Poem for Saturday

See With Different Eyes
By Julie Flanders

There's a child standing with a broken string
In a passageway with no return.
Bridges burn, waters rise,
Turn around, turn around and see with different eyes.

There's a woman standing in a golden ring
Full of idols she no longer knows.
Circles close on broken ties,
Turn around, turn around and see with different eyes.

I know about the emptiness inside,
I know about the loneliness you hide,
I wanted you to hurt the most,
I wanted you to hold me closer.

There's an actor standing with a painted face
In a dark and unfamiliar play.
Tear away an old disguise,
Turn around, turn around and see with different eyes.

Finding answers in the pattern,
Pieces of the whole.
Maybe love is all that matters,
All you need to know.

There's a figure standing in an empty field
Setting flowers gently on a stone.
Keep the truth, leave the lies,
Turn around, turn around and see with different eyes.

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You're right, that's not a poem, it's lyrics to an October Project song, but it has been playing endlessly in my head for days now -- I first heard them perform it on my birthday last December, and I bought the CD (also called Different Eyes) that the song is on, but it moved into my head only very recently along with my latest incarnation of Snape and is set permanently on repeat except when it's interrupted by October Project's "Always A Place," Jennifer Cutting's "The Sands of Time" and "Forgiveness" or Peter and Laurie's "Anchor." Each of the verses above makes me think of a different character, actually, but I will not mention which because that might create spoilers.

Anyway, you got those lyrics because we went to see October Project at Jammin' Java, with the kids this time because the place isn't 21-and-up, and what an amazing (and amazingly different than last December) experience it was. First of all, they have expanded their song list -- they did two November Project songs, "A Thousand Days" and "Endless Circle," as well as "Always A Place" which Julie and Emil wrote for Marina to sing on a fundraiser album to raise money for children in Kosovo but which they characterized as their post-9/11 song. They did a couple of songs I have only ever heard on live November Project CDs only available from their webmaster. They did most of the essential Mary Fahl-era songs ("Return To Me," "Paths of Desire," "Always," "Sunday Morning Yellow Sky," etc.), most of the new EP, plus two songs they have not recorded anywhere yet including a gorgeous one Julie wrote after her mother's death which I think is called "The Changing Light of Love."

A little girl in the audience had requested "Johnny" the last time she saw them perform, and they had promised to relearn it for her, though they said they had not sung it in 10 years -- and they actually had to borrow the lyrics insert from someone in the audience who had brought the CD that it's on, because neither Marina nor Julie could remember (even though Julie wrote the lyrics) so they sang harmony while Emil faked his way through the chords! And they signed Different Eyes and chatted with fans afterward, so I have now met them and told Marina that we share a birthday (she autographed a copy of decembergirl for me "to another 11th"), so now my family and I have this:


Patter during the show when I dared not use flash, which created these nifty ghost effects as Marina laughed uproariously at one of Julie's jokes. (The language was rather ribald until Emil remembered that it was supposed to be a family-friendly show. Not that our kids minded!)


Julie Flanders, Emil Adler and Marina Belica signing after the show. Julie and Emil were high school sweethearts and are now married with a 9-year-old son who goes around the house imitating his mother's goofy performances. Julie and Marina were college roommates, and while the latter was singing in Vienna, Virginia, her husband was in Vienna, Austria on business so she discovered the trivia that there are seven Viennas in the U.S. but nine Parises.


Here they are with their guitarist and drummer during the sound check before the concert, again blurrily as I was afraid to use flash on any of the photos where they were onstage lest I should alert the management that I had a camera in case it was forbidden; this was from the seating area near the bar since the main room was roped off. (All of this crossposted to for other interested parties!)

Otherwise I said goodbye to my uncle and his family, wrote a review of "Dagger of the Mind" and site columns for TrekToday, tried to brainstorm good porn for 's birthday present, fed and entertained my kids and had a doctor's appointment which of course lasted an hour longer than it should have due to the waiting but at least she didn't scare me with any bad news so it was worth it knock wood.

This weekend we want to see the HMS Bounty replica in Baltimore and we promised to take younger son to The Captain's Table in Solomons for crab soup plus we want to go to the marine museum there and the beach, but I am not sure which we are doing which day since my sister is unexpectedly coming into town for a couple of days and we're not sure how late the kids will sleep, given that we got home at nearly midnight! (Welcome back and I am so sorry I missed you...we were already gone!) So, yeah, I am going to be behind on everything again...fortunately the kids have camp next week and hopefully I can catch up!

ETA from The OP-ed Newsletter: Vol. III, Issue #5
August 31, 2005

AS BILLY JOEL ONCE SANG, "VIENNA WAITS FOR YOU"
Ever since their overflow appearance there earlier this year, October Project had been looking forward to returning to coffeehouse extraordinaire Jammin' Java in Vienna, Virgina, a little burg west of Washington, D.C.. Marina had lots of positive things to say about this July 22nd Friday show - "Our return to Vienna was a joy. The Brindley Brothers really know how to make a band feel welcome, as does our audience there. The highlight of the evening was an unprepared, spontaneous performance of "Johnny." We had forgotten that we had a promised a young lady in attendance at our March show there that we would perform the song upon our return. Sure enough, there she was, and she had just celebrated her birthday! We couldn't remember all the lyrics, however, and had to borrow a copy of the album booklet from our first album from a member of the audience so that we could follow the lyrics on stage. EMIL sang the lead, as he used to long ago, and Julie & I harmonized while the band joined in and the audience sang along. A moment we won't soon forget!" (FYI -- In the early 1990's pre-Sony/Epic days of OP, Emil sang lead on a number of songs in the band's live performances.)