Wonderful Things I Heard in New York

Laura Thomas is a star in the making. I saw her perform with her band on Saturday night. She had one of the best singing voices I've ever heard. Every song sounded terrific. She was as accomplished when she was throatily introspective, as when she opened her throat wide for a full-bodied rant, or when she took on a couple of Led Zeppelin covers to finish the set (Kashmir and Whole Lotta Love, in case you're wondering). At her very best she sounded a little like Joan Baez, a little like Morissette, and a lot like no one I had heard before.

And she was feisty. Always in control of the stage and the crowd, you knew that she could burst into pure bitchiness any second. It didn't hurt that she had a more-than-competent violinist(!), a guitarist with great tone, and a backup singer with terrific vocal range. Pity about the drummer.

By the time she had finished her set, both Brave and I were wide-eyed with admiration. We went off to look for his girlfriend Natasha.

As I was talking to her over the din at the bar, our conversation turned to the bigger events in life - parenthood, marriage, that sort of thing. She said something that sounded like "...when I got engaged..." and I just stared. That's an awkward thing to have heard but not be sure that you heard correctly. I gathered my courage and asked whether I had heard right - were she and Brave engaged? Yes, they were. A hug for her. Abuse for him for not having remembered to mention this little thing.

By then this was easily the best Saturday night I'd had in ages. Natasha is really terrific; I was thrilled that Brave had asked her to marry him. That's what I told her then, and I'm sticking with my story. (Just kidding, Natasha, I am really really glad that he asked you. And I have faith in your sense of humor; please don't blacklist me).