Witchy Feminist Rockstars in Magical Realism

I don’t know if I’m coming back to life again yet, but there’s movement.

Last weekend my friend T was in town from London so we took her out on the boat. We bought all this brunch stuff but she was on a super restricted diet due to a bug she picked up in Spain so we anchored down fairly close to the marina, near a big scenic bridge and a far-away view of the city skyline, and ate random things that she could eat like yellow cheeses (not white), carrots, and champagne. We did a little swim around a local lighthouse which was really neat and fun. It was pretty cold on the boat so I thought the water would be cold already but it was really nice. One of those days where you are a little too hot in the sun, a little too cold in the shade. It’s definitely autumn now.

Then this week we worked a lot, then Friday we went to see Florence Welch at the New Yorker Festival. It was in a really small venue and we had a lot of fun. She was very charming but looked thin and drawn and didn’t seem like she was having as much fun as every other time I’ve seen her in concert, including at least once since she’s been sober. For someone over 6 feet tall and commanding festivals for 10 years, she doesn’t take up much space anymore. Hope she’s okay. She closed the session by beckoning everyone to come towards her and dance in the aisles. It was nice and fun but definitely not her typical bacchanal of a show. So many people had their cell phones out which made it less enjoyable. I do love some good harp music too.

After the show we walked by Central Park, into the Lincoln Center plaza, watched the lights and the fountain around midnight since it was such a gorgeous night, then went down into the subway. The Columbus Circle subway is really interesting now, with lots of cunning little shops and even a wacky little underground bar called Merchant’s Gate. I had a (terrible) glass of malbec, A had a beer, and we called it a night. I liked the place but would drink something different next time.

The next day we got some necessary weekend stuff done, ate chinese food, then went out to see Madonna on the last night of her BAM residency. It was an experience. We knew enough to leave bags/cell phones behind, except mine since the tickets were on it. Even that was high tech - you could not print it out or even do a screenshot since the barcode was shuffling back and forth. Then our one cell phone we put into a special neoprene bag that could only be unlocked by venue employees on your way our or in certain designated places. I welcomed it. No phones in my face. Taylor Swift was there with the hot guy from the new Queer Eye who destroyed my favorite local restaurant.

The show itself was kind of amazing. I was pleasantly surprised by how good our seats were. Some parts repeated from her NYC Pride show, some totally new stuff. She’s just fearless. I know she’s a tiny person but she just commands the entire room, even when the room is a stadium. Even on a stage with everyone wearing blonde wigs and trench coats your eye goes right to her. Costumes/sets weren’t too elaborate but really interesting and creative. I had read about her performing “Frozen” with a video of her daughter Lourdes doing yoga but was completely surprised/floored by it. I literally thought it was a video of Madonna herself at the same age, those black and white photos that got leaked to Playboy when she was dancing at UMich and posing for art students. It was uncanny and beautiful. Everything was great. I’ve loved Madonna since I was 5 years old and in 35 years my admiration has only grown. I will channel her the next time I need to be brave.

The show ended around 1:30am and we headed out into the Brooklyn night. Closed out 2 bars and got locked in at a third when there was some criminal activity happening on the street. (!) Once we were released we jumped in a cab back to Manhattan and headed for our favorite 24 hour cuban diner. This place can be annoying on a weekend night, so we queued for a bit and then randomly decided to share a table with two 24 year olds we met there to skip the line. This seemed like a great idea at the time. It was fun but random, but at the end of the night I really just want to be with A, no matter how adorable the company is. We ate arepas, I think I had a quesadilla maybe too? We were out until 5 or 6am but the sun wasn’t up yet so I’ll call it a win.

Sunday we didn’t do much but my friend who is dying texted to say she and her partner were in town for a show at MSG and could we meet for dinner. I was relieved we were around and had no plans. We met at Legasea, a solid place convenient to MSG and the Penn Station. It’s cute. I had tuna tartare as a starter (a nice one with avocado and very fresh fish) and a kale salad with grilled chicken. She has the branzino, her partner the scallops, and A had fish and chips which are actually quite nice there. We had wine and beer and did not talk about anything serious and then they headed out to the concert, and I went straight to bed.

Yesterday was a work day, plowed through stuff until 5pm then got ready to go to the Vessel with a friend from out of town. (The Vessel is kind of like a futuristic public art installation, made up of like 7 or 8 flights of stairs in the Hudson Yards plaza.) It’s controversial but I’d enjoyed seeing it from the water every time I swam by. When you are slightly south of it in the Hudson River the statue lines up perfectly between the two biggest buildings and the Empire State Building centered in the background.) I’m not sure friend is the right word? This was the sweet girl who read about me somewhere from her university in Japan and nominated me to be a speaker for their TedX programme. Life changing for me at least. She is studying abroad at William & Mary in Virginia and came to NYC for the weekend so I wanted to take her out. It was a lot of fun, we walked the Vessel, up and down until the sun set, then walked a bit more, stopped in at Gallow Green and had some dinner outdoors
on a still beautiful comfortable autumn night. Then we walked her home, had another drink, and went to sleep. I hope she had a nice time.

Last updated October 17, 2019