Dance Anywhere is Friday March 28

Just think if everyone, danced and sang and laughed a little more each day. Say maybe 5 minutes? A jig in the kitchen, a tune at the bus-stop, laugher...everywhere. Sounds good to me. Toward that effort, Friday is Dance Anywhere, "a simultaneous worldwide public art performance" which finds many of the pro dancers of the world strutting their stuff in unexpected places. Take a break Friday and take a look around.

DSDT @ SF Jazz 12pm in SF

Stations of the Bean: NW Coffee (so far)

What self-respecting tour of the northwest would neglect conspicuous coffee consumption? Not this one. Despite giving up coffee for most of December, I'm back on the bean here in Oregon. Yes, the  Little Bird tour has thus far been fueled by some delicious locally-roasted coffee beverages. Some highlights from our trip thus far: 

Limestone Coffee in Medford, OR. Seriously third-wave in Southern OR. Yes, they have almond milk if you're into non-dairy espresso drinks, which they did a fine job with, but the winner was their selection of nuanced pour-over coffee features. Every cup is ground to order. http://www.limestonecoffee.com/

Good Bean, Jacksonville, OR. Not far from Medford is this little food, wine and coffee-savvy burg. Hot-air roasted beans from the region's original roaster did not disappoint in the java department, as Good Bean served up a truly exemplary latte made with hazelnut milk. Their beans are proudly served throughout the region's other cafes and restaurants, as well. http://www.goodbean.com/

Noble Coffee, Ashland, OR. Aw, how nice to walk into a place and see a Gibraltar on the menu! Having lived next to Blue Bottle's kiosk in Hayes Valley, SF, during this drink's nascency, I've a soft spot in my heart for this barista-brainchild of a beverage. We happened into this Ashland roasters Railroad District 'temple to coffee' after our radio gig at KSKQ and felt instantly at ease (and warm! It's 30 degrees here). Organic and artisanally crafted, Noble's Gibraltar more than lived up to Blue Bottle's original. http://www.noblecoffeeroasting.com 

Listening: Have Yourself A Merry...

I've spent the past two Christmas's in India, where people appear to have no problem folding Jesus and Santa into the general pantheon that permeates everyday life there. December in India is about a lot of things besides Christmas, and Christmas day kind of comes and goes along with a half dozen other unrelated holidays that happen to fall in the season. So the Yuletide decoration and shopping machine at work in the US seems especially acute to my eyes and ears this year. Trees and wreathes and holiday music piped through elevators and restaurant speakers at every turn. I like a lot of this — more Christmas lights, please! Sure, I want to go to your party — but, suffice to say, there's a lot of truly awful Christmas music out there.
Amid it all, Kwame challenged us to learn some new Christmas songs and lo, we both chose "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" as one of our holiday covers. Turns out this 1944 classic made popular by Judy Garland is among the most-oft performed Christmas songs there is. Everyone from Garland and Sinatra to The Carpenters and The Pretenders, She & Him and Christine Aguilera have had a go of this tune. Even Dylan did it! In any case, it's a good song, in my book, not so much because of its tribute to the season, but it's realization of change and impermanence amid celebration. Here's the version that got it all going:

Songwriters: MARTIN, HUGH / BLANE, RALPH
Have yourself a merry little christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be
Out of sight
Have yourself a merry little christmas
Make the yule-tide gay
Next year all our troubles will be
Miles away
Once again as in olden days
 Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon, we all will be together If the fates allow
Until then, well have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little christmas now.