Pat Blythe – A Date, a Concert, a Show……and Music……

It’s Tuesday. It’s sunny. It’s summer…..with a vengeance! It must be “writing day” since it’s not raining and miserable.  As I sit and stare out the front window my mind is a complete blank, overwhelmed with the proverbial “to do” list, my brain is at the point where it’s decided to wipe itself clean. The human hard drive. No back up. Just select “reformat” and be done with it.  A blank page which is basically what I’m looking at. As my mind drifts into nothingness, you know that stare you get when you’re looking but not really “seeing”. Yep, that’s it. I could close my eyes and…..God forbid!!!!……nap!!!!

Pat Blythe – Festivals, a little Snarky Puppy, Quisha Wint and SING!….plus Music!

So, I’ve been doing some cogitating, ruminating, deliberating, pondering, considering and generally thinking. My first loves are music, dance, writing and photography. Not necessarily in that order but they’re all a number one and blend together rather agreeably…..well…..except for the dance. It’s a little more physical. You have to visualize that one. (okay, you can stop laughing now). I began penning this weekly diatribe over three years ago writing about women in music which graduated to some of the leading ladies of blues and subsequently all those ballsy women of rock ‘n’ roll. Somehow I graduated, or drifted (depending on how you look at it) into writing about all the explosion of talent here in The Big Smoke. I’ve been covering as much as one body will allow me to for the past two-and-a-half years.

Pat Blythe – The Weather, a Wedding, a Toast to Sarah Smith

Well…..it’s confirmed. Mother Nature has definitely got the time of the year completely messed but who’s complaining. It was an absolutely perfect day for an outdoor wedding last Friday. Sunny, gorgeous, colourful….we could not have been blessed with a better day. Sam Taylor sang his heart out, entertaining the guests as they were seated, serenading the bride as she cruised down the aisle and again during cocktails. The guests were raving about him and his voice well into the evening. A very well documented wedding it was with two official photographers (not including me….I wasn’t ‘official’) and three videographers. They all made sure every teeny tiny moment was captured, including a few late-night wipeouts on the dance floor. The younger set were thoroughly enjoying themselves. My niece Annie and her new husband Jesse are chilling out in Montego Bay as I type this. This spectacular weather remains with us until September 25 (how fortuitous!) and then apparently Fall is due to arrive, albeit a few days late….temperature wise anyway.

CMW….The Bands, The Music, The Food, The Rain…..

Well…..I’m sick and wide awake at 2am, coughing…. I refuse to bow down to the Spirit Virus. I will not yield to the scourge that is coursing through my system…my eyes, my nose, my body. I will not lie down on the Altar of Kleenex. I reject this damnable cold…. (it’s amazing what your brain comes up with at 2am). I am in denial but it’s not working. So, with a box of Kleenex, a cup of tea and enough ibuprofen in my system to kill an elephant, I power on. Homemade soup comes later.