Finally, the day had come for my first concert out of the state of Washington in recent years.  I was certainly excited for it because, like everything else, New York seems to be a more vibrant scene for these types of things than Seattle.   The road to the night of the gig was quite a long and tortorous road, so we'll start in the morning.

Frodo, Mount Doom is in view!

That morning after the obligatory dim sum, (note, I saw this awesome salon name -- Fairy Hair-- nice) I went with my mom and grandmother to take the free Staten Island Ferry.  That was leisurely enough, however my mom wanted to swing by Ground Zero before meeting up with my grandma at South Street Seaport.  (She was not accompanying us to Ground Zero.)  Anyways, we couldn't get on the right bus, so I was tricked (dastardly so) into hiking it to Ground Zero after which point we headed to South Street Seaport.  To me, it seemed like Frodo and Sam's long death march to Mt Doom, but I just google mapped it, and it's about 1.5 miles from Staten Island Ferry to Ground Zero to South Street Seaport.  Yes, I'm a sissy when it comes to walking, but it was long and tiring. 

I wish I had some deep, cerebral thoughts regarding Ground Zero to share, but it was what it was.  No lumps in the throats or dust in the air.  Of course we should never forget, but all the construction and busyness surrounding that hole in Manhattan runs parallel to how we as Americans have dealt with it.  As numbing as 9/11 is, life goes on, and we have to keep going on.  I guess I had a little bit to say on that.

I don't think we've walked enough -- let's stand for long periods of time

After the long hike, we made our way down to Chinatown for a meal -- and it was pretty good.  We had grandma's favorite dish, sweet and sour pork, chow mein with too many vegetables and a bean curd dish.  It was, of course, too much food considering it was me and two girls eating, but what can you do?  Fortunately I didn't stuff myself.  Afterward, we escorted my grandma to the subway and headed over to the Bowery Ballroom for the concert which is on the outskirts of Chinatown.  The show started at 8pm, and the doors opened at 7pm.  We had planned on sitting in a Starbucks for about half an hour before standing in line, but as we saw the four people already in line, we decided to just stand in line as well ... at 6pm.  Let's just say it wasn't the smartest idea we had, but it did have its advantages as I will later explain.  Still, after the night was done, we were basically standing from 6pm till 11pm.  This along with the torture march earlier in the day took its toll by night's end.

Thus I redeemed myself(?)

A bit about the layout of Bowery Ballroom, which is a fantastic venue.  When you first through the doors, you are led downstairs into a lounge area that has restrooms and a bar.  It's kind of a cool place to hang out and chill.  Being person five and six through the door, we sat down I realized that ** Rachael was sitting in the booth next to us. **  She was doing an interview with some fellow who had a recorder, so I waited till after they were done and made my move for the signature I failed to get in Seattle.  When she got up, she actually turned away from me, so someone else got the first Hancock before me.  However, after she finished that one, I *think* I put my hand on her shoulder or something like that and said, "Rachael, can I get your signature?"  Not sure if it was a hand on the shoulder or tap on the shoulder, or whatever I did.  But yeah, it produced the correct effect.  She signed my CD jacket for her first album that I had brought using the Sharpie of Destiny **new and improved** and said, "You're so sweet" and proceeded to pat me on the shoulder.  I am nothing if a man easily pleased.  To this day, I still have not showered as to be reminded of that point of contact.  (I'm kidding, of course because that would have been very gross and kinda creepy.  As history has proven so far, I am clearly more gay than creepy.  *This is yet another reference to an inside joke you will have to read my former Rachael Yamagata and Sara Bareilles jokes in order to get.)  In this way, my quest was complete.  I got her sig and got called sweet!  How could this night get any better?!  (This, of course, was originally a rhetorical question, however it is now intended to foreshadow that the night was about to get better ... or worse ... depending on the point of view.

If you have been observant or still retain the rudimentary skills of reading without skimming, you will have noticed I said the Sharpie of Destiny was in fact new and improved.  I had brought the old one to New York, but when I tried it out, I realized it had run its course and required being put out to pasture, evident by its "non-inkyness" and failure to continue being a productive and useful item in my possession other than sentimental reasons.  During Sam and Frodo's long hike, I stopped by a Staples store and picked up a new Sharpie of Destiny.  Farewell, old friend.  You will be missed, but I've traded you in for a smaller, sleeker model.  Sad times.

Looking back at my regrets from standing in line so early, it was well worth it because I would not have caught Rachael after the interview if I had been further in the line.  A sacrifice well-felt, but well made.

On with the show ...

