in which I am brought to tears (but not in a bad way)

So, we've been in the Ottawa for nearly three weeks (the longest three weeks of my life!) which has included many tedious tasks such as finding an apartment, trying to get a driver's license, getting a car fixed (of course, we got in an accident the day before we left for Canada), getting cell phones, blah, blah. These three weeks also included a short trip to Montreal. Why didn't we decide to move there? Delicious pastries on every corner (and a lot of rain, but who cares when there are pastries?) Montreal is wicked and it's only two hours from Ottawa, so everyone should come visit. Ok!

To keep my sanity here in this new place where I don't know a soul, I have been buying a lot of tickets to concerts: Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman in September, Feist in October, and last night the Ottawa Folk Festival.

The fest was four days of music, but post-wedding and post-moving we are poor and cannot afford four days of music. But we could afford (well, sort of) one night of music. I carefully selected from the four days and the line up was all I hoped it would be. The only downer was that there was a bit of spoken word ("the prodigal son of a dharma bum") which we managed to avoid by wandering off to another stage.

A very cool--and surprising--ukulele/ cello combo; some crazy mix of accordian, bluegrass, and African folk music; the Duhks (bluegrass for the party people); Odetta. Odetta. She was rockin and I only wish I could have heard her decades ago. All praise Odetta.

But the best, and most surprising moment, came from Rufus Wainwright. Ok, I know Hightouch and Dr. Write are big RW fans, but for me he's always sort of been in the musical background. All of his set was wonderful, surprising, and endlessly listenable. But at the end, at the encore. Wow. Of course he did Hallelujah which was great and all, but then he ended with Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

I read about his Judy Garland stuff back when and I thought it sounded kind of cheesy. I'd read good reviews, but I didn't really believe them. Judy Garland is Judy Garland and from my point of view, you really can't touch her. Especially with Somewhere Over the Rainbow. That is her song and no one else should sing it. Everyone else makes the song seem banal and simpering, but Judy Garland made it raw and real and representative of all life's fragile hope. When I was a kid, I used to sit in my bedroom singing the song into a tape recorder, willing my voice to sound like hers.

Early in the set, RW sang another Judy song and it was wonderful. I could hear immediately that his homage was not a foolish idea. So when the introductory notes to Somewhere (played lightly and lovely by his mother, Kate McGarrigle) came from the stage, I knew I was going to hear something amazing.

So I have decided that only Judy Garland and Rufus Wainwright should sing that song. After the show, I could hear bits and pieces of all of his songs in my head, except for that last one. That one, I could only feel in my stomach. I told Will it was worth coming to Canada just for that moment.