Parent-Friendly Rock
As I mentioned yesterday, Al and I had tickets to see Liam Finn tonight at XPN's World Cafe Live. Showtime on the ticket was 7:30, and even though bands at most venues don't go on until at least 30 minutes after the advertised showtime, and Liam's MySpace page indicated he'd be going on at 8, we decided to be punctual.
We arrived at about 7:25 after a quick sushi dinner at Aija and approached the bar. Something about it reminded me of the Carlos Club (friends from Redwood Shores will know what I'm talking about :-), so without even thinking, I said, "I'll have a Sidecar, up." The bartender had a look of panic for a split second and then nodded. I thought, "she doesn't know what a Sidecar is, but she's decided that someone else behind the bar will know, so it's not worth asking." After taking Al's order for a club soda she flagged down one of the other bartenders and said, "hey, want to make something?" She forgot the "up" part when she relayed my drink order, however, so he came over to inquire. In the end I got what I wanted, minus the sugar rim (which isn't that big a deal).
Anyway, as my drink was being set before me, the lights dimmed, and onto the stage walked Liam and EJ. Al and I looked at each other in surprise, and Al said something like, "alright, World Cafe! Way to run a tight ship!" The opening notes sounded terrible from the bar, however, so we went down to the floor to listen. MUCH better.
I didn't bring my camera with me because the venue clearly stated NO CAMERAS on their website, and I didn't want to be turned away at the door. There was a woman with a Canon SLR down front, though, and several people in the audience with point-and-shoots. As for me, I wasn't planning to abstain from photography entirely; I figured I'd just use my iPhone to get whatever I could.
He played all my favorites, I sang along and danced, and then suddenly he announced that this would be their last song. A few people booed, and he said, "oh, maybe we should leave now?" I responded with a bellowed "MOOOORE!" and was joined by several other shouts of "more, more!" Liam said we'd have to appeal to a higher-up at the club, and since no one knew were to find such a person on short notice, they kept to the schedule.
When the lights came up, I checked my iPhone: 8:10pm. We decided that rather than sticking around to watch headliner Laura Viers, we'd declare this the most parent-friendly show ever and head home to tuck our kid into bed. (Well, after I went to the stage to thank Liam for an awesome show. I got a genuine smile and a "cheers!" in reply.)