Moonie’s friend MDB (“Emmm Deee Beee!” he shouted happily, recognizing the initials) had a birthday recently. Like a true music lover, he used that as an excuse to host a songwriter in the round with two of his talented friends, Abbie Gardner and Jesse Terry.
And, like a true music lover, Moonie bought us tickets to the show, with his spiky pink head as close to the stage as he could get.
In the 22 months Moonie has lived with me, he’s gotten used to seeing live music three or four times a week. We’ve been slipping making it out to so many shows lately, and when I got home from work on Wednesday he gave me a stern “stay there” look, ducked into his little Moonie workshop, and then came out wearing his fanciest footwear:
“What’s up, little dude?” I asked.
“I’m wearing sneakers ’cause we’re going to Sneekers!”
“We are? What’s at Sneekers?”
“Emmm Deee Beee!” he shouted, running up and down the hallway in his comical kicks.
Moonie has been a big (for his size) fan of Marc Douglas Berardo – or MDB as I call him, or Emmm Deee Beee as Moonie even more enthusiastically calls him – since Moonie got to stay in his very first hotel room and dip in his very first pool when we saw MDB play Tupelo Music Hall in New Hampshire last spring. Since then, he’s seen MDB play everywhere from Waterfall Arts Center in Maine to the Providence Folk Festival to at least a half-dozen shows at MDB’s home base, Perks and Corks in Westerly. But to get to Sneekers, Moonie and I would have to cross state lines into Connecticut. It was rush hour and the show started in less than two hours.
“Let’s roll!” I said.
“Whee!” Moonie hooted, and then promptly tripped on his shoelaces.
“Um, buddy, I don’t think you actually need to wear sneakers to go to Sneekers,” I said, and Moonie happily kicked off the kicks, freeing his teeny toes. Read More
Every Tuesday, Rhode Island musician Joanne Lurgio hosts an open mic at Pub on Park in Cranston. Moonie and I checked it out last week, when Moonie’s pal Marc Douglas Berardo was slated as the feature act.
It didn’t take long for Moonie to ask MDB to make him a cape out of a napkin (he likes when people fashion him clothing out of found objects). He giggled delightedly as MDB gently blew air, making his long cape flap.
Moonie repaid his pal but trying to steal MDB’s beer. He’s kind of a sneak sometimes.
But he cheered loudly for his pal when it was Marc’s turn to play his fun set.
Moonie’s musician pals Marc Douglas Berardo and John Juxo were playing a show in Maine, and Moonie insisted we drive up. So we did. Even if I had to look at his excited little bum on the dashboard the whole way.
We did stop at a rest area so Moonie could tell bear jokes to his pal Smokey Bear.
(Moonie: “What do you call bears without ears?”
Smokey: “What?”
Moonie: “Bs!”
Smokey: “Ah.”
Moonie: “Why don’t bears like fast food?”
Smokey: “Why?”
Moonie: “Because they can’t catch it!”
Moonie: “Why did Smokey get fired from his fire ranger job?”
Smokey: “Er, why?”
Moonie: “Cause he only did the BEAR minimum!”
Smokey: “Uh, kid, can you move along? I have some, uh, important fire prevention to do here.”)
But we did make it to the Waterfall Arts Center, which turned out to be totally awesome.
Moonie and I didn’t get any photos of Marc Douglas Berardo when we saw him at Tupelo Music Hall, so after Waterfire on Saturday night we headed down to MDB’s favorite haunt, Perks & Corks in Westerly, to catch his hometown show. He and his pals Ken Serio, John White and Sandy Allen were rocking by the time we walked in, and even people outside the building caught some of the joy from their noise.
Sandy Allen provided great slide action next to us. Moonie was fascinated.
When MDB and friends stopped for a break, we asked Ken Serio if it was OK for Moonie to take a photo with his percussion instruments. Ken gave us the green light, and Moonie hopped right up.
One of the acts Moonie traveled all the way to NH to see actually lives right in Rhode Island: Marc Douglas Berardo. His set at Tupelo Music Hall was amazing last night and well worth the drive. Moonie and I approached him for a photo after, during which Moonie appears to have farted in MDB’s face.
A woman standing nearby suddenly asked, “Is that Moonie?” It was his first recognition, and don’t worry, the fame only swelled his head a little. Given that it was already disproportionately large to his body, it’s all the room it had to swell.
It turned out that Mary had just discovered Moonie’s Facebook Page and was a fan of his antics. Obviously I had to capture his first official fan, so Mary jumped into the next photo with MDB.
Adorableness immediately ensued.
