glen @ the black orchid

I've been staring at the screen for about an hour now, trying to write this. I start to write. I erase it. I write a couple emails. Leave some comments. Come back to my blog. For some reason I have a difficult time articulating my experience of seeing Glen Phillips in concert. I think it is because Glen's music is so important to me. I know not everyone likes the same music, that's normal. But if you don't get Glen, then in some way, you really don't get me. Plus, so much of my experience is personal, something that I have to keep for myself, or else it's no longer mine. If you happen to be around me at a Glen show, you might catch a glimpse of it.

I'm not making any sense. It's probably the combined effects of too much beer and four hours sleep.

Here's what I do know. I saw Glen Phillips last night at the Black Orchid. It's a beautiful venue, decorated in art-deco stylings to resemble a 1930's swing club. Very swank. I was accompanied by some of my Chicago concert buddy all-stars: the inimitable James, Lynn and Maureen, and by my ever-patient husband. Craig Cardiff opened. He used a lot of looping in his songs.

Glen was fantastic, as always. He was incredibly chatty and seemed in a really great mood. My face hurt a little from smiling so much. It seemed like the set was really short, but I guess it was just because I didn't want him to stop playing. He played a few new songs, including one that was so brutally honest that it almost felt uncomfortable listening to it. I'm still not making any sense. Here. Pictures. Pictures don't require me to be articulate.













I do have to share one funny thing. I was talking to Glen after the show and I told him that I was helping Teitur with his Myspace page (you should check it out myspace.com/Teitur I actually did html coding and made a masthead. And I know nothing about html code!) Anyways, I asked Glen if Teitur had asked him about me, and he said that indeed he had. Apparently Teitur sent Glen an email saying something along the lines of: "Dianne - Psycho-fan or just a really cool person?" Apparently, I got the non-Psycho designation. I come with references, baby.

Oh, and because Assy Asserton said I never mention my concert buddies, here's my concert buddy All-Stars at our favorite apres-concert drinking hole:



And if you were ever wondering how tall Glen is... James is 6'3". I'm probably 5'2" in the shoes I was wearing (I'm not kidding. The shoes add almost 2 inches). Glen is somewhere in between.



I'll miss you Chicago.