Tom has some friends that are in a band called The National. He often sees them perform when they come to town, but I've never been able to attend a show on account of the fact that our kids like to sleep at night, preferably with adult supervision.
When we found out they would be one of the opening acts for R.E.M. on the North American leg of their tour, it seemed like a good time for me to clear my schedule.
Of course, when you have three children, it's not that easy to get away, so we had to do this whole convoluted thing with flights and coverage and blahblahblah. Bottom line? We made it. However, once I got there I realized I had forgotten somewhat critical things like a hairbrush and my flight itinerary.
I was kicking myself for not bringing the good camera, so you'll all have to make due with this blurry mess, but you get the idea. A bunch of adults doing adult things, none of which involved waiting on someone while they tap impatiently on my knees. Matt even snuck out after their performance and came to sit with all the folks who had made the trip up to see them.
The band sounded amazing and all the guys couldn't have been nicer, and I found myself thinking I should have seen and met them long ago. I couldn't be more excited for them and all the other good stuff that's brewing.
After the concert we made our way to a local bar, the Dakota Tavern, where we saw a band called Monkey Business play a tribute to Chuck Berry, and oh, where was this bar and this band in my twenties, because I could have spent a lot of late nights there. Some of them under a table.
Thanks to Matt for scoring us excellent seats and nudging us into a fabulous, childless night away.