Ich möchte eine authentische Erfahrung...

Hallo meine kleine Lämmer!

I'm sitting here in my office, taking a mental health break. For some reason, it seems that every time I turn around, someone says dejectedly "Oh well, it is what it is." Everyone is down at the mouth here because of this crappy litigation that's eating up all of our time...but seriously...what does that even mean? And how does it apply? Oh well.

Anyway, this week has been tiring and is going by in a blur. I'm looking forward to end of business hours tomorrow, so I can be home-free for a blissful (and hopefully not as hot) couple days. I've been scatterbrained too - as evidenced by the fact that I left my cell phone in my desk drawer at work for the past two nights.

Monday night, Tammy and I went to The Trocadero to see Alexa Wilkinson, Vanessa Carlton, and Joshua Radin. Not only is The Troc one of my favorite venues (Red Rocks is second to none), but the company and music were phenomenal as well.

• I hadn't heard of Alexa Wilkinson before, but she was very talented. She played the guitar and sang (common among singer/songwriters), but also played the trumpet during one of Vanessa Carlton's songs. Her lyrics are very profound, so I bought a copy of her CD (she signed it too!) fer madd cheep.
  

• Vanessa Carlton was simply amazing. Her music and lyrics have a way of enchanting me, but seeing her live brought me up to a whole other level and I spent her entire set covered in goosebumps.
  

• I was certainly not as familiar with Joshua Radin as I am with VC, even though he was the headliner. His lyrics were also profound, and he had a short story behind every song which made it more meaningful. He was awesome and his crooning made me melt, so I got his CD too - for some reason the CDs at the concert were cheaper than they retail, which was pleasantly surprising because most concerts jack the CD prices up by at least 25%. After the concert Joshua signed the CD booklet and even gave me a hug!
  

Sidenote: over the course of the past couple of years, as cell phones get increasingly advanced and combined with just about every other digital media device, many people experience a significant amount of their lives through the camera/camcorder on their cell phones. At the concert, Tam and I were surrounded by people - mostly our age or younger - who basically watched the concert on the tiny digital screens of their cell phones, cameras, and camcorders. I was relieved to see that the older generations present at the show seemed to recognize the reason concerts are called "live" performances, and how said performances are intended to be enjoyed. I tend to experience things with as many senses as possible, so I enjoy the way live music courses through my entire body and mind. To say that watching an entire show on a little screen would seriously detract from that, to say the least.

I, for one, crave an authentic experience, and think it's safe to say that's how I will always be.