Slainte, Oakland, April 8 — Your diarist began the salon wishing Dolly Parton well regarding her health concerns and then read my poem “The God Hour- Tribute to Dolly Parton,” inspired after learning that the superstar still writes her songs using an old-fashioned cassette player usually writing in the wee hours of the morning — until dawn, a time she calls “The God Hour.”
Aireene Espiritu played a mix of stompin', swayin' and timeless Americana reminiscent of front porch storytelling, of ghosts and the living, times of laughter and tears. A Color-Coded Symphony is her latest project, a musical experience connecting the audience’s ethnic origins to rhythms of the world. Songs Aireene performed, “Down at Albert Brown’s," “Westbound Bride,” and “Put Back Charlie,” all masterful ballads. Her voice endeared her to all while singing, “Falling for You.”
Author Peter Cunningham transported us back to 1982 Singapore when reading from his first book, “Heat, Moist, Spice, Song,” a literary memoir from his 23 years living in Singapore. His reason, sense of place, descriptive powers and imagination were truly entertaining.
Aireene Espiritu, Peter Cunningham and
Lori Cassels at Slainte.
I ended the salon with my song “Tear of the Clouds,” about the source of the Hudson River, Lake Tear of the Clouds, on Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks. Growing up in the Bronx I shared that I knew where the Hudson ended but learning that it sprang out of a mountaintop was just magical. After inviting the audience to learn the chorus, the room joined in the refrain, “Find My Source”.
Clarion, San Francisco, April 11 — Irish American Writers & Artists salon also gathered at San Francisco’s Clarion Performing Arts Center.
The Clarion Performing Arts Center is a gem of a venue in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown. They host an annual Rent-Free April, where local talents and not-for-profit arts organizations can access the 60-seat theater for free.
This is the third consecutive year that Irish American Writers & Artists has taken advantage of Clarion’s generosity with a salon themed “Duets” — Couples Who Perform Together. Your host began with IAW&A’s sizzle reel and next shared a short film, “Yu Ming is ainum dom,” a sweet video short story about a bored Chinese clerk who, seeking to expand his world, learns Irish and travels to Dublin only to learn no one understands when he speaks Irish. A few comic encounters lead him to a bar where he finds an elderly gentleman who does understand him. Final scene is our hero serving Guinness in Galway at a Gaeltacht where Irish is spoken.
Many songs followed both original and cover tunes that were performed by Janet Lenore & Jeff Daniels, Michele & George Huertas and Deborah Crooks with Kwame Copeland. Despite the unusually rainy April day in San Francisco, it was a warm afternoon at the Clarion Performing Arts Center.
