wed 15 jul 2009 13:53:08 — witte de withstraat
walked home from casablanca
yesterday i went with jk and n fly to molly malone's on the oudezijds kolk, and i ate the meatballs and a big salad. then we walked a short distance up the zeedijk to casablanca, just in time to catch the beginning of saskia laroo's show. every time i see her band it seems to have changed members a bit. i couldn't catch the names. the guitarist and bass player were excellent in improv. the drummer was pretty amazing to watch, a young skinny guy, always with an unfathomable look on his face, his mouth open and small eyes surprised at something he was thinking about. sometimes his playing sounded like splashing water and thunder. sometimes he held the snare stick backwards so he could tap with the fat end. sometimes he would tap his ride cymbal with the hook on the back of his brush. once in a great while he looked genuinely pleased.
saskia laroo, when she plays trumpet, has this kind of lovable slordigheid, i wanna call it, a sound of tall aspirations mashed with a quasi-religious "yeah whatever" feeling. like don't worry too much. that's how i hear it anyway, and i always feel good when she's playing. she's one of those people i wish were my mom. like here, take this, mom says, it will make you feel better. maybe she's giving you morphine, but it's the thought that counts.
i needed some exercise, so i decided to walk home from casablanca. i thought it would be devastating, but it wasn't bad at all, i think it took about an hour. as i was walking i somehow felt blessed, as if i had recently chosen to do the right thing, even if it seemed a bit harsh, and the universe was with me. walk-lights kept turning green for me as i approached them, i always take that as a mark of approval. crossing past the sterk shop i had this notion: i've just been to the funeral of my humility. then it rained on me for the last 15 minutes of my walk. so i guess i got baptized as well.