DAGMAR: BLOG

VALENTINES DAY, 2010, MARBLEHEAD, MA--You know when you're in love and when you're not, when you belong and when you don't, whether you're a member of a club or not, and whether you've paid your dues (or not).  There's rarely any guesswork involved.  We will never cease to be amazed by the odd protected pockets and weird hidden corners of the world we find in our somewhat random travels from here to where.  

Last night, DAGMAR made its first, last and only visit to the KING HOOPER CAFE open mic, the final installment of this 10-year-old monthly event hosted by the wife/husband team of songwriter/music healer ANGELA MASCIALE and sculptor/poet DAN ZAMPINO that has taken place in the third-floor ballroom of a colonial mansion built in 1728 and which now houses THE MARBLEHEAD ARTS ASSOCIATION. The 18th-century home of ROBERT "KING" HOOPER -- a wealthy shipping merchant who learned all about the joys and bounties of unfettered capitalism long before America became The United States of The Bank of America -- is perched curb-side in the tangle of many narrow, winding, horse-and-buggy-friendly streets in the historic heart of a "ye olde towne" town that defines the terms "quaint", "New England", "seaside village" and, since the go-go 90's, "Yuppieville".  A large collection of the unique people who have regularly attended this open mic -- including feature performer BEN BLUM, who specializes in ocarina "improv" -- were there to commemorate the occasion of its closing and bid their fond farewell as only they know how, to a place that has been a safe house and sanctuary for them, a place where people go who have very few other places they can go and feel "at home", a place where, as was mentioned several times, you are "free to express yourself", a place where, as we discovered, the terms "art" and "artist" can be tossed loosely and gaily about.

We started out #21 on a list of 26 performers, and over the course of the evening, as old friend after old friend kept getting inserted onto the list as "2a and b" and "8b" and "17c" and so forth, we ended up more like 35-ish out of 39-ish, along with a couple of other newcomers.  We arrived at around 5:30, set up our stuff, watched and listened for four and a half hours, played our one song ("You Said Yes", our only true "valentine") at around 11 -- which seemed to break some ice -- chatted with the hearty ones who lingered, offered our humble congratulations to the hosts, and left at around 11:30.   It was a full night's work as challenging, long and surreal as they come in the land of open mics, one which, if you happen to be alert, has something to do with patience, compassion and respect.

We wish Dan and Angela the best in whatever their next chapter might be . . .

-- Jim Bauer 2/15/10