The Bourgeoisie and the Rebel

[Didn't want too much of the week to go by before I counted my blessings for a musical weekend. Friday, Colleen invited me to go with her and Frankie to see Ellis Paul and Susan Werner at Freight and Salvage, a crunchy coffee joint housed in an old Berkeley warehouse. C. and F. befriended Susan when they all lived on the East Coast, and videotape all the shows they can get to. She runs the gamut from folky guitar pop to cabaret piano (I immediately thought of trying to arrange a booking at our friendly neighborhood cabaret; wait, I'm not an agent) and has a delightful, down-to-earth style. Ellis is much more of traditional, 60's-esque, folky troubadour; apparently, he also has a song on the Shallow Hal soundtrack. Not as much my taste, but not bad.]

[After the show, I grilled Susan (a newly transplanted Chicagoan) a bit on things to do in the Windy City. John and I will be visiting Chelsea and Marie-Rose, and Pete and his new beau, there after Thanksgiving (brrrrr, but the airfare was cheap). She was sweet but a bit vague. Sounds like she tours so much that she hasn't been able to make the place home yet.]

[Sunday, Violet, Garret, John and I finally saw Paula West at the Friendly Neighborhood Cabaret. We were definitely in Old Standards territory; it was all I could do not to leap up on stage and join her in "It's Delovely." (What do you mean, just because I sang it in my 1987 high school play, I'm not qualified to entertain a crowd of persnickety, Cosmo-fueled sweater queens in 2001?!) I could see Violet squirming in her seat with the same impulse during "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." She (Paula, not Violet) hits the Algonquin in NYC next; catch her if you're there.]

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