A Woman's Heart.

Currently in Earphones: "Children of Dune" Soundtrack by Brian Tyler.

So yeah, went with Anja to see "A Woman's Heart" at Mondavi last night, was pretty impressed. I'm glad that she and I share the same opinions, though.

First, the first half I found much better than the second, maybe because I'm more of a traditionalist and like the modal and instrumental pieces. It got off to a great start with the amazing Cara Dillion, who had an amazingly sweet and melodious voice. That she started off with her own rendition of "Black is the Color" made my day; it's one of my absolute favorite songs. After a few more nice vocal pieces, Sharon Shannon came down on Accordion and played some wicked reels and jigs of her own making. I really liked how she combined the quick beat and traditional lines with some more classical phrases in her compositions, but needless to say she had everyone bouncing in their seats.

The second half was ok. First off there was Maura O'Connell, this fantastically quirky woman with a lusty alto. She had this huge shock of (looked to be brunette from my vantage point) hair and goofily frumpy clothing, but boy was she having fun! She'd dance around and romance the microphone like a gutsy blues singer. And did she ever have an amazing lung capacity! She held on to notes for what seemed like forever. I liked her soulful repertoire, particularly her "Love you in the Middle," which still touched me even though it's a middle-aged love ballad. Finally there was Mary Black, who although was the more well-known of them all, wasn't particularly impressive. Sure, she had a nice voice, but it was hard to understand her. As Anja so adroitly pointed out, she didn't enunciate and sometimes seemed to be singing around her brouge. Although they all finished out with a few numbers which featured all of them, what was the crowd favorite was the first encore number: Sharon Shannon came out with her squeezebox and sparked the place off with some great fast-moving (Jigs? Reels?). The final pieces afterward seemed underwhelming after such a high-energy finish, but all in all, I liked it all.

The concert last night rekindled Anja's desire for the green land, and I support her whole-heartedly in her desire to spend either a summer or a year there. All I know is that, if she wishes to choose the course that will make her happy, I shouldn't have to play a role. If she really wants to spend a year there, I can't be the one factor holding her back. Goodness knows she's putting herself through enough that she can even go to Ireland. If she does choose for the full year, then I only say this to her: If you find someone else, no doubt better than I, I only ask that you not forget me. Love is not a shackle, and as I love you so should I not greedily bind you to me. You must do what makes you happy, the last thing you need are the desires of a foolish man holding you back from better things.

Enough. More Later.
- James