A Case of Us

 

It’s a special day, as Damian and I met (in person) 11 years ago this evening, on a rare night I had off from work. Although we both generally shied away from anything beyond “coffee” or “a drink” for first-time internet dates, we’d actually been chatting online long enough -- including a later-discovered spate dating back to 2002 via Gaydar(!) -- that I made the executive decision to invite him for dinner in Chelsea, to which he agreed. The meal (and pitcher of sangria) at Coppelia, followed by drinks at the lounge at Le Zie, flew by -- and we’ve been lovers and best friends ever since. 

Since we’re going to see Sophie Ellis-Bextor tomorrow night at Webster Hall -- and he caught IAMX last night at Le Poisson Rouge -- we decided to celebrate our special day on Saturday by going to see "Joni Mitchell: Take Me as I Am" at the SoHo Playhouse.

The one-woman show -- which was the toast of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival -- stars Rainee Blake as the titular singer-songwriter, who’s just gotten back to Los Angeles in 1976 from a solo road trip across America. In what feels like a laid-back night at the Troubadour, Rainee -- perfect Canadian accent in check -- embodies Joni, who is feeling vulnerable and ready to bare her soul after spending so much time away from home. 

“Blake is technically flawless -- the phrasing, the tunings, the sly, sidelong humor -- but it is her emotional intelligence that astonishes. Understated, brilliant and quietly transcendent."

The 65-minute set spans eight studio albums (from "Song to a Seagull" to "Hejira") and finds Blake -- through many devoted years of research -- transporting the audience back in time, playing the dulcimer and Joni’s unique guitar style. (The way she single-handedly filled the room with "Help Me" left us with chills.) 

Because we were at the penultimate NYC performance, my strong recommendation will need to go unheeded for now. But this sounds like something Blake dusts off from time to time, so I encourage you to follow her on social media to keep track of her next outing.

From there, we returned to Lupe’s Mexican Kitchen, where we once had an incredible Valentine’s Day dinner right before Covid hit. We hadn’t been back since and half-feared that, like many places, it might not be around anymore. But Lupe is alive and well, and the meal -- and the company -- were as delicious as ever. xo