« pajama day at preschool | Main | hey, you! »

September 24, 2009

Night out with The Swell Season

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

My account of cavorting with musicians really has no place on a baby blog. But I thought I'd add it here because it really was a memorable evening, and makes for a good story. And because a lot of people have been asking me about it.

So, about a year ago, our friend, Howard, asked Shawn and I if we would be interested in bidding on the design of a Web site for a band he manages, The Swell Season. (Howard is the manager.) The Swell Season are Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the musicians and stars of the movie Once. (Which won the Best Song Oscar last year.) And we're all like, "Hell yes!" So, we ended up doing the site, and in the process, getting an incredible window into the world of music celebrity.

My friend, Margot, is possibly their biggest fan. And I do not say that lightly. Deep down, I think Margot believes that our 15-year friendship has been leading up to this very moment where she has a connection to Glen Hansard.

So, my friend, Sandra, has tickets to a secret show at Chicago's Hideout bar that The Swell Season is playing. I tell Margot, and before I know it, her bags are packed and she's driving in from Cincinnati. While Margot is indeed crazy, it is the most endearing, genuinely sweet kind of crazy. Howard tells me to tell her that it's only a 45 minute set and they're currently on tour. It's not worth the drive. No matter--Margs is on her way.

Long story short(er), we planned on being home by 7:30. (Or at least to dinner by then.) But Howard invites us all out to dinner with Glen after the show. Margot got to sit right across from him, me next to him. Topics of conversation included the exceptional soundtracks to Wes Anderson and PT Anderson movies (he loves Aimee Mann), the experience of him playing Salma Hayek's wedding ("those were some extraordinary boobs!"), whether women throw themselves at him on tour ("sometimes. I should really be taking advantage of this, shouldn't I?"), whether or not I should chip in for dinner ("uh, I got it.") how Bono called him to play Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral ("when Bono calls, you don't turn him down"), dream interpretation, and fish tacos. He was really funny, sweet, and humble. At one point, Sam Beam from Iron and Wine showed up and made the entire evening even more surreal.

And yes, Shawn was nice enough to stay home with the boys that night because (I swear!) I did honestly think I'd be home by 7:30pm and we were already getting a babysitter for the next night. So that's the story and I officially promise to stop talking so much about it now.

Posted by lisa at September 24, 2009 01:17 PM

Comments

Post a comment

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)


Remember me?