'if it's not sterling silver, it's not going in here'

I was standing in the back of the Exit/In last night, wondering where they were passing out the "pretty people" pills. It was a very shiny crowd. I don't think I've ever been in a room that featured more slicked back, see through, squished together, pumped up elements.

One woman had an impressively tiny purse, which despite its small size, kept hitting me every time she swung it over her bony little shoulder. Since I gave up silently screaming at people for Lent, I just tried to figure out what planet I was on.

Turned out there was some kind of big music conference going on in town, so it was a very "industry" crowd. I believe I may have been the lone exception. I was there, surprisingly enough, to see the band: The Mavericks.

I have never wished so much that I was wearing a wire. I cannot possibly recreate the pre-show chatter going on around me. It was hilarious and also a bit terrifying.

Believe me, my recollection is fairly accurate, but I am not doing this story justice at all:

The Purse Woman had a friend who was recounting her many jobs since coming to Nashville. She has been a set dresser, production assistant, and various acronyms that meant absolutely nothing to me. One of these gigs found her on the set of a Toby video, [I'm assuming that's Toby Keith] where a member of his team admired her bellybutton ring. They loved it so much they wanted her to take it out and lend it to the whiskey girl [apparently a character in the video]. This led to a great deal of negotiating. How in world could she take out the bellybutton ring? She could not possibly do that. Well, she was asked if she could wear a different bellybutton ring -- one that they would provide -- while the whiskey girl used hers.

To which she uttered this immortal line: "If it's not sterling silver, it's not going in here."

Apparently it was not sterling silver. So the woman offered her belly, complete with ring, as a stand-in.

And that's how her belly -- with ring -- came to appear in the Toby video.

I'm just going to have to take her word for that.

The Mavericks finally came onstage and they were incredible. Raul Malo has the most wonderful voice, and the whole band just ROCKED. If you haven't heard their latest album, you should. It's extremely romantic. Sigh. Rick Trevino came out to sing "In My Dreams," and it was like a wave hit me in the face. Or maybe it was that woman's purse. Either way, I could have cried.

When I am at a show, there is nothing else. It's like a giant hypodermic needle at the base of my brain, and suddenly I'm just happy. Even after a very long and irritating day at work, I love seeing live music.

I had been minutes away from ditching the Mavericks experience. So very glad I did not. When I stop going to shows because I had a bad day, the terrorists have won.

Comments

[lindsay]

yeah, i'm a totally random stranger but came across your journal and just wanted to agree that yes, the mavericks do kick a lot of ass. i realize the exit/in show was months ago but it doesn't lessen their degree of kickassness....anyway, your journal is enjoyable as hell to read...