(no subject)
The Joanna Newsom concert. I took the Metro to U St. I got in the will-call line until Ben joined me. We walked upstairs to the main room and already a crowd had formed around the stage. Already a crucial part of my plan had been destroyed. We stood around until the warm up band, P.G. Sixx, came on. Honestly, I really disliked them. I found them mindblowingly mediocre and boring, with nothing original and memorable. I mean, honestly, they weren't that bad but I was really tired and achey and wanted Joanna Newsom to come on. Their last song was 15 minutes and I wasn't in the mood really. They seemed like nice people but I came to be impatient and irritable. By the time they ended, the room was packed. We were relatively close to the stage, but the stage at the Black Cat is pretty low and it was still a bit difficult to see. Especially since, when Joanna came on, she was sitting down. The worst part was that some boy near the front was wearing a hat. Not a baseball cap, like a stylish hat (I suppose it was a slightly embellished Fedora). He decided it was absolutely necessary to wear this hat despite the fact that he was standing in front of tons of people who were trying to see what was in front of him. It's just his thoughtlessness in the name of fashion that tormented me the most. His hat at one point cut off half of Joanna's face and that was bothering me greatly, because I wanted to watch her face. It ended up not being much of a problem because the crowd shifted but for a few minutes there, I did want to kill him.
Anyway, though, here's my story. Joanna had opened with "Bridges and Balloons" followed by "The Book Of Right-On". Then she moved into material from Ys. While I love the new album, I haven't listened to it much yet and am not familiar with the material. So even though I thought the music was amazing, and I enjoyed it, the fact that I was tired and achey made standing behind Mr. Hat and Mr. Tall very difficult, and the music didn't hold me captivated as much as was needed. I wished she would perform more from the first album. And then, at some point, my stomach suddenly felt funny. It didn't hurt, and I can't explain the feeling, but it was strange enough for me to tap Ben on the shoulder and tell him I needed to sit down, and that I might not come back. Immediately after I told him this, I started to sway. Or something. Basically, I felt extremely faint. I've never felt faint before, never really came close to fainting. But I turned around and started to make my way out of the crowd. It's hard to describe the feeling, but I was terribly weak, incapable of speech, could barely keep my balance and getting scared. Everything felt far away. As the crowd thinned out, my legs buckled at one point and I almost fell over a few times. All of a sudden, the music got very distant and muddy. I felt nauseated. And in retrospect, I'm very certain that the only reason I didn't collapse or pass out was because of pure will; I was terrified of passing out in a public place with no friends around, so I tried with all my might to stay conscious. I made my way to the back of the room where I sat down and within a minute, I felt better. I looked up at the stage, considered staying for about half a second and realized how much I didn't want to stay. I left the club, and the combination of walking with the cold night air made me feel even better. But on the entire way home (having to wait 20 minutes for each train), I still felt lightheaded, had a headache, and felt slightly nauseated.
So, basically, I don't know how to feel. I guess I wish I could have seen her entire set but I don't feel like it was that important to me. I saw her in person. She was fabulous and sweet. She didn't have bangs, which made me feel like it wasn't her and it never sunk in, but I still enjoyed it. I did truly almost faint though, and I still don't know why. I wasn't hot and only a little thirsty, but not dehydrated or anything. Nothing ever happened with the stuff the radio station was telling me about a possible encounter with her, but I don't care much. Birdie, I hope you have a great time tomorrow.
Anyway, though, here's my story. Joanna had opened with "Bridges and Balloons" followed by "The Book Of Right-On". Then she moved into material from Ys. While I love the new album, I haven't listened to it much yet and am not familiar with the material. So even though I thought the music was amazing, and I enjoyed it, the fact that I was tired and achey made standing behind Mr. Hat and Mr. Tall very difficult, and the music didn't hold me captivated as much as was needed. I wished she would perform more from the first album. And then, at some point, my stomach suddenly felt funny. It didn't hurt, and I can't explain the feeling, but it was strange enough for me to tap Ben on the shoulder and tell him I needed to sit down, and that I might not come back. Immediately after I told him this, I started to sway. Or something. Basically, I felt extremely faint. I've never felt faint before, never really came close to fainting. But I turned around and started to make my way out of the crowd. It's hard to describe the feeling, but I was terribly weak, incapable of speech, could barely keep my balance and getting scared. Everything felt far away. As the crowd thinned out, my legs buckled at one point and I almost fell over a few times. All of a sudden, the music got very distant and muddy. I felt nauseated. And in retrospect, I'm very certain that the only reason I didn't collapse or pass out was because of pure will; I was terrified of passing out in a public place with no friends around, so I tried with all my might to stay conscious. I made my way to the back of the room where I sat down and within a minute, I felt better. I looked up at the stage, considered staying for about half a second and realized how much I didn't want to stay. I left the club, and the combination of walking with the cold night air made me feel even better. But on the entire way home (having to wait 20 minutes for each train), I still felt lightheaded, had a headache, and felt slightly nauseated.
So, basically, I don't know how to feel. I guess I wish I could have seen her entire set but I don't feel like it was that important to me. I saw her in person. She was fabulous and sweet. She didn't have bangs, which made me feel like it wasn't her and it never sunk in, but I still enjoyed it. I did truly almost faint though, and I still don't know why. I wasn't hot and only a little thirsty, but not dehydrated or anything. Nothing ever happened with the stuff the radio station was telling me about a possible encounter with her, but I don't care much. Birdie, I hope you have a great time tomorrow.