Liza!

It was a couple of days ago when The Hellcat asked me if we were "on" for Liza on Thursday. I hesitated for a minute before telling him that I was in fact going to the show "but not with you guys". I offered to revisit the topic later in private but he said it wasn't necessary. We just sort of moved on from there. Not a lot of tension or drama. I had toyed with the idea of bringing Jet on a stroller outing but decided that while the trip was doable, getting him to sit still for an entire concert seemed problematic. So I headed out alone, arriving at Coney Island around 6pm. Two cheese dogs and a lemonade later I was ready for Liza.

Liza was ..... Liza. I seriously thought after her opening number she'd never get through the concert. I don't think she warms up at all anymore. I think she just hits the stage. Her voice got stonger throughout the show. But she's lost a lot. Fortunately, she's Liza. She's forgotten more about performing than we'll ever know. She's got a huge bag of tricks and doesn't hesitate to use them all. She cheats in to or out of a note. She cuts out and let's the band cover. She talks instead of sings. She gestures. She pops a leg. And it all still works. She's Liza.

Her show was full of gasps and giggles and stutters. We were "fabulous". The band was "fabulous". She's 60. She lost 26 pounds (presumeably the weight of David Gest's head). Her laugh is now more of a dirty rasp. It works for her. She got through Ring Them Bells. Some sort of sense memory took over as she did Cabaret for the ten thousandth time. New York, New York was the encore. The fact that she couldn't sing it lost on the audience on their feet. It's time for Liza to drop the bombastic numbers and put together an act of easier, smaller songs. She learned a long time ago how to tell a story with music. She ought to show it off more.

I spotted The Hellcat and his no-class cunty bf as I was packing up my stuff to leave. I didn't say hello. And I had to pee for over an hour so I had priorities. Once that was taken care of, I thought about wandering around Coney Island at night to get some pictures but I opted to come home instead. Unfortunately, The Hellcat and his bf decided not to come home at all. Which would have been fine except for the fact that his dog wasn't walked or fed. When I woke up this morning and realized they never came home, his dog was already in the kitchen, whining for some help. I carried him downstairs and then fed him. He ate it all immediately. While I was gone, Jet peed in the kitchen.

I got a note from my Aunt Tina today in the mail. Uncle Al never told her that I was skipping school. My story made her smile and cry. Today is a good day.