Election 2024: The Aftermath

Last week was hard. It has taken me this long to be able to fully formulate my thoughts on how the election for President of United States ended. It did not end as the majority of the people that I know would have liked. It was Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump — literally good versus evil, authoritarianism versus democracy, humanity versus inhumanity. As a prosecutor, Kamala Harris made a career of putting men like Donald Trump in jail. And yet, evil won… Or so it would seem.

It was a devastating blow to democracy. Now, twice in my daughters’ young lives, they have had to witness their country choose the most mediocre of men over a woman of merit who is far more qualified — first, Hillary Clinton in 2016 and now Kamala Harris in 2024. As teenagers, they are now more engaged and aware of what is happening and what all this means. We have all shed many tears and had to regroup.

It has to be said that I’m not wholly convinced Trump actually won. After all, he said months ago that he didn’t need people to vote because he had all the votes he needed, plenty of votes. WTAF was that supposed to mean? Not only that, but after record turnout and new registrations, there were somehow fewer votes? There have been reports of votes that weren’t counted as well. And we are supposed to believe that someone so vile swept every one of the swing states? Let’s also not forget the unfounded bomb threats called in to many democratic-leaning voting precincts. The math isn’t mathing. I feel that Donald Trump stole this election the way he claimed that Joe Biden did in 2020. The difference is that Joe Biden did no such thing and also that, unlike Trump, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are decent humans who will not encourage an insurrection to dispute the election results. That is exactly what he was counting on. Now he and his dictator friends like Putin have the U.S. exactly where they want us, in danger of losing the very freedoms we are supposed to stand for.

So much was on the line in this election. Reproductive rights for women, protection for the gay and trans community, immigration, and income tax and cost of living relief for middle class families are all up for grabs now. If Trump did not orchestrate all this and did actually win, it’s perhaps an even scarier scenario. That means that our country really is filled with people who chose a conman, felon, rapist, liar, and racist over a woman - yet again - who has more than enough experience in all three branches of government to lead this country and to do so with compassion and grace. Frankly, it’s damn embarrassing to be an American right now. The rest of the world has to be looking at us as if we have lost our collective minds, and who can blame them? We had the opportunity to move forward in a big way and then threw it all away.

Once again, the U.S. has shown that women (and especially Black women) are held to a higher standard to the point that she can be an ideal candidate and still fall short to patriarchy, misogyny, and racism even when running against the poorest excuse for a human we’ve seen in quite some time. But he’s a man. A rich white man. And somehow in this country that still carries more weight than being even the most capable woman of any race. That’s a hard pill to swallow, especially for someone like me who is a Black woman raising her daughters to be strong and to believe they can do anything they put their minds to. Can they? I absolutely still believe they can, but recent history shows that being the President may not be included in that dream. There should be a disclaimer that says results may vary.

In the coming weeks, months, and even years, there will be much said about where the Harris campaign went wrong and what she should’ve done differently. But if we are honest, we have to acknowledge that all of that speculation is bullshit. Truth be told, she ran a flawless campaign. It was perfectly executed from start to finish, and she had so much momentum behind her. There were people voting for her who had never voted for a Democrat before. Even longtime Republican leaders were rallying behind her. I have no time or energy for talking heads who want to lay blame as to where she fell short. She did not. It wasn’t the campaign that missed the mark. The bottom line is that this country’s history of racism and misogyny is still alive and well, and until that is dealt with, this is where we will be.

Still, none of this means it’s time to give up the fight for justice. No, instead it means that we have to rail even harder against the forces that would conspire to bring us down. To be silent is to be compliant. We will not go quietly. I have to believe that there’s still enough genuinely good-hearted people in the world that when we join forces good will overcome evil. To live without hope is to not live at all. We must keep fighting for what is right, fighting for our rights, and fighting against all odds because none of us are free until all of us are free.

