, Theresa Musatto, Optimistic Apocalypse, *The Turpentiners, Dereos Roads, Your Siiick, Water Fountain Coins, Shel the Philosopher.

Episode 9 - September - "Back To School"

**Through these Eyes, Closing in, Cursed Form, Gods Computer, VoidDweller, *Blaised & Confused, *Smac!, Casey Catone, *Martyna & The Sinners, Rose Cora Perry & The Truth Untold, Carini, Better Think Twice, **The Rumble, Casino Six, Sandman Sleeps, Jacques Dumont & Friends, Chrome Moses, The Conspiracy Theory, Time Brothers, John Roseboro, Frances Chang, Wired Tae the Moon, *Cactustache, Haishen, Stereo Scandal, Airbrake, Pornos Pornos Pornos, *Scott Quay, Greg Hoy, Beach Boise, ID, Marble Teeth, Plasmata, Melter, 2 Forks.

Episode 10 - October - "Spooky Season"

Zookraught, Sacred Monsters, Murder for Girls, Lez Paul, *Dress Code, Howling Mob, Indigo Rae, Laurel Lowlifes, Craig Veltri, Latecomer, Norcos Y Horchata, The Pooks, Cab Ellis, Deluxe Taxi, Casino Six, Davy Jones’ Locker, Audrey Heartburn, Griffen Handshake, Pucker Up!, Chub Clampion, Jake McKelvie & His New Old Band, Dave Shepherd, Alan Getto, *Turmada Brewsha, Pink Peugeot (GA), *Nutmeg Party, Nino Albanese, *ITZ MARLY, DRE DIOR, KI LYRICS, JORDAN KINZ, THEREAL250, *SPLASH, *M-DOT DAGREAT, *ACE MONEY, SALEENA RANAY, **SHAMAR, BARBADOS BLACK, CHARDONNAY, CARILLO NICE, *HARLAN TOBE, NO NI, *ROH ROHI, **LIL SIS GG, LANDO ASH, SHEL THE PHILOSOPHER, *Shannon Paton, Tai Chirovsky, Lounna, Reliable Child, Krystal Evette, **Opals, Tigo Woodstock, *The Dwellingtons, Rebel Revolver, Mellowscape, Amoeba Knievel, Hardac, *The Centigram, Weird Paul Rock Band, *El Grosso, Airbrake, Dumplings

Episode 11 - November - "Remember, Remember"

Tempered, Hard Hat, Jessica Bella Band, *Sun Years (Richmond, VA), *Hysteric Coils, *Sundras, ConFyah, Abuse Repression, **Hiss, Wake of The Blade, *Wheretheforsynthiablooms, The Bakers Basement, Dumplings, Smug Brothers, Anti-Corn League, Lez Paul, Ziggy D, C-Level, All My Friends Are Cats, Feyleux, 2020K, *Doors in the Labrynth, Mel Bryant & The Mercymakers, Jack the Underdog, Cokeworks, Z-Nemo & The Big Slime, Magick Potion, Forrester Grey, Stephen Babcock, Noa Jordan, The Redlines, Creedmoors, God’s Green Apples, The Cheats, *The Shutouts, Travis Heeter, *BDB Trio, Theresa Musatto, Shadow Plea, Manners Manners, Airbrake, *Thunder Thighs, Caleb Pogyor, *Jack Ferrera, Brian Weaver, **Uncle Al, King Fez, *ATS, Meeka in Jail.

Episode 12 - December - "A Strong Finish"

Will Orchard, Jess Kerber, Vireo, Not Worth Asking, Woodrow Vine, Judge Russo, I4A, Olathia, *Iron Brigade, Storms Within (Erie, PA), Miwi La Lupa, James Hatem, Orange G, Morgan Erina, Old Tom & The Lookouts, *Daryl Leroi Fleming & Friends, Horror Movies in the Morning, **Mr. Red, Seeking Therapy, *Guns of Brixton (Clash tribute), *Sick Bed of Cuchulainn (Pogues tribute), *Nutmeg Party, Fidello, *MKUltruists, *Battery Acid Boyz, *Corduroy, The Brilliant Minds, See Night, Nellie Bly, **Eye Candy, Subarctic Beach Party, Wolferd, *Moonshine Jasmine

The Musical and Comedic Genius of Bo Burnham

I want to write comedy and do more standup. I really do. Earlier this year, I was inspired by the open mic nights at Poetry Lounge, and gave it a try a few times. I even read some books about it, reached out to a professional standup coach, etc. Oh yeah, a lot of aspiring comedians have a coach. I don't think many people take this journey alone. You must have someone to bounce ideas off of because you can't know what hits until you try it.

