the princes of the paupers and all the old showstoppers

last night i got to see ted leo and the pharmacists open for the new pornographers in a free outdoor show at CMU. between REAL! SOCIAL! INTERACTION! and hearing live a bunch of songs i love by two bands i love, it was several layers of sweetness.

until mid-afternoon, i didn't even know that the show was happening, so i didn't have much time to get myself in the concertgoing mindset -- or the CMU campus mindset, for that matter. so it was uncomfortable for a while, in the sense that we were older than a lot of people there, and that your typical drunk college floozies were dancing a little too emphatically for the amount of space available (not to mention Tallest Guy In The World, Tallest Girl In The World, and Very-Much-In-Love Tallest Couple In The World, all standing, obviously, directly in front of wherever you are). expected, but still distracting from the loveliness.

i understand it's carnival, and a concert, and i should have been prepared for all the accompanying characters, but i was still verging on exasperation when who should materialize behind my right ear but Loudest-Singing Guy In The World. right at the beginning of mass romantic. i glanced over, like you do. here stood this scrawny-looking, extraordinarily nerdy guy, no taller than myself (though probably 26), with a look on his face that said, "this is the song that saved my life," belting out the lyrics with all the tone-deaf power his little lungs could muster.

immediate, complete 180 from irritated to delighted. good for you, guy. the rest of the show i was on a cloud.