TGIF!

Hooray, it's Friday! Tonight, I'm off to hear Mary Foster Conklin at the Metropolitan Room, running over to the Time Out NY Lounge to hear some retro '60s lounge music courtesy of d.j. Dan Fortune, and then dashing back to the Metropolitan Room for Metrojam! Whew! Where's my coffee???

It's been a busy couple of weeks - I actually started writing this blog last Friday and didn't get a spare second to work on it until now, so let me try to get caught up here!

Let's see...on Thursday 1/22, I had an evening full of great entertainment. First, I headed to Don't Tell Mama for Grace Notes, which is the monthly "singers' soiree" produced and hosted by Grace Cosgrove. The lineup last Thursday was terrific - in addition to Grace, the performers included director Lennie Watts, who had the audience in stitches with his special rendition of "Old MacDonald's Socially Challenged Farm"; Rob Langeder, who treated us to a soulful "Change is Gonna Come" in honor of the inauguration, as well as a terrific original blues tune; and Scott Coulter, who brought the house down with "Promises, Promises," "Drop Me Off In Harlem," and a gorgeous "For Good (from Wicked)." It was a well-rounded show, with some really terrific performances. Afterwards, it was off to the Time Out NY Lounge to catch Julian Yeo and his retro-jazz band for their last set. It had been a while since I'd been able to see Julian, so it was great to be able to sit and listen to his cool, smooth song stylings and his fantastic band while sipping a glass of wine.

On Sunday, January 25th, I headed back to Don't Tell Mama to see Gretchen Reinhagen in her show How 'Bout Them Apples. I'd seen this show once before, and really enjoyed it, so I was happy to be able to catch it again. And I ended up enjoying it even more the second time! With direction by Barry Kleinbort and musical direction by David Gaines, Gretchen wound her way through an eclectic mix of songs, from standards to novelty tunes, bringing her own, unique take to each of them. Funny anecdotes and self-deprecating humor tied all of the musical numbers together and created a well-rounded show.

The following night, I headed to Town Hall for the Nightlife Awards, which was THE place to be in NYC that evening! The house was packed and the staged was graced by some truly amazing entertainers. At the Nightlife Awards, each of the award recipients actually performs instead of giving an acceptance speech, which always ends up being a great treat! This year's winners included Christine Ebersole & Billy Stritch, Marilyn Maye, Baby Jane Dexter, and a host of other fantastically talented performers. And in addition to the marvelous performances the award recipients turned in, a number of the award presenters, including Larry Gatlin, Keith Carradine and Christine Andreas also treated the audience by performing! After the awards, I scurried over to Cast Party, where the aforementioned Billy Stritch was at the piano, and I had an absolute blast there (as usual)! Jim Caruso, who had also presented an award earlier in the evening, was a charming and dapper host as always, and both Larry Gatlin and Marilyn Maye also found their way over from Town Hall and delighted the Birdland crowd with their songs. I finally managed to get a picture with the marvelous Ms. Maye (and the fabulous William Blake) - check it out!

On Thursday, January 29th, I finally made it to Big Night Out, which is the open mic hosted by Jennifer Wren and Bill Zeffiro. It had been on my list of things to do for a while, but I'd never been able to make it before. Every other open mic night is split into one hour of open mic and one hour of a tribute to a living, breathing songwriter. On the night I went, it was one of the "Featured Songwriter" nights, and the songwriter this night was my friend Hector Coris - hooray! I've always been a fan of Hector's witty lyrics and his wry takes on contemporary life, so it was a great treat to see his songs performed by a number of different performers including Jennifer Wren, Raissa Katona Bennett, and Sierra Rein. Hector also performed quite a bit himself, and had the audience nearly falling off their chairs, especially with his "My Moment." If you haven't heard this song, I won't spoil it by revealing what it's about, but it is hilarious!!

On Friday, January 23rd, I had the honor of joining the lineup of The Cocktail Show at Don't Tell Mama for the second week in a row. Produced by comedians Danny Leary and Becky Donohue, The Cocktail Show is a weekly comedy bash, which boasts a lineup of great comedians and a singer or two (which is where I come in!). I had a fantastic time doing it both weeks and enjoyed meeting the comedians as we were hanging out in the lounge during the show.

Monday, February 2nd found me back at Cast Party, of course - and it was another terrific night there! Hilary Kole, who is preparing for her upcoming run at Birdland, was her usual fabulous self, Christine Lavin treated us to a terrific new original song, William Blake tore it up with "At Last," and Rob Langeder did a great "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" - and that's just the tip of the iceberg! The following night, I caught Laurie Krauz's Tapestry Rewoven at the Iridium. I'd seen this show a few months before, and as much as I enjoyed it then, I enjoyed it even more this time around. Laurie was in great voice, backed by a terrific band (helmed by m.d. Daryl Kojak on the piano), and is truly passionate about this music, which just makes it a joy to watch. Congrats on a great show, Laurie!

Wednesday was my night off for the week, which I spent luxuriating in a fabulous Manuka Honey Facial at Ohm Spa (boy, I wish I could do that every night)!

Last night, I did another double-header, this time it was Julian Yeo at the Time Out New York Lounge followed by Big Night Out at the Reprise Room. I had a blast at both and got to sing at both, which made me a very happy girl!

As I mentioned at the top, tonight is going to be another busy night, so I'm going to enjoy my afternoon coffee and get ready for the evening.

More soon!!