serendipity
at the beginning of the summer i bought two tickets to a concert (Ben Folds & Rufus Wainwright), with no real person in mind to take with me. I had an idea of a person in my head, but they never materialized. Of course the search for that person became an entire plotline here for awhile. Just after that angst wrapped itself up, i ended up buying tickets for another concert: Bright Eyes playing in Davis, CA. I couldn't resist buying for two, it's just in my nature. Once again, my companion was almost completely unknown at the time, at least mostly.
So last week as the concert got closer and closer, i tried to get my companion to materialize. I asked various people that seemed like they might enjoy the experience, some that i would enjoy and some i was a little unsure of. After being turned down by several, i eventually asked someone i'd always considered... my estranged's best friend, sometimes referred to as my wife's other wife (WoW). She has similar eclectic musical taste as me, and i knew i'd gotten her hooked on the I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning album last winter. So i asked her, and she went along for our little spontaneous adventure. It was a great concert and we both had a wonderful time.
a sidenote here about the concert before i launch into the real point for this post... Bright Eyes was amazing, and completely different than i had expected. I guess i was expecting all emo, all the time. I even wore my best emo shirt, which is so over the top that it's almost a parody of itself. Instead, the music was very full and rich, and there were noticeable country influences over almost everything (he is afterall from Nebraska, so go figure). There were at least seven people on stage for all but one song, including a harp, a horn, two drummers, a full standup bass, and occasional clarinet. So this enhanced many of the songs that i was used to hearing in a completely different way. They played songs from many of their albums, some very old and some not yet released. my favorite use of the harp was definitely on Sunrise, Sunset which opened the show. And then there were those lyrics that i'd never really heard exactly as they were intended, but jabbed me right in the gut this time around... You say that I treat you like a book on a shelf. I don't take you out that often, 'cause I know that I've completed you and that's why you are here.
With that out of the way, there's some history behind WoW, my wife's other wife. Last fall when things started to go south with my estranged, and i learned of her emotional attachment to some nameless, faceless person, WoW was my first guess. It was a little crazy, but they were definitely closer than we were at the time, so it made sense. In reality, WoW was simply the confidant that my estranged shared her pained state with. My suspicion that they were lovers was then shared with WoW, which was amusing but since i hadn't actually met her yet, it made for a slightly awkward first introduction. Oh well, it's easy enough to laugh at after the fact. Actually WoW and I got along pretty well, and seemed to share some similar interests. So much so that one instance even made my estranged take a step back and wonder why so many things about me were of interests to her friend, but had gone completely unnoticed by her. It was a turning point for my estranged since she was trying to justify her infidelities anyway. Now she felt like she was keeping me from being with someone that could truly appreciate me, WoW being the improbable/impossible example of such a person. And since WoW was having some trouble finding a decent guy (she's the origin of half of my all men are losers, all women are crazy theory), my estranged even asked at one point if i would consider dating WoW if they hadn't been friends first. That thought intrigued me for days, and i'm sure made me a little weirder than usual around both of them. Still has an affect on me of course.
With all of that history, and plenty more, WoW and i drove the two hours down to the concert last week and talked and enjoyed our time together. We talked around some topics concerning my estranged, but didn't make a big deal out of it. When i brought up my odd nature of buying two tickets for a concert without really having anyone in mind for the extra, her response was that i was simply leaving it to serendipity. She appreciated it, not just because she was on the receiving end, but i guess also because of what it says about me. And she's right. And i'll go on buying two tickets and enjoying whatever life throws my way.
So last week as the concert got closer and closer, i tried to get my companion to materialize. I asked various people that seemed like they might enjoy the experience, some that i would enjoy and some i was a little unsure of. After being turned down by several, i eventually asked someone i'd always considered... my estranged's best friend, sometimes referred to as my wife's other wife (WoW). She has similar eclectic musical taste as me, and i knew i'd gotten her hooked on the I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning album last winter. So i asked her, and she went along for our little spontaneous adventure. It was a great concert and we both had a wonderful time.a sidenote here about the concert before i launch into the real point for this post... Bright Eyes was amazing, and completely different than i had expected. I guess i was expecting all emo, all the time. I even wore my best emo shirt, which is so over the top that it's almost a parody of itself. Instead, the music was very full and rich, and there were noticeable country influences over almost everything (he is afterall from Nebraska, so go figure). There were at least seven people on stage for all but one song, including a harp, a horn, two drummers, a full standup bass, and occasional clarinet. So this enhanced many of the songs that i was used to hearing in a completely different way. They played songs from many of their albums, some very old and some not yet released. my favorite use of the harp was definitely on Sunrise, Sunset which opened the show. And then there were those lyrics that i'd never really heard exactly as they were intended, but jabbed me right in the gut this time around... You say that I treat you like a book on a shelf. I don't take you out that often, 'cause I know that I've completed you and that's why you are here.
With that out of the way, there's some history behind WoW, my wife's other wife. Last fall when things started to go south with my estranged, and i learned of her emotional attachment to some nameless, faceless person, WoW was my first guess. It was a little crazy, but they were definitely closer than we were at the time, so it made sense. In reality, WoW was simply the confidant that my estranged shared her pained state with. My suspicion that they were lovers was then shared with WoW, which was amusing but since i hadn't actually met her yet, it made for a slightly awkward first introduction. Oh well, it's easy enough to laugh at after the fact. Actually WoW and I got along pretty well, and seemed to share some similar interests. So much so that one instance even made my estranged take a step back and wonder why so many things about me were of interests to her friend, but had gone completely unnoticed by her. It was a turning point for my estranged since she was trying to justify her infidelities anyway. Now she felt like she was keeping me from being with someone that could truly appreciate me, WoW being the improbable/impossible example of such a person. And since WoW was having some trouble finding a decent guy (she's the origin of half of my all men are losers, all women are crazy theory), my estranged even asked at one point if i would consider dating WoW if they hadn't been friends first. That thought intrigued me for days, and i'm sure made me a little weirder than usual around both of them. Still has an affect on me of course.
With all of that history, and plenty more, WoW and i drove the two hours down to the concert last week and talked and enjoyed our time together. We talked around some topics concerning my estranged, but didn't make a big deal out of it. When i brought up my odd nature of buying two tickets for a concert without really having anyone in mind for the extra, her response was that i was simply leaving it to serendipity. She appreciated it, not just because she was on the receiving end, but i guess also because of what it says about me. And she's right. And i'll go on buying two tickets and enjoying whatever life throws my way.
posted by joe @ 11:58 PM
1 comments
Oh, I would have loved to attend that show. I'm glad that it worked out for you. Now to (finally) go check the listings for an Atlanta show (or some place nearby)...