House Call

OK, I do realize that I've been sort of broken record-like about The Head and the Heart as of late. And if you also happen to follow me on Twitter or Facebook you are most certainly ready for me to move on. But this post here is not as much about them specifically as it about the lovely sensory experience we had Tuesday night when they so graciously agreed to play in a living room for a tiny little group of slightly obsessed fans.

My friend Heather, who I met through my friend Dainon, and who has become quite dear to me since I got to Colorado Springs, saw The Head and the Heart in Seattle this summer and being the savvy music blogger she is, realized what a gem she had discovered. She got to be friends with the folks in the band and somehow talked them into playing a small house show here as they passed back through on their way to shows Westward.

I love music (duh) but sometimes you go to a show and think, "these guys are better on a CD in my house." And whatever, I'm getting old and sometimes I don't want to be out too late and I don't want beer spilled on me and I don't want to be ten years older than the boys who hit on me. So while I still love a good show and I'm willing to get over all of the above, it doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to. And I'm pickier about who I'll see. All of this to say that lately, the shows I do choose to go to get under my skin and into my soul in a different way than they used to.

Tuesday night after I spent the entire day completely distracted by pre-event excitement, I picked up my other lovely Heather and we headed over to the house. It was a big empty place that Colorado College uses for gatherings and was just perfect for such a performance. We got there as both bands were unloading their stuff and I tried really hard not to just grin like a stupid groupie while they set up. I did have one "OMG!" moment when Heather introduced me to the lead singer, I mentioned something nerdy about how the sweatshirt he was wearing was an as of yet unreleased Nike model (they have friends with a hookup) and he said, "wait, do you have a blog? Did you write about us? I read that". Blush, why yes, I did write a completely drooly post about you guys this week. So much for not looking like a groupie eh?

Quite a few of my friends were there so we visited for a bit and then Heather and I went like little moths to a flame when we heard a guitar in one of the side rooms. We sat outside and listened to the boys rehearse and erupt into spontaneous Neutral Milk Hotel covers.




I think I could have just sat right there the whole night and been totally satisfied. One of the things I love about my job and one of the reasons I have stuck around in the sports industry even as a non-athlete has always been how inspiring slash fun slash rewarding slash all the words I can think of are so cliche it is to work in a place where you get to be around people who are truly the best in the world at what they do. Whether it's the athletes or the coaches or even the people I work with every day-no one is here because they didn't have anything better to do than work really hard to get a job in a super competitive arena that other people fantasize about. That's how I felt Tuesday night as we were listening to the guys from the band fool around with arrangements and tempo and harmonies. How you can not be filled up when you get to be around people doing the thing they love the very most and oh yeah, they kind of rule at it?

The Lumineers from Denver opened and they are pretty delightful themselves. Heather caught one of the highlights of their set:



The THATH came on and well-I don't know if I even breathed. It was dark and they move around a lot and my camera is old but this is pretty much what they are always doing-making beautiful music and harmonizing and looking happy to be there.

When they played Down in the Valley I was quite certain my little heart would burst, but I settled for just letting tears stream instead. That song is so ingrained in this particular phase of my life now and it was a sweet moment to stand five feet from the source and sway along with my friends. This stuff just does not get old for me.

After pretty much everyone left several awesome things happened...a sing along in a dark kitchen, a handstand contest, lost of karate kicks and this:



I didn't get much of it but yes, yes, a thousand time yes to tipsy musicians breaking into spontaneous Bon Iver covers at midnight. And yes to getting moments like this to make you just enjoy the hell of where you are right now.

Some photos from the night...

Heather (the organizer and music blogger extraordinaire) and Mundi, just being beautiful.

Aaron, fellow music lover and excellent climbing teacher, just being Aaron.

Darius (my climbing/cycling/boy advice consultant) and Adrienne. Just being adorable.

Heather, Paul and Julie, just happy to be there.

James, another climbing buddy and frequent photo friend, and me, just posing.