i was the only one who could stare until you were done
ok, concert story time!!
I wrestled my 15 year old cousin Hailie into going with me, which actually kind of worked out great. Honestly, I wanted two things from this concert. 1) To meet / talk to / touch / everything to Joshua Radin, himself and 2) for him to play "They Bring Me To You" which is not only my favorite J.Radin song in the first place, but probably my second favorite song of all time. From what I had heard, he wasn't playing TBMTY, so I had accepted that it probably wasn't going to happen. I'm used to it because most of the time, my absolute favorite songs are the ones that are the most obscure and are rarely (if ever) singles. Regardless, I went in accepting the fact that I was going to accomplish one of two goals but as long as I got a picture with the man of my dreams, everything would be alright.
okay, that was the background info. now, the quick facts. We got into line at about 7. Doors were @ 7:30, show @ 8, Josh was suppossed to hit the stage at 9:45 and end at 11. Which meant two opening acts, Jesse Harris & the ever so adorable Meiko.
For anyone who has never been to Downtown Brew, it's kind of hard to explain the set up. The place itself is pretty decent sized but the performance area / stage is super small. So, as soon as we get in, I grab Hailie and start booking it to the front. Before I know it, we're up front and I am literally right up against the stage. No joke. I start freaking out of course, and Hailie (bless her little heart) was totally good about my random mini-freakouts during the entire thing. Plus, she stood with me for 4 hours to see a guy that she didn't know just because she knew how much I wanted to go and how much I love this guy. Yeah, I owe her pretty big. But I figure that it's a win for her too because she was introduced to the wonderful world that is Joshua Radin and totally likes him! I was quite a proud cousin there for a little while.
Okay, so showtime. Jesse Harris opens and honestly, I don't know who the guy is. But he's awesomely cute and fabulous and just jammed out on this banjo. His music is super fun and catchy and I was surprised by how much I like it. I didn't get many pictures of him but there's a few (or maybe one) in my Joshua Radin set on my Flickr (which I'll link to at the end)
I need to pause right here and just go on record stating how much I absolutely hate / detest / cannot stand / want to kill stupid, obnoxious drunk girls. It was at this point that a group of sorostitues from CalPoly made their way behind me and decided that it would be okay to lay their shit all over me and bump into me repeatedly because they can't hold their alcohol which then made them not be able to stand up straight. Everyone who knows me (or heck, meets me) knows that I love my booze, but really? It was just so irritating, I couldn't handle it. But, I refused to let it ruin my night so I moved on. But really, there is nothing more obnoxious than that shit. I dealt with it the rest of the night though. It never stopped.
Next up was the ever so adorable Meiko who I was only vaguely familiar with. This girl, I just, she is just the cutest thing ever. She kept censoring herself because she realized that it was an all-ages show and it was, adorable. Once she realized it, she said: "I just have to say don't do drugs, wait til' you're married and eat your vegetables!" I DIED OF THE CUTE. She did almost every song off her record, and let me just tell you that she sounds so good live. I actually think that I may prefer her live as opposed to her studio stuff. But anyway, she was so cute and funny and charming. She was actually really interactive with the audience and that was cool. But towards the end, I was getting impatient and just wanted J.R. and, yeah.
Finally, it's time for Joshua! He comes out opens with "Free Of Me" then went into "Sky" and let me tell you, I was loving life. He's just..guh! So I'm singing along with him, taking pictures and just completely ignoring pretty much everyone at this point. Then he started into "Winter" and was kind of talking about it and all that and this is where things got bad.
PEOPLE WOULD NOT SHUT THE FUCK UP
Like literally, they wouldn't. So then he gets irritated and pissed and refuses to play until people quiet down but, they just wouldn't. It was all from the back too, where all the stupid drunk people were. He waited for awhile and then just kind of started talking to the front and calling the people in the back assholes and whatever. So after "Winter", he did the whole waiting thing, again. I was so mad at this point, I could barely see straight. Who comes to a show like that knowing full well what type of concert it's going to be (ie: LISTENING TO, not one to talk through) yet doesn't listen? I was furious, and so was Josh.
This is where things get interesting. He's still pissed (and talking to his band about it) before I know it, the band is walking off the stage. I start freaking out, thinking that he's going to walk off. But no. He UNPLUGS his guitar and goes over to the other side of the stage (I was on the right, he went over to the left) and he starts into "Everything'll Be Alright". COMPLETELY acoustic, and it was beautiful. I could still hear him because I was in the front but everyone else couldn't really. So I was alright with it, went back to enjoying it and singing with him. He gets done with the song and starts walking back toward the center and adjusting his guitar. BUT people are STILL not shutting the fuck up. So he comes over to my side, literally not even half a foot in front of me and is like "I can't believe those douchebags back there" and starts playing really really softly. I couldn't even tell what the song was at first but then he opened his mouth and all I hear is:
"You look like the sun..."
....... and I swear to god, I almost fainted. Right there. I literally had to lean on the stage because I couldn't physically support myself. My favorite artists, playing my all time favorite song pretty much TO ME. No joke. I grabbed my camera and just started recording. I really tried to not sing out loud with him, just mouth the words but I couldn't help it. I lost it and just started singing with him. He noticed, obviously and smiled really big at me and kept looking at me and into my camera and just...there are no words. I could not feel my body in that moment and I never wanted it to end. But when it did I just...I don't even know. There are really no words. I got the whole thing on video, and I got pictures. I just. Even thinking about it now, days later, my heart still beats super fast and I just, cannot. It literally was the best moment of my life.
after that, he went back to the mic and finished up his set. I was still reeling and could not handle my life. When he was done though, he didn't stick around. He just left. I was so upset that I didn't get to thank him for giving me the best moment of my fucking life / get a picture with him / whatever. I was seriously upset. I still am but i look at it this way: if people hadn't been being such douchebags we would have had a great show and I probably would have gotten to met him BUT I wouldn't have gotten to sing my all time favorite song completely acoustic with him. I have to keep telling myself that anyway.
but all in all, it was quite possibly the best show I've ever been to. I had a great time regardless of all that happened and that the universe was apparently against me in my quest to meet the future father of my children but, I got sang to. and I sang with him. I just, I don't even know. I will never forget it that's for sure.
all my pictures from the show are at my Flickr in my Joshua Radin Set if you want to see them. I'm still working on getting my epic video off my camera but as soon as I do, I will post it.