Saturday, January 10, 2009

Last night my sweetheart took me to meet some friends at the Livingston Taylor concert in Annapolis. What a great entertainer! Have you had the pleasure?

Liv is in his late fifties now and looked professorial in his sweater vest and bow tie. He walked right in the front door of the Ram's Head and said hello to us while we were waiting to go to our table. When we sat down, an hour before the show, he was up on the stage, polishing the fingerprints off the black grand piano that has had so many talented hands on it.

When he started the show, he said he was in no rush. He loved this and he wanted it to last as long as possible. The blonde curls of his early career have been slowly replaced with a free-ranging forehead that bares expressive folds which exaggerate his animated face like extra parentheses. He told stories between the songs he performed that were sometimes heartbreaking, like the one about the Civil War soldier, and hilarious, like "I'm not as herbal as I ought to be."

If you get a chance to go, don't miss it.


We had so much fun that we didn't want to go home right away. We strolled a few doors down to 49 West Cafe and had some baklava and a flaming glass of Sambuca with coffee beans. You should always drink with new friends so you get introduced to different drinks. Our friend was an Italian gentleman, originally from the Bronx. He has introduced me to the drink that will be my winter drink special. Yum!

3 comments:

just me said...

I saw him years ago when I was in college in the Boston area. He is great... reminiscent of his more famous brother, but with his own unique personality.

Dtodd said...

I saw him in about '78 or '79 performing outdoors at the 4th of July festival in Blacksburg. Pretty good I think, but truthfully don't remember much.

AM Kingsfield said...

FLAMING SAMBUCA PSA:

Fortunately, I drank my flaming sambuca with an experienced flaming sambuca guide. Just in case you were adding this to your list of new things to try in 2009, please note - You blow out the flame before putting the glass to your face. You will also likely have to wait for the glass to cool down so you don't burn your lips or fingers. The heat gets the coffee beans to release some flavor and intensifies the anise too. Delicious on a cold night, but not so enjoyable without eyebrows.