A List Of Things That Occurred to Me While Seeing Fiona Apple Perform in Ithaca

1-When she first came on, she walked to the edge of the stage and waved to the hooting crowd with a big from the elbow back and forth wave like a five year old might do, or a farmer across a field, or Fiona Apple.

2-I could count every vertebrate in her back from my seat way in the back. Does it matter? I don’t know.

3-Her posture is real bad – like Jazz piano player who still looks like they’re at a piano when they’re standing up.

4-Combination of said bad posture and frail physique made her glimmer in and out of looking 5 and 95.

5-She danced like a Dead Head crossed with a Ramones’ fan. Since I am both I could really appreciate that. She nailed it.

6-The first line she sang gave me goose bumps. That voice. Yes, this is it my whole being was saying. Resonate, ring me louder. Like when I’m lying on the floor at the end of Yoga class and I’m just praying the teacher will really go for it with that Tibetan singing bowl, “ring my face off!” I’m laying there quietly praying, sonic junky that I am. I heard that dark smooth quivering voice and I wanted more more more of it.

7-Sometimes she got really screamo.  A lot of times she got really screamo and went full throttle on the singing but it wasn’t the big loud sound I wanted. Other people in the audience really liked this. She was getting all their mad out for them.

8-Fiona is a very generous performer.  When she said “I Love You” to us all, I believed her and felt loved.

9-“Extraodinary Machine” is an extraordinary song.

10-She sang some bluesy soulful lines that just killed me, like Nina Simone killed me.

11- I would like to be as fearless of a performer as she is. I admire people who are all the way crazy. I see myself as being sort of middle of the road crazy which often seems more stifling than it is liberating. I admire the liberty with which the freak flag flying insane stride through life.  Save me a spot in the parade won’t you please?

12-Her face was luminous.