It also takes an incredible amount of time and energy. You have no idea. All the famous comedians that you see on TV, on their Netflix or HBO specials - where they make it look totally improvised and seemless - every minute of that content took perhaps hours or weeks to craft from raw material that was collected over months or years based on lived experience, observation, or imagined situations, and had to be transcribed, analyzed, reworked, tested, workshopped, practiced and rehearsed...and it doesn't all work, so it's revised and polished again and again and again.

So, I watch a lot of standup comedy and quasi-standup comedy, like Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix, 2021) special, which he filmed over the course of a year, all within one room, and it combines music, monologues and other weird shit. 

Sometimes, I think I can do this, too. I want to do this. I have a lot of raw material I could draw from. I'm willing to bare my soul at the risk of flopping. I have no shame, but I want to be funny. I want to make painful stories from my life funny, so that people can laugh at them with me.

Ask Mirvana

My lost Lenape heritage

I want to tell this story in the most honest and genuine way possible, so please don't @ me. My intention is not to take focus away from indigenous voices, but to try and amplify them. Please check out the links at the end of this article, and support native American culture. 

As I was growing up in Western Pennsylvania, my family used to tell me that my great-grandmother, Anna Laura, was "Indian," and that we are descended from the Delaware people. Everyone said that Anna looked "Indian" and my grandfather looked it, too. I thought that was cool, but that's all the detail I ever heard about it. As a child, I didn't know what it meant. Of course, I acknowledge my privilege. I don't look "Indian." I did not grow up on a reservation. I did not learn the culture, etc. 

Then, I did the DNA thing. Sure enough, the marker showed up - 1% Indigenous North America, which means that I have a 4th or 5th great-grandparent who was native, but that's hardly a reason to boast, is it? I mean, I can't definitively say what my tribe or lineage is. Still, I am curious. I want to know more. 

Many years ago, my mother and I visited my Great-Aunt Sarah - daughter of said great-grandmother, and keeper of the family lore. She said that our native American ancestor was Jane Bond - my 4th great grandmother, and I thought she said "Lakota," but she either misspoke or I misheard, because that seems very unlikely. Lenape was the word I was looking for, because that is much more likely the case. The Lenape were also called the Delawares - Bingo. I'm on the right trail now.

This photo is Jane Bond (1798-1864). My Aunt Sarah had a copy of this photo in a family album. 

So, who was Jane Bond? Was she Lenape? I can trace my family tree on Ancestry.com directly up to Jane Bond, and she is my 4th great-grandmother, but I haven't found any official records that indicate her indigenous status. All I have is my family's oral tradition, and 1% DNA to show for it. I know that's not a lot to go on. Let the googling begin!

Fun with Ancestry.com

"Facts" that I gathered from my research on Ancestry.com (I don't trust everything on there 100 percent, because some info is contributed by people without any backing records):

From the New York Evening Post, August 9, 1820

I found one record for Jane's father, an obituary for Joshua B. Bond, died 1820 in Sloane Springs, NJ, age 50. When I google Sloane Springs NJ, I find no such place exists now, but there are several places and businesses in NJ with "Sloane" in the name. I can't be sure that this particular Joshua Bond is the father of Jane, but if he is, he went back to NJ at some point and died there. Perhaps he was buried in his native homeland?

I found another clue that was shared in an Ancestry Member story, from another descendent of Jane Bond, and it says that:

"Jane was born ca.1798/99 in New York, the daughter of Joshua and Jane (maiden surname unknown) Bond. "Joshua Bond brought his family [to what became Preston County] in 1814 . . . [his wife] Jane was a wonderful mother, and teacher as well (since there were no schools), and instilled in them [her children] the traits of honest hard work and becoming good citizens."(1)

Some colonists were known to take Lenape brides. I think that might have been the case with Joshua Bond and his wife, Jane, because of how she is described in the Libscomb family history cited above. 

The Lenape homeland

The Lenape originally occupied the Eastern parts of what is now PA, NY, NJ, and Delaware. They lived in this region for thousands of years until they were pushed out by colonization(2). Fun fact: They were the first indigenous tribe to meet the Europeans in the early 17th century. 

Original Lenape homeland

After that, it gets complicated. According to Curtis Zunigha, an enrolled member and cultural director of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, the displacement of the Lenape “is a history of deprivations, of swindles, of murders, of dishonorable behavior by the Dutch, by the British, and later by the Americans."(3)

So, I looked at this map for a while, and you see that orange dotted line that curves right-to-left underneath the PA/Maryland border? It runs right past Preston County, WV. 

A map at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia showing the forced migration of members of the Lenape Nation.

If Joshua was born around 1770 in New York, and then moved to Preston County WV in 1814, that loosely fits with the Lenape pattern of migration. Put a pin in that. The path continues on into Ohio, where the story gets even more interesting (and tragic). 

Cue, the arrival of the Moravians

“The Moravians treated the Native Americans as equals,” Johnson said. “They did not attempt to exploit them and for those who wanted to become Christians, the Moravians were there to help.”