So much this. 🎯

This live Teddy Swims concert video is 🔥🔥🔥 - took me right back to seeing him last year but from the comfort of my recliner. Made my day! Pretty sure I’ll be watching this again and again. 🤩🎶💃🏽

Sacrifice Tomorrow, Rinse and Repeat

Months ago, I said I hoped Alec Benjamin and twenty one pilots would both tour, so we could see them. And welp, that’s exactly what they did. What I didn’t have on my Bingo card was that they’d both be here within days of each other with a Herbie Hancock appearance thrown in (in) between just to spice things up even more. You can read all about the pilots and Herbie in my previous blog posts, but last night was all about Alec.

I don’t think functioning on minimal sleep for a week all for the love of music is exactly what Alec Benjamin was going for when he wrote “Sacrifice Tomorrow,” but we have indeed sacrificed many tomorrows this past week, being out way past our bedtime at these shows and then having work and school the next day. Are we doing this right?

Alec is everything I thought he’d be and maybe even more. I’m a witness that he’s just as adorable in real life as you’d expect, not to mention funny. And that voice. I have been blown away by the sweetness of his voice since I first heard him. That, coupled with the clever lyrics he writes, sucked me in from the start. Now 30, he hasn’t lost his signature sound one bit…although I might have struggled to hear it at times because of the crowd singing along so loudly. While I would’ve preferred to hear more of him than them, you’ve gotta appreciate the passion. This was a sold out show, and it was clear that everyone there loves him, likely for the same reasons I do.

This will sound strange coming from me, but I am actually looking forward to having a little break in concert action. We don’t have another show planned for a little while, and I can use a reset. I turn 50 in two days, and my body is like, “Remember sleep? Let’s do that again.” Mmm, sleep… It always seems to happen this way, though. There will be a break in the action, and then all the shows happen at once. The same thing happened last October and again in May.

To close, I just wanna give props to the staff at HOB Orlando. I’ve been there several times over the last few months, and each time they’ve been top notch. In particular, last night we needed their assistance at one point, and they really stepped up. The lack of reserved seating downstairs will forever be my least favorite thing about the venue, but I keep going back, and that’s due in no small part to the rockstar staff they have working there. And despite the large crowd and general admission setup, we were actually able to more or less get the spot that I like, the one I discovered a few weeks ago at Allen Stone - no small feat, considering how long the line was to go inside. Thankfully, most of those people were more concerned with cramming in close to the stage than hanging out in my preferred spot, so it worked out. Great job, HOB. Keep being awesome.

The Art of Sound

Other than my husband, music has always been the true love of my life. From the beginning. I don’t remember a time when music wasn’t my most intoxicating obsession. My dad once told me a story about the day he and my mother brought me home from the hospital where apparently he had asked me if I liked music as the hospital’s elevator music played. As he told me about this, I was in my twenties, and he said, “And oh boy, how you love music. I had no idea what I was asking!”

So, it stands to reason that when I met my husband, we bonded over our mutual appreciation for music, but while we overlapped a lot with the pop and rock music we like, I also have a deep love for country where he is more of a jazz fan. This actually makes sense. As a singer, I’ve always been more concerned with songs with lyrics for me to sing [and not only that, but I like lyrics that convey important messages or tell a story] while, being a drummer, my husband was drawn to instrumental jazz from a musician’s perspective. We’ve been together long enough now that we’ve pretty much drawn each other into each of our worlds, and I have attended quite a few jazz concerts (instrumental or otherwise) with him now - shows it would’ve never occurred to me to go to before but all of which I’ve greatly enjoyed.

All of this backstory brings me to tonight. In this whirlwind week where we are seeing three very different kinds of concerts, tonight we saw Herbie Hancock. Circling back to some things I’ve said in previous concert posts, this was my kind of crowd. Everyone was mostly my age or older, there were reserved seats, and people actually SAT in them! But beyond that, the show itself was pretty stellar in its own right. There is no denying the musicianship of a good jazz band, and Herbie is touring with some of the best. Herbie’s own skills on the keys, coupled with his wit and humor brought it all together, and I found myself bobbing my head along with everyone else and happily hopping up at the end for a standing ovation.

