january.

It’s been a strange month, full of anticipation, disappointments, elation, and surprises.   I’m grateful to have ended the month surrounded by friends, food, and one really, really great show.

Last week, Daniel, Andrew, and I found ourselves at Congee Village, where we tore into huge bowls of noodles and lamb & dried bean curd skin casserole.  Soup dumplings rounded out the meal, which was dominated by a spirited Fuck/Marry/Kill session.  That conversation — well, let’s just reiterate that it was spirited, shall we?

A few days later, JT and I met up at Sake Bar Hagi for some small plate satisfaction before heading uptown to see The Decemberists play a sold-out show at the Beacon Theatre.  The food was delicious; the show just shy of extraordinary, at times breathtaking.   We were amused to find that we were far from the oldest people in the audience — in fact probably closer to the median age.  Parents!  They like The Decemberists too!

Other than a photograph of the stunning theatre interior, I’ve no pics from the show, so I’ll leave you with a song from the band’s latest album, The King is Dead.  The live version of January Hymn was just … wow.  The album version is just as elegiacally gorgeous.  It’s a fitting song to end the month, I think — after many highs and a handful of unexpected lows, there’s nothing like a quiet song about loss and hope and winter to give voice to what I’ve been feeling for a little (maybe too long) while now.

(Hmmm.  WordPress is having some audio problems.  You can listen to the song here as well.)