Last night was Senora’s and mine fourteenth wedding anniversary. I discovered a few months ago that one of Senora’s favorite singers, Gillian Welch, was to be in town with her husband and musical collaborator, David Rawlings that same night. I bought the tickets as soon as I could as it being in a smallish venue, the concert sold out rapidly. Before the concert we went to one of our favorite, low-key Italian restaurants here in St. Louis, Vito’s Sicilian Pizzeria & Ristorante.
It was a good night. We both enjoyed the restaurant, having a meal of calamari, salad and lasagna. Senora turned me on to Gillian Welch a few years back and I have been a fan every since. David Rawlings I had not heard of before, but he is an extraordinary guitar player. They did an instrumental cover, just two guitars, of a Grateful Dead song that had the audience in awe. They actually did two or three covers. I am not sure why as between the two of them, they had enough of their own material to fill two or three dozen concerts without repeating songs. Maybe the audience reaction to the Grateful Dead cover was the reason.
The audience was a little different than I am used to seeing at The Sheldon, especially for a folk singer, which generally brings out an older crowd. Gillian definitely fits the description of a folk singer, but add her husband David Rawlings to the mix and it becomes Americana. About half the audience were thirtyish / fortyish country looking folk. Many of them seemed intent on getting a little hammered as they were popping up frequently to run to the bar (or bathroom). It must have bothered the performers a bit, as Gillian commented, “Y’all just get up and move around, we sit up here and play music.” Despite all that, it was a good concert.
Something a little strange did happen to me at intermission. Senora chose to stay in her seat while I went to the bathroom. I decided to get a drink on the way back even though the line was long and moving slow. Standing in line, a woman, fiftyish, dressed in striped over-alls, her hair in two unbraided pigtails, cut in front of me. Initially, I was going to say something about her cutting the line, but then I thought she must be with the man in front of me. Turns out she wasn’t, she just bumped in front of me.
She was jumping and dancing around like she had the proverbial ants in her pants. A couple times her pigtails slapped me in the face, causing me to give her a little more room. Then she started turning back to talk to me. One time telling me she was so drunk she really did not need to buy another beer, but there she was in line. At first, I thought she was flirting with me for some ungodly reason, then she started talking about her husband which made me think she wasn’t. Then she talked about how she went to work after her kids were grown as a special education assistant. I mentioned that Senora had retired after 35 years as a special ed teacher. It was a subject that touched her and had her talking even more.
When she reached the front of the line, she ordered two beers, and turned around and asked me what I was drinking. I thought she was just making more conversation, and said that I was probably going to have a Dewar’s. She then turned around and ordered the Scotch for me and paid for it. Perhaps the conversation about special education moved her, perhaps she thought she would help out a senior citizen. ¿Quién sabe?
I will have to admit it was the first time a lady has ever bought me a drink. I was a little shocked, but I did remember to thank her. After that, I saw her no more, but I think it was her that yelled at the stage, “I love you, Gillian.”
I thought about not telling Senora as she can be a little jealous at times which I totally understand as I am such a hunk that I have women falling over themselves to get to me… someone has to do it.
However, I found it such a funny story that I shared it with her anyway. I think she was a little jealous, even though I was indubitably an innocent bystander, just trying to be polite each time the woman turned around to talk to me. I did enjoy my free drink, nevertheless.
Let see if we can get another 14 years in…