As I sat there, I couldn’t help but think back to pre-marriage me and how surprised that version of me would be to find herself at a Herbie Hancock show or any jazz performance, for that matter. But this version of me thinks it’s pretty cool just to witness such grand musicianship up close and personal and to hear where the music leads them. Not once did I think about the need for lyrics tonight because there was none. The instruments did all the talking, and they said plenty.

Welcome Back to Trench

When our kids introduced us to the world of the twenty one pilots fandom a couple of years ago, we were initially full of corny parent jokes:

That's not to say we don't still say those things sometimes (thank goodness our teens generally find us amusing), but it's also wild to see how big a part of our family dynamic this duo has become over these couple of years...so much so that I've even suggested that when we finally get a dog, he should be named Clancy. [T.O.P. fans will understand.] They are in regular rotation in our home and in our cars. Last year, they were one of my top 5 most listened to artists on Spotify! And last night, at last, we all went to see them perform live on the aptly-named Clancy Tour. It was the first time seeing them for all 5 of us - our family of 4, along with my 16yo's...um, favorite boy, we'll call him. I don't think she's been quite this happy since maybe when we first surprised her with AJR tickets. But as much as she loves AJR (we all do now!), twenty one pilots is HER band as Living Colour is mine, and Genesis is her dad's. Now we are all along for the ride.

And last night, much of Orlando was also along for that ride, having sold out the Kia Center pretty much immediately when the tickets went on sale months ago. I had a feeling their show would be high energy and that the crowd would be super hyped, and I was not wrong about that. But after being as impressed as I was by AJR (twice!) this year, I wasn't 100% sure what to expect. Tyler and Josh did not disappoint, though, and I have to say I am also quite impressed with THEM...not that I didn't think I would be. We've watched enough of their music videos and live performance clips (full concerts, even) on YouTube for me to know this, too, wasn't going to be just an ordinary concert.

To the point, Tyler and Josh have a way of immersing themselves into the crowd (literally) that makes them feel like they are right there with you - because they are - spending quite a bit of time out amongst their fans instead of on the stage. They are seemingly everywhere at once, making it feel like an intimate performance even with thousands of people in the audience. And the fire. There was a lot of fire, which I rather appreciated because, being prone to being cold, I was chilly in the arena, and it was nice to sometimes be able to feel a bit of warmth from the flames, all the way up our cushy club level seats!

We heard so many favorite songs of theirs last night, including my newest favorite from them, the super catchy "Lavish," but I have not stopped playfully pouting yet that they didn't do my O.G. favorite of theirs - the one that really stuck out to me when I first heard them, and that is "Lane Boy." I love that one so much that I have a bit of a reputation for it at this point. With a catalog as extensive as theirs is, they can't be expected to play everything, but man, hearing that one live would've made the night absolutely, undeniably perfect for me. Here's hoping they'll add it back in on a future tour.

Also on the subject of their music, I couldn't help but giggle thinking that Tyler doesn't really even need to know his own lyrics because that arena full of fans was more than happy to sing every line for him. From the first notes of every song, they were READY. If anyone knows the assignment, it's T.O.P. fans. Apparently, my kids aren't the only ones who can recite their songs like the Pledge of Allegiance. This is a thing I know now.

And finally, a huge thank you to Tyler for actually telling those of us in reserved seats to sit and rest for a few songs. Not to be the old lady in the room, but I'm long past the age of wanting to stand for an entire show, in most cases preferring to sit and truly hear the music and watch what is happening on the stage - or in this case (also) in the middle of the crowd somewhere. It was a bit of a reprieve when he said that.

Eh, so maybe I'll let that "Lane Boy" thing slide after all.

A whole mood.