Many Delawares converted to Christianity thanks to the teachings of the Moravians. 

According to Johnson, the Moravians taught the Delaware skills to succeed as Christians, but this forced the Delaware to abandon many of their traditions. In return, the Delaware showed the Moravians how to live off the land. A major part of the Delwares’ responsibilities was farming, taking care of livestock, hunting, and getting food."(4)

However, it doesn't end well for the Lenape. Long story short, the Moravians failed to protect the Lenape from greedy settlers. In 1782, a group of militiamen murdered 96 pacifist Moravian Christian Indians (primarily Lenape and Mohican) at the Moravian mission village where they lived in Ohio, in what was called the Gnadenhutton massacre. 

This happened before Jane was born, and luckily, my ancestors didn't make it that far, instead stopping to settle in WV, but I just had to include the story here. 

In 1824, Jane married Fielding Lipscomb, and they lived in the German settlement in Preston County, which is now known as Aurora. From then on, the family tree is well documented. There are many records, and the Libscomb family cemetery is an historical landmark. Still, no literal mention anywhere of Jane's tribal origins. What I've gathered is that if there is any Lenape or native American heritage to speak of, it would have been passed down by word of mouth and, in my case, it was passed down through my maternal line. There are several reasons why I was not going to find any official records or documentation.

Lenape invisibility

American Indians on the East Coast have seemingly disappeared into history, erased from memory. Indigenous status was not recorded in census data. There are no Lenape reservations on their original homeland, but many Lenape stayed in the area, hiding their identity. Lenape who avoided removal from their land had to integrate with the locals, and remain undetected. 

This article talks about Lenape invisibility in Pennsylvania:

"For decades, people with native background took pains to conceal their identities. As one woman of Lenape descent told us, ‘To be truthful, you only know what you hear from your parents or your relatives or the other people about your family. In those days, it was not cool to be Indian. Matter of fact, it was dangerous to be Indian. You lost your job if you were Indian. You couldn’t go to school, many times, if you were Indian. You certainly couldn’t practice your religion because it was disallowed. So the only way you got a feeling of who you were was by listening to the old ones talk, your family talk’. People told us about grandparents or great grandparents being taken away from their families to the Carlisle Indian School when they were identified as Indians. Twentieth century entertainments stereotyped Indians as blood-thirsty savages. A woman in her 60s told us, ‘I didn’t tell nobody I was an Indian even when I was that young. I never went out and said “Yeah, I’m an Indian” at school’. I never said that. I knew who I was and I left it at that. And when I would see these things on TV, I’d say, ‘Oh my God, I’m glad I didn’t say that because they’re really mean people, these Indians. Nasty and hurtful’."(5)

I found another passage from this article, which also resonated:

"The natives’ reasons to leave were real. In the 1780s, Pennsylvania was still paying a bounty for “pursuing, taking, killing, and destroying Delawares and Shawnees”—and that included babies, according to the Pennsylvania Gazette. In fact, white settlers had to produce scalps or skins to collect their pay.

A century later many Lenape children were forcibly taken from their families and sent to Indian boarding schools designed to assimilate them into the mainstream culture.

But many remained here in hiding, fearful of discovery. Even now, the tribal memory of that is still capable of producing anxiety in some Lenapes and they tend to maintain their silence. Mistrust of the government still persists. It’s almost palpable among descendants. Some were the children of German settlers who had come to this country without families and married Lenape women or at least fathered their children and taken responsibility for them.

Several years ago I talked to a Lehigh Valley woman who told me both her grandmothers were Lenape descendants who had married into Pennsylvania Dutch families. “Even into the 1950s they were fearful they would be discovered,” she told me.

“The Lenape were a matriarchal society. They turned to the women of the tribe to carry on their legends and traditions, passed from generation to generation by clan mothers. The Lenape women were the educators. They made sure the children understood the culture and followed the traditions. They were a gentle and peaceful people,” she said."(6)

This all makes sense to me now. My family is also Pennsylvania Dutch. So many of the dates and places and other details like this really add up. Jane Bond lived at a time and place that lines up with historical and circumstantial evidence. I think she was Lenape.

Conclusion

Even though I might never find definitive proof of my tribal origins, at least I have a better idea of where they might have come from. Perhaps Jane's mother was Lenape, and maybe she married a Moravian convert? They followed an established migration path to their homestead along the Cheat River. The secret was kept in the family for generations to avoid discrimination, and dodge the infamous boarding schools, and it was quietly passed down to my Great-Grandmother Anna Laura, and then to my Great-Aunt Sarah, and then to me. 

