This Week's Wednesday

Wednesday is my day off from retail work, which makes it my designated day to record my parts for each week's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio and to try to get around to doing whatever else needs doing. I always run out out of Wednesday before I run out of Wednesday things to do.

The hectic state mentioned in the post-mortem for last week's Wednesday remains in effect, though I think I see a break in that action coming soon. Pretty soon. Not quite yet.

This week's Wednesday involved the usual process of prepping Sunday night's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio and seeing to a few mundane tasks. I stayed up late Tuesday night finalizing and annotating the playlist that Dana and I had set up. Wednesday morning I stayed in bed past 9:30, and then tended to various accounting and banking needs, with a pause somewhere in there for coffee and donuts. I didn't get around to addressing the radio show until late morning. (Hello, radio show!)

My wish on last week's show to salute a living performer (Peter Noone, in connection with his guest vocalist appearance on the new single by the Half/Cubes) limited our ability to pay proper tribute to the late Mark Volman. That show did include a track apiece by Volman's former group the Turtles and early TIRnRR Fave Raves the Johnny Popstar Luv Explosion, each featuring vocals from Flo & Eddie (Volman and long-time fellow Turtle Howard Kaylan), with a vow to make Flo & Eddie our Featured Performers this week. As this week rolls around, the passing of singer and songwriter Bobby Hart demands a spotlight on his songwriting with Tommy Boyce, but trying to fit two Featured Personalities into a single show would crowd out too much of the other things we wanna do. So: Just one dip into the Boyce & Hart songbook this week, and many more coming next week when TIRnRR features the songs of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

Recording went well, and I think we did a decent job of saluting Volman and Kaylon even without playing any of their biggest hits. When the show was done, I went out to complete some out-of-the-house commitments, then grabbed my new comics at Comix Zone before returning home. I raced through the day's few remaining commitments. With the day part of this week's Wednesday dispatched, Brenda and I left the house around 4:15 for this week's Wednesday evening fun.

We picked up our daughter Meghan at work, with three tickets for Hamilton and the will to use them. I've written elsewhere of the specific connection Brenda and I feel for the original Broadway production of Hamilton, a connection that exists even though we never had any real shot (given away or otherwise) at seeing that production. We saw the Disney + presentation, felt we'd witnessed something extraordinary, but had never witnessed an in-person theatrical staging of the play. We could not resist this belated opportunity to be in the room where it happens, with the current touring cast of Hamilton.

But first: DINNER! Meghan suggested sandwiches at Crooked Cattle downtown, and I tell ya, that is just further proof that Meghan is one smart cookie. Sandwiches were terrific, and we followed them up by splitting an enormous slice of baklava cheesecake at Milano Bean Cafe. This, my friends, is living!

Photo by Meghan Hernandez

Hamilton did not disappoint at all. Sure, it would have been nice to see the original cast, but this touring cast is amazing, particularly the actor who plays George Washington. The play, its staging, and its execution are phenomenal. I'm so grateful we had a chance to see it, and even more grateful that Meghan was with us.

And now: Hectic resumes. It's what hectic does, and that's okay. Needs are met. Stuff gets done. Another Wednesday will arrive at its appointed time.

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I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.