Girlyman

This post describes the Girlyman concert in great detail. If you have no interest in this group, I would recommend skipping it and just reading about the March in the post below.

As if the march was not enough, Sunday also brought a Girlyman concert. I cannot even describe how much I love Girlyman. From the moment they came on stage to the moment they left, I was grinning a big stupid grin. The concert was extremely high-energy. They played many of my Joyful Sign favorites: Hold it all at Bay, Through to Sunrise, and Joyful Sign, and I started bouncing at each intro. I love Doris more each time I see her. Her voice is so strong and she really gets the sentiment of the song out there. Got to hear her do "Storms were Mine" and "Say Goodbye," as well as several tracks from the new album. I liked the new songs more the second time I heard them (this concert), and bought the new CD.

As always, Girlyman gave a great all-around show, in between as well as during songs. There was a tuning song about Nate "believing in inequality," and a dead-pan sarcastic riff about the pains they take to avoid recycling, including saving those 6-pack holders to toss at seagulls. Swine flu came up as well, with me wildly cheering. They suggested that each type of flu should have an animal associated with it--they gave the examples of goat flu and the exotic koala flu (if you had traveled to a far-off country). This was joke. There are no such flus.

The funniest part of the evening came when an audience member thrust a note at Nate. After he read us dinner specials off the back side of the note, he started fiddling with his pants as he read us the front: "Nate, your fly is down." "You a**-holes!" he admonished Doris and Ty, "My fly's been down for half the show and you didn't tell me!" Doris admitted that they usually check flies before their shows, but had forgotten. Nate asserted that it was all her and Ty's fault. "No," corrected Doris, "we check our own flies, not yours." There was much hilarity all around, and a tuning song about the fly with some back-up singing. Nate then proceeded to check his pants between each song.

The opening band was excellent as well: Po' Girl, a zydeco-ish group from Canada with such varied instruments as a clarinet, several guitars built by their own guitarist, an accordian, a washtub, a glockenspiel, and an enthusiastic drummer with headmotions like Animal in the muppet band. They were much fun to watch. The women were very physical with their instruments (they played all of the funky instruments).

We had quite a merry crowd there: Rowan, Kelsey, myself, my concert buddy Allie, G (a friend of sbolts), and 2 other Smith alums. I got there early and saved us awesome seats, which really enhanced the experience. We made friends with our neighbor and her mom, who were basically sitting among us, and ate dinner while chatting excitedly and waiting. Despite our exhaustion from the march, the evening left us all deeply content. A picture should follow in several days of a bunch of us with Girlyman. We got our CD's signed, which was kind of embarrassing. I don't really like meeting people I admire, because I never know what to say. But they were quite gracious, and just as cute up close.