Iron & Wine

I'm late on this, but what a nice Wednesday night out this was. :)



It was also a mixture of the expected and the unexpected.

For instance, I didn't expect to find a parking ramp that did valet parking... for 6 bucks.

I did expect a reasonably priced dinner (given that I checked out the menu on line first) at the Loon Cafe two blocks from the concert venue. But I didn't expect such great food & atmosphere, so cheap.




In an effort to keep the cost in line, I opted for whatever beer was on special. It happened to be Grain Belt Premium, which was new to me - wow. Very smooth and drinkable. I forced myself to stick to one, although it tasted like it should be 3 or 4.

And the ubiquitous Wild Rice Soup that most restaurants have around here was fantastic! I can see why it was featured in Bon Appetit Magazine. Terrific. Of course when I got home I pulled up the recipe. Maybe I'll make that next week! :)

I did expect rain, and we got a little, but carrying the umbrella served as insurance, and we were mostly dry.

I didn't expect that the Sightline Seating (reserved table) would really be worth it. But it was! For D, it made a big difference in her enjoyment level. :) And, of course... in mine, then, too.

I expected to like the opening act better than the headliner, since it's been my pattern. Not this time. :( They were getting their first big break, and it showed. They had a big sound but no stage presence. They pretty much stood in a circle and faced each other, only turning to the audience when one of them had to sing. But they were preselling a CD for cheap, so.. review to follow in a future blog post.



The headliner I expected to just love. And yes, they played familiar songs, but in a very unfamiliar style. They started out as I expected, just Sam and Sarah and Sam's acoustic. Wonderful. :)



But then after the first 5 songs, they brought on 2 percussionists, another guitar and a bass, and a keyboardist. They switched styles completely to something... Caribbean?? So the songs were the same, all right, but - not the same.



But at least on the merchandise table they kept their focus. Hand knit hats and mittens by Sarah Beam. Aww...



The audience liked them well enough to bring them back for an encore. I expected them to play my favorite song (Such Great Heights.) But they didn't. :( Which, in retrospect, was okay, I guess... I didn't really feel like crying.