Sunday was a lazy one. It was 93 degrees around noon and I slept in, sipped tea, spent far too long comparing different laptops online, and all of a sudden it was dinnertime. Amazing how that goes.

At 6pm we found our way to the Music Under the Pines concert put on by our friends Ben and Barb. I’m so glad we went.

Tonight it was a bonus night, there were three acts! The opening act was Jen Sygit (a local songwriter I’ve mentioned here before) and her friend Laura(? drat, I didn’t write her name down). If I’m not mistaken, the second lady was in the Hot Toe Mitty band not long ago, before they broke up. She plays guitar and flute, and sings well. The two of them sang some wonderful harmonies, and I very much enjoyed that. They said that when they perform as a duo, they call themselves “Calamity Jane.” That is information worth remembering… I’d love to hear them again.

Then, we got to hear Blue Jello, which is Ben Hassenger and Pat Malloy, two of the members of the local band Mystic Shake. It was this very Ben who was sponsoring the concert. The guys are funny and thoughtful and really enjoy writing songs together. I was happy to hear them again.

Last but definitely not least, we heard the amazing and multi-talented Joel Mabus. Joel lived for many years in East Lansing, and we got to hear him often in those days. As things happen, he married and moved to Kalamazoo and we don’t see him quite as much as we once did. Joel is a wonderful instrumentalist, playing more instruments than I can even name. However, as a singer, I definitely favor his songwriting best of all.

Joel writes many types of songs. He can be funny, he can be thoughtful, he sings of love, he tells musical stories masterfully, and sometimes he can sing in a bit of a spiritual vein.

Cindy (of Hall and Morgan, a band that plays Altu’s) and I were talking one day and we both said we’d really love for Joel’s “Snow on the Water” to be played at our own funerals. Not because it’s a morbid song, but because it’s so peaceful and hopeful and accepting of how life goes.

That song, by the way, is on his “Firelake” CD which can be found at Elderly Instruments and on Joel’s website, for starters. That’s my all-time favorite Joel album. At least so far, it is! I took home 3 more Joel CDs today so I reserve the right to change my mind shortly!

Photos today, then, are Jen and Laura/Calamity Jane (Jen playing her Jenny ukulele for those uke fans who follow this blog), Ben and Pat/Blue Jello, and Joel Mabus. Pardon the psychedelic colors on the first photo, the lighting was challenging to say the least… PhotoShop made the ladies look good but did rainbow effects on the surroundings.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 5th, 2005 at 11:57 pmand is filed under Dance and Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.