#theladyofriverrun

WARDEN COUSLAND || “Well, well. Bryce Cousland’s little spitfire. All grown up, and still playing the man.”

fallen leaves: a scent that triggers a positive memory

my mom’s perfume, apples, freshly cut grass

maple: a kindness or sweet sentiment you've done or that someone has done for you

apparently and according to at least you, shawna and sara, I’m good at small gestures, you know, cards (wink wink), gifts, wishes etc. and the latest, sweetest, most touching thing done to me was def the card I got from one of my kids at school. 

oak: something or someone that encourages strength in you

how terrible is it to say “myself”? it’s not me being megalomaniac, I swear, it’s just that typically I can find all the strength (I SWEAR this is the most infuriating word in the english language I HATE WRITING IT) I need in myself. I do sometimes need other people for emotional support or a word of advice or just describing what’s happening to them, but I don’t think I have a single person I consider to be so emotionally strong that I use him or her as an example for myself

elm: what your dreams are like

9. What is your favourite item of clothing?My godmother made us some totally amazing cat dresses that I think are my new favourites.  Otherwise our long black Masha dress, though my black high-waisted pants probably get the most use. 

28.What would you want your legacy to be?I don’t know. I think it’s hard to live with how you want to be remembered in mind because you don’t have much control over it. I’d just like to be remembered fondly by the ones I love. And I suppose I’d like to have a positive impact on my theatre community.

melon - my first impression of you

I was so excited to meet you and Shawna and to meet another Jackie (even if I was slightly disappointed you weren’t a twin too, I had just come off a weird streak of meeting other Jackies who were twins, but there were twins on the train so A-OKAY!!) and I was just like woah who is this gorgeous person, then we chatted and you were lovely and basically all Jackies are great let’s start a squad.

vanilla - what i like most about you

I actually love your relationship with Shawna so much because you two are so cute and it makes me so happy to see you two so happy. All your social media posts are so freaking cute I just can’t deal.

strawberry - i secretly think…

LAMORNA. I cry over your sweet soul every single day. It's true.

You're the greatest <3

Jackie and I were invited to one of the Maria Doyle Kennedy house concerts in Seattle, and it was such a different experience than IAC or Hugh’s Room. Most of the night transcends words, but it feels strange not to write at least a little note, for posterity, so here are the highlights.  Barefoot Hello. We went downstairs to scope out seats, and opted for a comfy couch near Maria’s bells. Just after we sat down, we recognised the purple and white floral frock from SDCC down the hall, and, of course, the woman wearing it. We waved, and Maria, barefoot, navigated through the other people downstairs, and greeted us with a warm “Hi, ladies!” and hugs. The heat was promptly complained about because it’s hella hot in Seattle this summer and no one here is prepared for it - “I'm roasting! Jeepers!” As we talked, Maria made eye contact with my mam who had been talking to another guest. "Hi, I'm Maria." "Oh, this is my mam." "Oohh, heeelloooo!! Lovely to meetya! Aww!" To “get some work out of [us]”, Maria asked us to help CDs during the break, so we went upstairs to sort that out. 

Bead of sweat. While we were snacking on the delicious treats everyone brought, we ran into Kieran and talked about their road trip up. My mam, the beautiful social butterfly she is, proceeded to talk about the bead of sweat dripping all the way done her back to, well, lower… What a gem. (Please don’t kill me, mam! - blame the heat - we were all going a bit bonkers)

Stuck. I definitely peeped at the set list before the gig began, so I was confused when I didn’t recognise the first few notes of Hola Luna which was supposed to be the second song, and even more confused when Kieran glanced in our direction and gave us a wink. And then… *chorus on angels* STUCK. It is absurd to think about how this is probably her most well known song after it was performed on OB (and I stg I don’t mean to be a stuck-up hipster about it) because it’s always been my default favourite (only when forced to choose), and it’s kind of the reason I first got in contact with them. I’ve been dying to hear it live, and I… UGH. WORDS?! To me, the song has an oceanic quality - waves continuously ebbing and flowing, the struggle to “get up” or swim to shore, but constantly being tossed back by the currents and “torn asunder.”   Maria did a different tempo/inflection on “We are knuckled down, buckled under, fucked around, and passed over” that echoed that pushing against water and coming up for air. It was stunning. After the song Maria said, “That one was especially for Shawna and Jackie - I know they love it.” *pinch me* 

Pride. As Maria introduced one of the songs from the next album, Pride, she talked about Ireland’s marriage referendum and how the entire country voted yes except for this tiny county in the center “where [her] mammy’s from.” *cue audience laugh and sympathetic “Aww”*

Please Don’t Leave the Bar. Maria mentioned that the titles of the songs for the new album are hilarious and singled out, Please Don’t Leave the Bar, and sang a few lines from it. Kieran piped in with his two favourite funny titles for songs: “Pottymouth” and “Kissing Cousins.” Maria: “I don’t have a song called ‘Pottymouth’ and neither do you …and we never will have.” 

Swankypants Seattle. MDK and KK played gigs in Queen Anne: “Swankypants,” Carkeek Park: “Also pretty swankypants.” and Bellevue: “Also really swankypants.” “Except how the fucking hell do you get around?! It’s the worst traffic EVVAHHH. It’s horrible! ‘It’s HORRible!’ That’s my best Seattle accent. ‘It’s horrible.’” Someone in the audience innocently asked, “How do we say it?” “‘HORRible.’ We say, HARRible.”

Under the stars. The house concert moved to the backyard for Act II. Most people brought their chairs out, and Jackie and I ended up on a blanket just in front of Maria and Kieran. They always sound incredible, but it was such a treat to hear just the two of them with Kieran’s guitar under the stars. “Going Home” and “Sinners Like You and Me” were gorgeous. 

Twelve White Horses. Maria’s favourite song Kieran’s ever written. She pointed out that there’s the line in the middle of the song: “Where does the northern wind come from?” When they were recording it again recently, Kieran was like “What a fucking stupid line… Like, from the North, obviously!” However, Maria thought it was brilliant line about creation and the big bang, “Like where does the northern wind come form? where does anything come from?!” And she’s had luck with persuading him of her existential interpretation. ”Boom. Results.”

At Last. One of the last songs they played inside was a cover of Etta James’s At Last. They learned it for the wedding of a friend who was getting married for the first time at over 50. She had heard this song on the radio one day and thought it might be too corny. Maria disagreed. “Are you fucking kidding me?! It’s like the most beautiful song EVER written. And it’s called At Last. And it’s like ‘At last my love has come.’ And I was like, chicken. You’re over fifty. You’re getting married. It’s the most perfect song. In the World. Of All. At a wedding.” And MDK and KK’s rendition is so simple and sweet and stunning - buhhhhh! 

Post-gig glow. After the gig, we were able to just hang out and talk. I think this is where the difference between a gig and a house concert is most prevalent. When the music’s playing, it doesn’t really matter where you are- you’re all plugged in and transported to the same plane. It’s the energy and space book-ending the music that’s different. Gigs are teeming with loud and exciting energy, while this house concert felt so much more home-y (go figure). It was still incredibly exciting, but everything was in bathed in an ease and calmness. To be honest, it felt (and still feels) like a dream.