Another fun fact:

"The Delaware (Lenape) Indian name for Cheat was reportedly Ach-sin-ha-nac, meaning "stony river". "Cheat River" is variously reported to have been named for (1) a French explorer (or an Indian) named Cheat or Chaet, (2) an abundance of cheat grass along its banks (possibly a misidentification of frost-killed wheat), or (3) deceptively deep sections containing whirlpools that presumably "cheated" men of their lives by drowning them.[6] None of these theories have strong documentary support, but the latter is the most often cited." -Wikipedia

The Lipscomb family would later become famous during the Civil War because one brother fought for the Union Army, while another brother fought for the South, but that's another story.

BIG SHOUT OUT to Widoktadwen Center for Native Knowledge!!!

References:

1. From Chapter 7 - Descendants of Ambrose Lipscomb (1762-1841) A Candid Family History:  Fielding Lipscomb: A Tale of Two Marriages, of the unpublished book written by Jeffrey Lipscomb who is a descendant of Ambrose’s son, Levi Lipscomb (1798-1878).

2. The Original People and Their Land: The Lenape, Pre-History to the 18th Century

3. ‘We just want to be welcomed back’: The Lenape seek a return home

4. Reconciling History: The Moravians’ History with the Lenape

5. The museum of Indian culture and Lenape identity

6. By the Way: Celebrating the Lenape

Magifest 2023 - Columbus, OH

I attended Magifest this year. It was a fun-packed couple of days and I had a fantastic time. 

Before the show even started, we met one of the performers, Peter Turner, in the convention space, just hanging out with fans and doing mentalism tricks. When I approached the crowd gathered around his table, he immediately asked me if I would like to help him do a trick. IT WAS AWESOME. We attended his performance and lecture later that evening and that, too, was awesome. 

Peter Turner, center

The first lecture we actually attended was about Ionia - a famous female magician in the early 19th century. She only performed magic for a few years, but her act was said to be spectacular, and the beautiful promotional posters that survived from that time are highly valuable collectibles. 

Ionia - Inspiration

Charles Green

Aside from that, she lived a long and interesting life, married a Russian prince, and eventually returned to France where she died in 1973. This was one of my favorite talks. The presenter, Charles Green, researched, wrote, and published a gorgeous book about her life.

Book cover

 
 We saw another great presentation by Margalit Fox, the author of The Confidence Men, a true story about two men who used mentalism to escape from a POW camp. 

As luck would have, we ran into another magician/performer that we've been following on Youtube for some time - Chris Ramsay. 

Chris Ramsay, on right

One of the biggest highlights of the whole weekend was meeting Lance Burton, who gave an interview about his life and career, and generously signed posters for 1000 fans at this convention. 

Lance Burton

So, I spent way WAY too much in the dealer room. I picked up a beautifully bound hard copy of the catalog for an auction of items from Ricky Jay's collection that will happen in February 2023. He had a lot of weird bizarre interesting things in his collection. 

Now I have a couple/few beautiful magic-related coffee-table books to display around my home. 

We saw many other amazing performances by other magicians including six different winners of FISM, and Paul Gertner, who appeared on Penn & Teller's Fool Us FIVE times. Interestingly enough, Paul Gertner was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and his father was a steel worker. 

That's all I will say for now. A magician never reveals her secrets. 

Heirlooms and Ancestry

I know it's been a while since my last post. I have lots of catching up to do. You would think that during a lockdown/quarantine - pandemic that I would find the time to blog, but alas...

Anyhow, I just made an ancestry connection with an heirloom in my possession, and I got a little excited about that. 

In the photo above, the woman seated on the right is my great great grandmother, Belle Owens, nee Kettering (1863-1946). She was my father's father's mother's mother. Notice how the photo is sitting on a lovely embroidered table cover. 

About 20 years ago, my paternal grandmother sent me a box containing this table cover and several other handmade linens, along with a letter describing where they came from - who made what, etc. There are pieces made by my grandmother, and great grandmother, too. I went through that box again today, reread the letter, and discovered that it was Belle who made the brightly colored table topper that you see here, and I finally made the connection with the photo. 

At the time, I did not know who she was. I obtained the photo several years later from my Great Aunt Vivian, who had a box of old photos of people in my paternal grandfather's line. Now I can put a face to the handiwork. I do not know when it was made, but I assume it must have been sometime before my grandparents were married, and then it was gifted to them, or handed down, upon their wedding c. 1943. 

I've had it on that small round table for years now, and for its age, it still looks beautifully and vibrant. I just can't keep a piece like that in a box.

A music post

Photos and videos from some great shows that I have attended in the last year or so:

Galactic, with High & Mighty Brass Band, at The Rex

Chicano Batman, at The Rex

Gary Numan, at Mr. Smalls

Flaming Lips at Stage AE

Pixies and Weezer (at Keybank Pavilion)

Punk in Drublic (with NoFX and Bad Religion)

The Chainsmokers at MGM in Las Vegas

Fates Warning at The Rex

Dinosaur Jr. at Mr. Smalls