Miss Tess and The Sweet & Low Down
at The Beehive
30 June 2009
Rachael Price is sexy. Her voice is smooth and supple, she's a scatting virtuoso and her decollétage is nothing if not alluring. She shimmies and undulates at the mic and, in a move that put me over the edge, the woman slipped on a pair of horn-rimmed glasses at the end of the last set. I was entirely prepared to ditch my boyfriend and kidnap Ms. Price so that she might personally serenade me until the end of days.
Price and Miss Tess fronted The Sweet & Low Down at The Beehive last night. The quintet (of keyboard, stand-up bass, drums and Miss Tess on rhythm guitar) played four hours of old-timey standards as well as some modern tunes. I heard Tom Waits ("Jesus Gonna Be Here," playfully introduced with the declaration we had reached thepoint in the evening for Jesus), Elvis Presley ("You're A Heartbreaker"), Morphine ("You Look Like Rain"), Blue Moon, the Tennessee Waltz, and many other numbers that I couldn't identify but loved nonetheless. The group's dress and sound was vintage and they transported the listener to another time. All around me, audience members tapped their toes and fingers to the beat, shook their heads to the lovely sounds and clapped enthusiastically after each solo improvisation.
Had I watched Miss Tess perform as the sole vocalist, I'm sure I would have been highly impressed. Her voice is compact like her frame; slightly reedy and a bit smoky, she smacks of Karen Dalton and Jolie Holland. Miss Tess happily strummed the (vinyl stringed?!) guitar that dwarfed her and clearly enjoyed performing last night. But she was out shined by the magnificent Rachael Price, whose effortless skill and smoldering glances demanded all attention. The timbre of her alto is of such quality that no one else stood a chance.
The Beehive's stage was richly swathed in silks, lace and velvet. The dark wood and dim lights lent a cozy feeling to the venue and the patrons were comfortable enough to interact with the performers -- as well as dance lively jitterbugs and intimate tangos in the corners. The inconspicuous waitstaff promptly appeared when glasses were empty and then kindly disappeared again. My friends and I stayed until the end of the show, much longer than we had anticipated. We walked back to the T, singing our own versions of the songs performed and declared The Sweet & Low Down "pretty fucking awesome, if you like good music."
01 July 2009
26 June 2009
Restaurant Review: The Helmand
The Helmand has two seating areas: the large main room into which the customer enters from the front door, and the small back room crammed too tightly with tables for the riff-raff. Last night, Pete and I were seated in the back room.
Pete had already been seated and was sipping an Anchor Steam from a bottle by the time I arrived. Though I was seated by a staff member, at least five minutes passed before our waiter arrived to take my drink order. I asked for a beer, which was not listed on the menu, as far as I could tell. Ten or fifteen more minutes passed before our meal order was taken and finally a basket of bread and a plate of sauces were delivered to the table.
Despite the less than stellar service, the food was flavorful, well-portioned and satisfying. My ivory rice, green spinach and red lamb were laid out on the plate in even thirds and the aroma drifting upwards to my nose was deeply warm and spicy. My first forkful was of the sauteed spinach and I was immediately addicted. What was I tasting? Was it only the onion and garlic in which the spinach had wilted? Tumeric? Nutmeg? I couldn't be sure. Next, a bite of the lamb, which had been simmered in a tomato base long enough that I could easily cut the meat with the side of my fork. The meat mixture was dotted with whole cardamom that bloomed in my mouth, bright and lemony. Pete and I did not speak. We ate. I swept up every last grain of rice and every swipe of spinach on my plate with a piece of bread.
When he cleared our plates, our busboy asked if we would like to see the dessert menu. We answered no, but our waiter dropped a set off anyway. We declined a second time. I was often jostled while seated at the center table in the back room and felt the waitstaff was attentive only at the wrong times. But the food was a delight and really, that is why I go to restaurants. I'll forgive the jostling for another plate of that lamb.
