Opening 101 & craving grapes

babymac does have ears at this point and i hope he/she can hear at least a little cause the kid has been getting exposure to some great seriously great music! His/Her first concert was Sufjan Stevens, then a stellar Ray LaMontagne show in November, and then last night at the Showbox babyMac got to take in some IMOGEN HEAP!

but before i get to how amazing and wonderfully quirky miss heap was, let me make a few statements about being an opener, ok?

please, please, PLEASe if you ever are the opener at a show or on a tour...PLEASE don't be an obnoxious, egotistical, stage hog- especially if the headliner invites you on to support during the main set. and don't get in the middle of the stage, with the lights on you, and distract from the headliner. come on, this is stuff for Opening 101.

imgogen had two openers...the first one was adorable and understated...he was nervous, but great. he played his short set and thanked the crowd and thanked imogen. later when he was invited on stage to play guitar as a part of her band, he filled his supportive role humbly and faded seamlessly into her band with the rest of the players. A+ kiddo.

the second opener should have taken notes. he came out on stage like he owned it (not his worse offense) and started beat boxing. now, he was the best beat boxer anyone had ever seen. unfortunately when (after 10 long minutes) he began his rave-like songs, he dropped far down on the 'best' list. one whole song consisted of him saying "take me down to the mother ship" and then getting the audience to yell back "h*ll yeah" it happened to actually be my favorite song because it was his LAST. beat boxing is cool, but this guy was more of a bald, circus act than a legit act on the tour. but i don't think you could've told him that. when imogen invited him on stage (twice, please imogen, why?) he stood right in the center at the front and proceeded to beat box (always making hand motions to go along with his parts...playing the drums, etc) and dance. it was like road kill, you had to look. and it was totally distracting. i eventually found a way to position myself in the crowd where it was impossible for me to see him. it helped. but openers, take notes, this guy was the poster child for how to FAIL at opening and probably never get asked on a tour ever again.

ok...the rant is done. let's talk about happy things. like imogen.

she's in my top 16 so if you have never seen the chic, visit her myspace or website and look at the pictures.

she is a character! she came out on stage with her hair teased all up and huge red and pink flowers from the middle of her forehead to the base of her head...it looked like a flower mohawk. And she had a pink boa fastened around her very thin, white arms. she was covered in glitter and her face looked doll like with white eye shadow and strikingly pink lipstick. she was wearing a pink fluffy dress and kiddy neclaces thick around her neck.

our friend matt said she reminded him of alice in wonderland, but i think shawn was the one who nailed it. he said, "can't you just imagine her as a little girl? i bet she has not changed much" as I watched her flit and float and dance around the stage, i could absolutely imagine her as a little girl, playing dress up with her doll accessories and her momma's shoes and grandma's old feathery hats...just dressing up and performing for her family...having the time of her life. that image in my mind made me like her even more.

congratulations, imogen, on not losing your childlikeness.

the music was amazing. i added one of her songs to my page, so you could enjoy her too.

when we got home, we let the dogs out, and i laid down on the couch. we came home a little early because i had a weird pain in my abdomen. being pregnant makes you paranoid. i had that pain and got worried i might be cramping or bleeding or something and it was keeping me from enjoying the second encore...so my sweet husband suggesed we leave. of course, nothing was wrong. but as i relaxed on the couch, i could feel the stress.

"i want ice cream". shawn was sitting on the loveseat with his computer. he smiled, but didnt look up. "seriously, i want ice cream" i repeated.

"really? i could go for some ice cream, want me to go get some?" i thought about it.

" well i don't need ice cream. i don't need to get an fatter."

he laughed, "babe, your pregnant."

"i said i don't need to get any fatter than i already will. trust me, i know i am preggo"

"ok," he got up, "but now i want ice cream. do you need anything else?"

i thought, "yeah, you know, actually what i want is grapes. red ones." as i said it, i knew i had hit the real craving. i started to salivate.

"ok.anything else?"

i thought.

"babe, anything else? are you sure you dont want ice cream?"

he was tempting me and it worked "well maybe get some sherbert...orange sherbert and white ice cream. yeah, and grapes. red ones."

he got ready and all the talk about food suddenly made me sick. "honey, can you grab me some crackers real quick before i vomit?"

people move fast when you say the word 'vomit'. he noticed we were almost out of crackers, so they got added to the list. i ate the remaining 2 crackers and added ginger ale to the list. on his way out the door, i added those whole fruit popsicles and offered to make a list for him. he declined.

he hates going to the store with a list form his wife. i think its the stamp of old married couple or something to him...*grin*

he came back a few minutes later with sawyer who went along for the ride. as they unloaded the grocceries, i started begging for the grapes. suddenly it got quiet. shawn emerged sheepishly from the kitchen "oops"

I thought he was messing with me, but no...he actually forgot the grapes. he tried to talk me into the orange sherbert and vanilla ice cream, but it tasted weird. so he sat down ate some of his ben&jerry's and then left a few minutes later. as he went out the door, i reminded him this will be one of those great pregnancy stories ever dad has.

he muttered 'thanks' sarcastically and winked.

he came back with about 10lbs of red grapes. i am not kidding. hope is still like them tomorrow! *grin*

ahhh...the joys of life and marriage and pregnancy... you didn't know the mcdonalds life was so charmed, did you? ha!

have a great day friends and a little chuckle on our behalf...its ok, you can laugh with us!