the spare

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Fly Me to The Moon
Current mood: happy
Category: Music

I'm still trying to comprehend all the wonderful things that have occurred within the past 24 hours. There were so many neat moments and mind blowing coincidences that I can hardly figure out where to start. Well, here goes…

Food.
I flew into LA on Friday morning and my good friend, Kaliko, picked me up from the airport. We went and had lunch at this little pizza joint called "Rizzo's Pizza" and ate a plate piled high with chucks of cooked pizza dough smothered in garlic butter sauce. Y-U-M!

The Right Fit.
Then we went over to the mall so I could make an attempt at finding a pair of jeans that would fit me just right…not an easy thing to do after eating a plate full of bread…but I was determined to win the hunt. After sweeping through 3 or 4 stores, I finally found a pair – and they fit PERFECTLY. Not the usual occurrence for me…I'm so used to settling for a pair that kinda fits. But today was my day, and these babies fit me like a glove.

The Show.
We arrived at the Hotel café around 7pm, gave our tickets to the nice doorman, and entered into this swanky little club near Sunset Blvd. Through the swinging glass doors was the bar/performance room and I caught a glimpse of the tiny little stage with a grand red curtain backdrop, small drumset, keyboards, a fender amp. This place was nice and intimate – candles, glowing oriental lights hanging from the high ceiling – the perfect place to see Erin up close. After a sweet set by Rachel Cantu (kinda like Beth Orton), Allison & the keyboardist (I wish I could remember his name…he was amazing) took to the stage and whipped into a nice jazz/swing intro. Then, from the back of the room, Erin came running on up to the stage, strapped on her beautiful light green hollow body guitar and swung into 'Thanks for the Boogie'. My feet, hips, shoulders, and head immediately started bopping to the beat. I was locked in for what would be one of THE best shows I've ever seen.

The Music.
After a saucy intro about 'things you do on your knees', the trio slid into a very sexy rendition of 'Taste of You' and I lost my mind…the first of multiple melon-missing moments of the evening. An encore of 'James!' was also a wonderful surprise.

The "Accident".
During the playing of 'If You A Viper', a swanky tune about Maui-wOwie, Allison started into a nice falling-down-the-stairs-type jazzy vaudeville drum solo. At the tail end of the walk, after a succession of taps on various bells & cowbells, the bartender dropped a glass…YOU COULDN'T HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER TIMED ACCIDENT TO SAVE YOUR LIFE. It was PERFECT. Everyone went wild. I lost my mind for the second time.

Shocked.
About midway through her set, Erin played some solo tunes on her guitar. In between songs, she asked if her friend "Michelle" could join her on stage to sing a song. Michelle obliged and jumped up on stage. MICHELLE SHOCKED JUMPED ON STAGE. Seriously, at this point I almost fainted. MICHELLE SHOCKED got up on stage and sang one of her songs with Erin. She hung out after the show too. At the merch table, she showed me the T-shirt she bought. I IMMEDIATELY BOUGHT TWO and lost my mind for the third time.

Erin.
After the show Kaliko and I headed to the merch table where I bought some things and asked if Erin would be signing CDs. 'Yes' was the answer so I figured we'd be there for at least 20 minutes waiting before she emerged from the green room. Nope. It was about 2 minutes, and she was standing next to me. That was melon-roll #4.

2 Degrees.
At this point, I was euphoric having seen such an awesome show with sweet surprises. I had one more thing I wanted to do…say hi to Allison Miller. I approached her feeling like a dorky 13 year old, awkward and unable to contain my excitement. She was hanging out with her friends outside when we rolled up. She immediately began talking with us and I mentioned us having a mutual acquaintance. 'Yes' she nodded, and began asking if I knew some other people to which my reply was YES, OH MY GAWD, YES! How random is THAT? Small world FOR REALS. She was so engaging and nice and packed with raw energy…you shoulda seen her chops. VERY impressive jazz knock-u-dead rolling across the skins. Genius. Hot damn. Mind loss x100.

The Finale.
After wishing Allison a safe trip, we made our exit. I was having a hard time breathing. I was dizzy with shock and excitement. I needed to wind down a little. What better place to mellow out than The Dresden? Timeless, loungy, swingin'…it was perfect. And when I thought I couldn't be more content, Marty & Elaine got on stage and played "Fly Me to the Moon".

I was in heaven. I still am.

Labels: allison miller, erin mckeown, music