Lamb Lawand: Leg of Lamb sauteed with onion, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, fresh cilantro, yogurt and spices served with sauteed spinach and challow rice 18.95
Dwopiaza: Seasoned tenderloin of lamb cooked with onions, sauteed with yellow split-peas and tossed with onions lightly marinated in vinegar. Served with pallow rice. 18.95
The Helmand
143 1st St
Cambridge, MA 02142-1205
(617) 492-4646
www.helmandrestaurantcambridge.com
Pete had already been seated and was sipping an Anchor Steam from a bottle by the time I arrived. Though I was seated by a staff member, at least five minutes passed before our waiter arrived to take my drink order. I asked for a beer, which was not listed on the menu, as far as I could tell. Ten or fifteen more minutes passed before our meal order was taken and finally a basket of bread and a plate of sauces were delivered to the table.
Despite the less than stellar service, the food was flavorful, well-portioned and satisfying. My ivory rice, green spinach and red lamb were laid out on the plate in even thirds and the aroma drifting upwards to my nose was deeply warm and spicy. My first forkful was of the sauteed spinach and I was immediately addicted. What was I tasting? Was it only the onion and garlic in which the spinach had wilted? Tumeric? Nutmeg? I couldn't be sure. Next, a bite of the lamb, which had been simmered in a tomato base long enough that I could easily cut the meat with the side of my fork. The meat mixture was dotted with whole cardamom that bloomed in my mouth, bright and lemony. Pete and I did not speak. We ate. I swept up every last grain of rice and every swipe of spinach on my plate with a piece of bread.
When he cleared our plates, our busboy asked if we would like to see the dessert menu. We answered no, but our waiter dropped a set off anyway. We declined a second time. I was often jostled while seated at the center table in the back room and felt the waitstaff was attentive only at the wrong times. But the food was a delight and really, that is why I go to restaurants. I'll forgive the jostling for another plate of that lamb.
Lamb Lawand: Leg of Lamb sauteed with onion, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, fresh cilantro, yogurt and spices served with sauteed spinach and challow rice 18.95
Dwopiaza: Seasoned tenderloin of lamb cooked with onions, sauteed with yellow split-peas and tossed with onions lightly marinated in vinegar. Served with pallow rice. 18.95
The Helmand
143 1st St
Cambridge, MA 02142-1205
(617) 492-4646
www.helmandrestaurantcambridge.com
23 April 2009
24 September 2008
22 September 2008
On reacting to a hypothetical party trick
k: ...and i would be more concerned about not appearing appropriately impressed
me: oh man, slayed by your icy disdain once again
k: it's not disdain! it's a hyper-meta-awar
17 September 2008
Found on a car in my parking garage
How many times have I been tempted to leave one of these? I should start storing post-its in my car.
15 September 2008
A Discussion on Project Runway
me: Have you been watching Project Runway?
k: Yes.
me: What did you think of Blayne's poopy fabric unitard?
k: I just don't know why it took him that long to get kicked off the show. He's barely a conscious human being
me: I always wondered, does he KNOW neon was totally tubular twenty years ago during his youth? Or does he think it's new?
k: You're making a critical assumption here that ruins your whole train of thought. The assumption being that Blayne Thinks.
02 September 2008
18 August 2008
Email from my colleague on vacation
re: the discussion the other day re: the helvetica documentary...
dear dearest officemates,
i just thought you would like to know that the wonderfont known as Comic Sans is alive and well as fuck in certain cities here in Croatia. apparently,
by-the-slice pizza places love it!
see everyone in a week. hope this office is totally gnarly. party hard. always.
xoxo,
joe
Yes, we were having a conversation about typefaces. It happens sometimes in the publishing industry.
dear dearest officemates,
i just thought you would like to know that the wonderfont known as Comic Sans is alive and well as fuck in certain cities here in Croatia. apparently,
by-the-slice pizza places love it!
see everyone in a week. hope this office is totally gnarly. party hard. always.
xoxo,
joe
Yes, we were having a conversation about typefaces. It happens sometimes in the publishing industry.
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