devotchka, mercury lounge, april 7.

the show went on well past midnight and i am beyond the prime for that -- maybe i was never young enough for that -- and it took three naps over the course of two days to get back to my rhythm, but oh i'd do it again, and i'd do it again.

those four know the songs of those most tender of soul parts. i've never known anything like it. it's something of a call & response that stirs me way down deep: a whistle and a croon -- bow on string -- the accordion's exhale -- the bellow of the sousaphone -- velvet drumbeats -- and my spirit flickers.

(nobody does it like they do.)

gypsy jazz & pictures in a booth.

last night we went to dizzy's club at lincoln center to see a gypsy jazz band called thunderswamp play in the spirit of django reinhardt. and, because husband spoils me so, we popped down to the basement at the smith for a turn in the photobooth. i love him extra for that.

we are big, big django reinhardt fans over here -- we had a django cover band play at our wedding! -- so this was all very exciting. we got all dressed up and braved the nor'easter whipping through manhattan to sip whiskey and watch our beloved gypsy jazz against the twinkling new york city skyline. even through all the rain and fog, we could see it twinkle.

the evening only confirmed what i already believed to be true: there is no instrument more beautiful than the accordion. french horns and trumpets are a very close tie for second, but my goodness, accordions. they do make my heart beat fast.

anyway, this is just to say: i love living in new york city. i love the look of new york city in the rain. i love how husband will walk out of the way in the pouring rain to take me to a photobooth because it's such a small act that brings me big joy. i love when husband wears his blue velvet dinner jacket. i love wearing ivory lace everything. i love when he reaches for my hand across the table. i love taxi rides home on central park west. i love our little dates.

beirut, prospect park, august 2.

-- my favorite band with my favorite person, swaying to the song that'll play at our wedding.

bob dylan, beacon theater, december 2.

seeing bob dylan perform live—and in new york city—was a pinch me moment. if i am being candid, the show itself wasn't great—it was nearly impossible to decipher the songs, lyrics to old favorites (like "blowin' in the wind" and "tangled up in blue") were changed, and i was a little sad that he didn't play the guitar. 

but no matter, because bob dylan. bob dylan at the piano, bob dylan in a white hat, bob dylan on the harmonica, tugging at my heartstrings. what an opportunity it was, catching a living legend live. 

beirut, 50 kent, june 14.

to me, nobody does a summer night like beirut. i first knew it two augusts ago in central park and thought it all over again last weekend in williamsburg's new venue by the river. those horns melt me every time. and postcards from italy? oh, my heart. 

listening to | the lumineers (this must be the place)

this one's been in my ear since i was in south carolina a couple of weeks ago. it came on the radio while i was taking a solo drive around the country. and you know what? with the right music, anything can make a little more sense.

listening to | devotchka (charlotte mittnacht)

i think if i had to pick a band to play the sounds of my life—a spirit band of sorts, capturing my joys and my sadnesses, the colors i see in and the way i make in the world—devotchka would be it. i've long loved this album in general—this song in specific—but only in the last year or so have i kept it at my fingertips near constantly. only 500 were pressed on vinyl, so that may or may not be in my future, but a girl's gotta have dreams. 

listening to | jesca hoop + guy garvey (murder of birds)

i'm entirely smitten with this right now. so good for wintering. 

the long winters, bowery ballroom, october 18.

my first show at the bowery ballroom, and what a show it was. they didn't go on until midnight and i am pretty sure i am still recovering from the events of the weekend (am i getting old?), but it was worth it. always is. 

local natives, terminal 5, september 24.

live music is my favorite way to spend a night. goodness, i loved new york last night.

listening to | andrew bird (yawny at the apocalypse)

it's an andrew bird sort of week and this one's just the loveliest.

old crow medicine show, capitol theater, june 7.

one of my best nights of late: an adventure north, a truly joyful show, and a train ride back to the city i won't soon forget. i won't name names, but there is one charmer in this bunch of ours that plays the air violin like no other. 

the national, museum of modern art, may 5.

the thing about the national is that, from the year i was 17 and only just beginning to suss out a life, they have given voice to my triumphs, to my sadness, to pretty much everything i know to be true. theirs are the voices that undo me. every. single. time. 

on sunday, as part of a durational performance at the museum of modern art, they played sorrow for six hours straight. the bittersweet sounds of sorrow, over and over and over again. that's exactly 105 times, if anyone is wondering. i haven't seen them live in years, but that old familiarity was there, and it was the truest. 

listening to | horse feathers (curs in the weeds)

i've been wintering with them in general; with this song in specific.

listening to | the lumineers (stubborn love)

i somehow missed the bandwagon on their (sold out) february shows in nyc, 

but am still holding out hope for tickets. in any case, there is this. keep your

 head up, keep your love. love, love, love.

listening to | sigur ros (hoppipolla)

hoppipolla, icelandic for jumping into puddles. such a good and lovely thought on this rainy september morning. 

bon iver, radio city, september 20.

my hopes were so high, and were they ever met. i can't think of much better than that moment when my heart aches so good and i'm left absolutely, irrevocably undone by a single song. blood bank does it, each and every time.

beirut, central park, august 29.

ever see a show and think see, now, that was music to yourself all the way home? maybe they aren't for everyone, but if you like trumpets/drums/a ukulele/an accordion/a cello/a french horn, sometimes all at once, and you can see them live, you must. really. (back in june i suspected that this would define my summer; last night, the music floated up and away into the trees and i just knew it did.)

listening to | andrew bird (tenuousness)

that is all.

listening to | beirut (postcards from italy)

after a breezy past few months, it's suddenly sweltering in the city and we are all melting over here. bless those b trains and the a/c they blast. i am reminded once again why i favor snowy city winters and those deliciously crisp fall days. but you know what? beirut and new york in june make quite a pair, and two days into the official season, i already know that this tune is going to define the summer i was 24. 

what are you listening to?