The show itself wasn't quite what I expected.  In my limited knowledge, I just assumed that the four opening acts would all get about fifteen to twenty minutes to do an opening act set and then Rachael would get the lion's share of time to do a real show.  Unbeknownst to me, this is not how the Hotel Cafe Tour is run.  Instead, each artists does two songs, then in round two, they do three more.  So by the end of the night, I was disappointed in that Rachael only did five songs instead of the expected extended set.  Oh well, I guess it was a good thing I had already seen her in Seattle earlier in October or else I would have felt quite cheated. 

Of the four other acts, there were two that I wasn't particularly fond of.  One girl was from Oklahoma, and knowing my prejudice against the state for having stolen the Sonics previously this year, I couldn't get into her music.  Well, that's a lie, there's no correlation between the two facts, but her music wasn't my type.  The other girl was interesting and perhaps listen-worthy if you aren't paying attention to it.  She played the violin and had an electronica thing going for her while she used loops.  It was interesting, but her voice didn't do it for me -- it was a bit too untraditional for my "stodgy" tastes.  One of the other girls had quite a bit of energy and rock and roll quality for her act, but I haven't decided if her singing put me off or not.  The verdict's still out on that one.  The one artist that I'm strongly considering is Meiko -- perhaps simply because her music is more similar to Rachael's and a bit more ...I don't know .. indie or folksy.  I guess it was more of what I was used to, so I might be purchasing her album one of these days. 

I and my mom set up right against the stage on the left side, so it was a pretty good location.  Not only did we get to put jackets and bags (not mine) on the stage, but it was close and didn't have people in front of us.  One regret is that I was not aware that there were limited seats upstairs in the balcony.  The way Bowery Ballroom is set up -- from the aforementioned lounge, you go upstairs into the ballroom.  It's the standard set up if you've been in a ballroom, but there's the space where you would dance, and the stage where the band would play from.  In the back, there's a bar for everyone to get their drink on, and on each side of the bar, there were stairs leading to an upper level that had a narrow balcony lining the three walls not near the stage and another bar.  The seats available were limited but provided a good view to the stage.  Not knowing this, once we entered the ballroom, we made our way directly to the stage.  Next time, I might consider the seats.  And there you have, now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

As I mentioned in the previous post about New York, there's a different feel to New York than Seattle.  First, oddly enough, everything was late in occurence.  The doors opened twenty five minutes later than they should have.  The show started twenty minutes late.  The ballroom itself didn't actually get packed until a good thirty minutes into the show.  Even at the Knicks game, people didn't really show up until the game had already started.  I'm not sure if it's a New York thing, but there's this feeling that "I'll come when I'm ready."  Not sure, but it was very different than the four concerts I went to in Seattle this year.  Everything started on time.  I don't have any theories for this right now. 

The other thing is that, like the Knicks game, the energy is just so different.  There were a lot of people using video cameras or phones to record songs to the point that it was annoying.  It was a good thing we were right up against the stage, but this seemed like a less of an occurrence in Seattle.  The swearing and enthusiam was crazy too.  The crowd seemed to cheer louder and respond more colorfully -- this acually prompted the artists as well to use more language which was amusing -- and interesting.  It made for a fun show, though I know this comment will *SHOCK* perhaps the more conservative of my readers.  Oh, and there were a lot of f* Philly comments, since the show happened just after the Phillies won the World Series.  Oh, last note -- from my observance, the theory of lesbians being drawn to Rachael Yamagata's shows --- I don't think it's quite as widespread as it seemed previously.  I only noticed one ... couple ... embracing near the middle of the crowd when I went to use the restroom, but I could be horribly wrong.  Perhaps in New York, as strange as it may seem, they are just less PDA'ey or more understated.  Considering this was the Hotel Cafe Tour which is basically a showcase for female artists, there were a larger demographic than I noticed.  I don't know, but it at least seemed like the show in Seattle was grossly overrepresented due to the fact the venue was in Capitol Hill. 

Thus I unredeemed myself

The last thing I left out -- which happens to be the most note-worthy -- is regarding someone I bumped into at the concert.  Just before the show started, I decided to use the restroom.  Yes, I'm getting old and having to do that more often.  As I'm going downstairs, I notice this Asian guy at the bottom of the stairs that I kind of recognize.  After using the restroom, I looked at him once again as I went back up the stairs.  I was convinced that he was Alex Wong, the percussionist of Vienna Teng.  I knew that they were based out of New York, but I wasn't about to make a fool of myself and ask, "Hey, are you Alex?"  (For background for my love of all things related to Vienna Teng, please do some research in my previous notes.)  After I went back upstairs, I made a comment to my mom that I thought I saw someone I recognized, but shortly after the show started, I put it out of my mind.  However, after the show, my mom exited the ballroom via the door to the back right of the venue.  I did not follow her, rather I made my way to the left door.  And thus, this is where destiny stepped into ...

