Past the Ides, Jody Olán

Riding my bike down Wythe I see Jef carrying groceries. He invites me in for a coffee but I can't drink coffee this late in the day. We talk about the state of the world. We agree it is a dark time. We drink soda water.
"You know, Todd, tonight we have a great performer. Her name is Jolie Olán. She's really great, you should come."
"Jolie... like pretty?"
"Yes."
"Orleans, like New Orleans?"
"No, Olán, you know, like the Dutch."
"Oh! Holland... not Orleans."
"Yes."
This takes me a minute. It takes a minute to sink in.
"Jolie Holland? She's playing here? Tonight?"
"Oui, Todd. You should come see her."

Jolie Holland plays a Daniel Johnson song followed by a Syd Barrett song tonight. She plays "Darling Ukulele" on a ukulele. She plays "Damn Shame" in a way I haven't heard before. After the show I am talking to her boyfriend about a story I heard earlier from the guy who sells me wine. About Oscar Peterson asking him for a request during a performance on Christmas Eve in 1998. My breath is terrible. I can tell it's terrible. Jolie Holland's boyfriend is backing away. I am talking faster, trying to finish my story before he scrams.

In the mens bathroom at Zebulon there is a piece of red graffiti that reads "I never left New York... but New York did." I don't buy it.