Yesterday, during the Lunar Eclipse, I was at Fiddler's Dream in Glendale, playing music and telling tales. There was nothing I would rather have done during such a powerful astrological moment! http://www.fiddlersdream.org It was started back in the eighties by Sol Rudnick, the state champion fiddle player at the time... I'm pretty sure I remember this right... as a place to go for live, acoustic music away from the bars, smoke, and inattentive audiences. Because there is no PA or microphone on stage, the audience is required to be "there" for whoever's performing. There is generally jamming happening outside, as well, and coffee plus other munchies.

It's really fun to play there! I asked specifically for this date, the annual Spring Fling, not knowing about the eclipse. But whatever one is paying attention to during such an occasion is likely to color one's actions and opportunities during the next phase. And I found myself with a small but very appreciative audience, hanging onto my every word and not wincing visibly at my missed guitar notes that creeped out now and then (especially when I strapped on my classical guitar for "Spanish Heritage" and discovered, too late, that my problems were recurring because the strap was too long!)

I wish I'd had a camera, not only to have had photos of myself but also because the young man who followed me was SO outstanding! He gave me a homemade CD and said his website will be up soon: www.paulneedzafriend.com He was animated, funny, well-written lyrics in the young-guy-whose-girlfriends-all-turn-out-to-be-psychos mode... and had a unique vocal style that was his own, yet the songs were all different within that style. Paul Needzafriend. I cracked up when I saw the name on the Fiddler's website.

Anyone who's in Phoenix, go to Fiddler's. Near 17th Street and Glendale Rd., on the grounds of the Friends' Meeting House. What fun! --MaryK