As the crowd is departing the concert, I see Alex Wong and Vienna Teng standing there.  In the context of seeing them together, I knew for a fact that the guy I had recognized was indeed Vienna Teng.  Of course, upon this unexpected situation, I had a fight or flee response.  I could either think to myself, "Cool, it's Vienna Teng," and walked out .. or I could say hi.  I decided to say hi -- to mixed results.

**The following is a transcript of that conversation Jonathan Moy had with Alex Wong, and to a smaller extent, Vienna Teng.**

Me: (waves to both of them) Hi guys. 
Alex and Vienna say hi.
Me: (shakes Alex's hand) I thought I saw you downstairs before.  I'm glad to see you guys here.
Alex" Did you enjoy the show?
Me: Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
**Note: the details after this point get fuzzy, but I remember doing some small chit chat while thinking to myself, a. What's my exit strategy to getting out of this conversation, b. Is it morally okay for me to ditch the mother that brought me into this world and stayed with me for two months when I was deathly ill in the hopital. c. how do I avoid looking like a drooling fanboi?, d. every other anxious, unconscience thought I had at that time.**
Me: Well, I've got to go, but I'm glad I caught you here tonight.  Have a good night.

**end transcript**

(long period of silence)
(smacking head against the wall randomly)
...
...
...

Okay, I'm back.  The doctor says my concussion is only minor, so I'll be okay after watching some basketball and eating ice cream.  Now, what did you notice from that conversation that went wrong?  1. I didn't shake Vienna's hand or even greet her by her name. 2. I barely made eye contact with her, 3. basically I looked like I only was interested in Alex which thus supports the fact that I am indeed gay and not creepy.

So yeah, there it is -- in perhaps what could have been the coolest moment in my life, I blew it because I was a shy dork.  I've run the situation through my mind endlessly since, and I have to admit, *(&^_)_&^%%.  I'm a dork.  The foremost thought in my mind is -- I should have asked if I could buy them a drink.  Now, I do have some excuses -- some valid and some not so much -- yes, this is in list form because I seem to be partial to lists today.  1. it was a long exhausting day of walking and standing.  I was certainly off my game.  2. it may have come off as stalker-y or creepy to try to hang out with them when they don't even know me -- but it was the perfect opportunity because they weren't the ones playing, so they don't have to do any tearing down or shuttling off to a different city to play in the next day.  It could have been informal and kind of fun.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like I was expecting to hook up with Vienna or anything, but she's just someone I admire for her work.  It might have been cool to talk shop -- writing -- over drinks.  3. seriously, is it morally wrong to ditch my mom to hang out with strangers?  I could tell she was tired, so I wasn't about to try to talk her into coming along if Alex and Vienna, in the smallest chance possible, accepted my hypothetical offer to buy them a drink.  Even if I ditched my mom, I honestly didn't know if I could find my way back to my grandma's house where I was staying at night.  4. If this had occured in Seattle, it would have been a lot more controllable for me since I would have my own transportation and comforts...but this was New York.  5. It was a very spontaneous moment that I wasn't prepared for.  I don't do well in those situations.  I'm an overthinker, as my friend Jennifer can attest.  I would have felt more comfortable if I had a little bit of preparation before the chance meeting to go over what I wanted to say -- how not to be a fanboi -- talked myself into doing things right.  Excuse me while I procur concussion #2.

Recap

So yeah, like I said, I've had time to go over that scenario in my mind over and over again, and I'm going to have to say, that is one moment I will regret for the rest of my life.  Not because I had or didn't have the chance to hang out with them or hook up with Vienna -- mostly because there's so much I should have said and done differently so I didn't come off looking like a shy dork.  In some ways, I hope they were flattered that I recognized them at a concert that wasn't theirs.  I hope the fact that I didn't go fanboi on them said something.  i.e. ZOMG I luv u, Vienna!  Ur the awesomst person in the wurld!  Can I take a pix with u?!?!?!  Mostly, I hope I didn't give Alex the heebie jeebies as if I was into him.  Awkward.  Perhaps somewhere down the line, I'll be able to redeem myself again in a different encounter with someone else or even Vienna when she comes to Seattle again.  But man ... that was rough. 

I was going to ruminate on a year of concerts and the meaning of it all, but this note's gone so long as it is.  As well, I'm considering going to another concert on Sunday -- Jenny Owen Youngs and Greg Laskell, so perhaps I wrap up them.  Shout out -- was I the biggest dork ever, or what?  Is ditching your mom the one sin the Holy Spirit cannot forgive?  Will I ever be able to save face after that fiasco? 

--Jonathan