You can find me in the club...

This weekend Captain America and I headed to Minneapolis for a Jars of Clay concert at Club 3 Degrees. Club 3 Degrees is a club located kind of between the Fine Line and First Ave, for you Mpls concert goers. So while you're hanging out downtown, waiting for your Christian concert, you get to watch Saturday Night Minneapolis. We saw a brawl about a half block away, and then spotted a bunch of uhhh...umm... clubbers (who would have benefitted from doublestick tape and a few more inches of skirt)...on our way out at 11:30.

In any case. I have a deep and long-lasting love for Jars of Clay. They are one of the first bands I was introduced to upon learning that all Christian music was not Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. We go way back, Jars and me. This was my 5th concert of theirs. At my second Jars concert, my friend Rebecca (who had a blog for 5 minutes) had met the band at an in-store signing beforehand. They told her they were going to call a few people on stage to sing the Dukes of Hazzard theme if they knew it. So her brother printed the lyrics off the internet and we tried to learn it fast. At the right time, I just grabbed onto her arm for dear life and got to tag along on stage in front of several thousand people to sing it. Autographs are $10. I accept paypal. Thank you.

The concert this weekend started off with a couple of local bands that were ok. And then Seabird showed up. Where have you been hiding, friend? LOVED them. Kind of Coldplay-Ben Folds Five- Cold War Kids -esque. The lead singer was hilarious. He said they were so excited at another show that he got all flustered and said, "We're like kids in a casserole." Yeah, he meant candy store. But he encouraged us to give "kids in a casserole" a chance as an alternative saying. I would have paid just to see them and will be downloading their album.

And then it was time. Jars of Clay. Every song is my favorite. The new cd is delicious. Granted, I could only see their heads because I'm 5'2". But it was still a fantastic show. Once I got out from behind the guy who moved right in front of me every time I moved. Before that, I guess I should be grateful he'd thought to put on deoderant, because I was close enough to know.

It was a moment (aside from Mr. Shoulder Blades). I love music. And at a concert like that, with really good music at such a volume that you're not sure if your hearing will survive, listening to songs that I love, it just feels like it's where I'm supposed to be at that moment. It's too loud to think about anything else that's going on in life.

For the encore, another short girl and I snuck our way up the side since other people were leaving. So I was quite a bit closer for the last couple songs. Then we stayed after because the band was going to be signing autographs. I dug through my purse to find anything to sign and got in line. As Dan, the lead singer, was signing my paper I mentioned that I sang Dukes of Hazzard on stage with them in Duluth many years ago. He laughed and commented as to how they should do something like that again. Then he told whoever was next to him (I heart their music, but I don't know EVERYONE's name), "She sang Dukes of Hazzard on stage with us in Duluth," and so it went down the line. So funny. Really nice guys.

Brother-in-Law had come down for the concert too, and brought his tshirt from their first tour to have signed (he goes to enough concerts to think of such things ahead of time). I think it was Charlie who as he was signing it felt the silk screen on the front and said, "You've been washing this inside out!"

* sigh * Good times.

Then Captain America and I headed to our hotel, because we're old. We don't do 2-hour drives after 11 p.m. anymore. Sunday we got to have lunch with friends we hadn't seen in forever. It was a good weekend.

And now I need to go download Seabird. You probably should too. I guess they've had a song on Grey's Anatomy. And Pushing up Daisies. Also get the new Jars album, if you don't have it memorized yet.