Somerville, MA

[PaulAndRoy]

We're headed out to see Catie at Somerville Theatre tonight for the FULL BAND show.. we are so psyched to be sitting in the THIRD row!  ;-)

This past Monday was Roy's birthday, so I emailed Catie to ask her to say Happy Birthday to him.. she replied and said "you got it".. I sure hope she does it!

[PaulAndRoy]

Awesome, awesome, awesome!  I've seen Catie quite a few times and this was, quite posssibly, her best show yet.  The band was fantastic, but Catie was at the top of her game.  It may have been because Liz was in the house... she played Elizabeth for her and was all giggly when she said she was there. 

She did remember to wish Roy a happy birthday which was very cool of her.

Catie also got in her political opinions:  At the end of 'Hey California', she sang "Hey California just one more thing;  When we vote in Deval Patrick we'll have everything".  And, in 'Radical', she sang "and though I mind what Romney may say, Love is stronger than any words anyway".   

Mark Erelli opened the show and then joined Catie onstage for her set.  As always, he was excellent but I was a little disappointed that he took a back seat when they played "Passing Through" - I was so looking forward to them singing it *together*.

[Abby]

P&R-So sorry I missed that show...sounds like an awesome one.  I saw her do the band show at the Fine Arts Museum when DIRL came out.  The energy of seeing her on her home turf, the excitement of the new CD and the way she feeds off playing with other people...it's the best!!!!  I'm so glad you were able to be there for it and share the details with us.  Happy belated Birthday to Roy!  Deval Patrick is running for Governor, right?  We're hoping Eliot Spitzer will make New York a better place for us.  We don't have the marriage rights of you Bay Staters yet, but with him in the top job they might be more likely to be on the way.  Fingers crossed!

Abby

[PaulAndRoy]

Yes, Abby... Deval will be our new Gov soon!     The election may not be til tomorrow - but we know who is going to win.  The spread between him and Healey has dropped a bit, but I still think he'll come out ahead by 18 points - maybe 20.    Woo-Hoo! Go Dems!


On the topic of marriage rights, a right-wing group got a marriage "protection" petition approved and collected enough signatures.  If it is approved by just 50 (1/4) of the legislators on Thursday and again next year, then it will go to a vote on the 2008 ballot.  The petition defines mariage as one man, one woman without allowing for even civil unions as a replacement.  Existing marriages would be left intact, so there'd be quite a mess to say the least.

I am hoping that the legislators won't show up on Thursday, or will just walk out when it comes time to vote. They are not in formal session and there has been speculation that that is what might happen.  Barring that, it will be a very nerve-wracking 2 years until it hits the ballot.

[Abby]

Good luck with Deval!  I did my part for Spitzer today!  I think we'll both get what we want in our respective states.   

Abby

[PaulAndRoy]

Congrats to NY, Abby!  Looks like we did get what we wanted - and by BIG margins, too! 

[PaulAndRoy]

Much to my surprise, the legislature recessed without taking a vote - looks like the ballot initiative is DEAD!

[Abby]

Awesome!  It is good to be a Northeasterner these days.     I feel for our brothers and sisters in the states that have just voted to put gay marriage bans in place.   

Abby

[PaulAndRoy]

Well... I spoke to soon on the initiative being dead, didn't I!?  It passed the legislature on 1/2 and advances for another vote this year.  If it passes again, my fellow citizens will get to decide what my marriage is worth.

A very special thanks to Mitt Romney on that one.

[soxfan]

Yeah, that was a pretty lousy going-away present, wasn't it? Hopefully the new legislature will be better (some of the supporters of the amendment are no longer part of it), and the new governor won't be petitioning the courts in favor of the amendment either.