gillian welch important to my life

strange couple of days thursday and friday, both spent oscillating between real dark depression and light, both evenings some wonderful out there business, thursday the gig i played, friday seeing gillian welch @ the shepherds bush empire, really wonderful.

she played with her musical partner david rawlings and they were really something, reminded me of seeing elliott smith on the same stage many years before, emotional, deeply emotional. got drinking backstage with R, D's manager who had got us into the gig, lovely fella, a little marching powder as well led the evening way later than any of us intended, for a while we were with K, D's sound engineer, the empire being her day job, but it ended with us 4 guys, D, R & me with B, i guess he was the venue manager, lovely night, genuine people, very nice.

and i even got to speak to gillian welch (not ready for first name terms yet), i told her that her being in the world and writing and performing her music makes a big difference to my life. just the way it is really. what a woman.

so battered today of course, got to bed at around 8 after going back to D's, trawling the streets of brixton & camberwell to score a little green, to no avail, it seems the police have clamped down recently and there's none to be had, everyone a little edgy, in the end we smoked the narguile (clearly not spelt like that) and sipped tea, i drifted home eventually, even managing to read the first chapter of they came like swallows by William Maxwell which i'd bought before the gig, almost 12 hours before.

it promises to be lovely, and is already gorgeous, also picked up on the mountain by thomas bernard today, really arresting writing, i bought it the same day i bought dummy by portishead when i was living @ home just before i moved to london, that book and that music woven together...

E is getting married today, who i once flirted with and wrote long letters to, HB is getting married on october 2nd, meeting her for a pint shortly before i head down to new cross for this mad party that i may play at, although it's too far and not worth it to take my keyboard, maybe there'll be one there,

gradually becoming oneself again after battering the night before, one of the hidden pleasures of that stuff, not always to my taste, but once in a blue moon, particularly with conversation of such quality...