Glee

I think if you read my blog for about three consecutive posts, you realize that music is one of my favorite things. I've been lucky since I moved to Colorado to find some similarly minded friends who are willing to do things like go to last minute shows in Boulder on a Thursday night, or meet up in Denver mid-week to see someone great. My dear friend Heather who writes the super fabulous Fuel Friends blog has given me opportunities to sit in tiny spaces and and let excellent artists fill up my whole soul. It's been a solid almost 2 years of high quality musical experiences.

So I hope you will see the gravity of my claim that I may have had the best music weekend in a long, long time the last few days.

Last summer I was on a plane to New York, catching up on KCRW Song of the Day podcasts when a song by Fitz and the Tantrums exploded into my brain. I wanted to plug my iPod into the overhead speakers so the whole plane could hear what I was experiencing. At the time, they only had an EP out which I downloaded and memorized immediately.

So when my new friend Amanda told me last week that they were playing in Denver, we got tickets and I proceeded to act like Christmas was coming. The album is so high energy and the clips of shows I had seen on YouTube made me think we were in for a treat. We later found out that there were coming to Colorado Springs the next night but we figured the Denver show would be bigger anyway and it's always fun to go out up there.

We hit the Bluebird early on Friday night and carved out a little spot right up front. And from the MOMENT they hit the stage until the last note of the encore, they did not stop moving and dancing and whipping a very eclectic crowd into a complete frenzy. Michael Fitzpatrick might be one of the sexiest guys alive and he prances and struts and dances like a complete diva. And then Noelle Skaggs, who they call a backup singer but feels more like a second lead singer is a firecracker onstage. She flat out demands that you move. As in, she'll point and call you out if you don't. And then they have this rhythm section that is just ridiculous.

Amanda and I were having a hard time wiping the grins off our faces at the end when we managed to score a set list and a drumstick. We had been planning to get tickets to another show up in Denver Saturday night but she suggested we hit the FATT show again in the Springs. We drove home and got on the computer and bought tickets that night.

Our friend Devyn joined us last night and the three of us planted ourselves up front again. It was a much smaller venue and I wasn't really sure if this crowd could match the energy of a theater three times the size. I shouldn't have worried, again, they step out on stage and it's like they are throwing speed out into the audience or something. People were losing their minds. Three cute girls on the front row dancing their faces off never fails to draw attention and each of us got our little moment of teasing from the stage which is always a fun bonus.

This band doesn't just come out and play their songs, they create an experience. I have been to a million shows where a band comes out, plays their record, shuffles off, plays and encore and we go home. And because live is live I go, and I enjoy sharing something I love with a room full of people-I'm cool with that arrangement. But I really, really appreciated going to a SHOW. The energy was high, the music is tight, the band is clearly very passionate about what they are doing and they were so sincerely appreciative of the opportunity to perform. If I had my way in life, I would always be dancing. Always. I just can't hear a beat and not dance so when they ordered us to lose our minds during "Moneygrabber", I really did think my little heart was going to burst right open from sheer joy.

The whole band also comes out after the show to sign stuff and take photos so we hung around to get our show posters signed. With six band members it took awhile and with Devyn and I pausing for dance breaks every few minutes we ended up being some of the last people in the venue. We got to chat with all of them for awhile (and maybe swoon just a little bit, that Fitz is one handsome devil) and they were just as nice and sincere as they seemed onstage. The keyboardist was a bit taken with my friend Amanda and since they were leaving at 3 for Aspen and, we took him over to a nearby bar and had a couple of drinks (Diet Coke for me guys!). It was just one of those grateful to be alive kind of nights.






And here is one of my favorite Fitz and the Tantrums songs, playing on a web series called "Live from Daryl's House" which just went on my list of reasons I'm thankful for the internet.