Concert Night

Tonight Michelle and I went out for dinner and a show. Overall it was a great night. To start, we went to dinner at Olives in Mankato, which has probably risen to the top of my list for favorite restaurants in the area. Great food, great service, great drinks, great company, perfect location for the concert.

While waiting to be seated, a man walked up and stood next to Michelle. Now, I'm just a kid from Fargo, ND, so I don't claim to have the best gaydar in the world, but mine immediately went off. Normally these things are frustrating, because you never get a chance to know for sure if you were right about the person or not. Thankfully another man came into the restaurant, and they kissed and held hands, thus ending any confusion on my part.

Since it seemed obvious that this couple was also going to the concert, I started to wonder if it was going to be that kind of audience. We were going to see Brandi Carlile. Now, according to my iTunes, I have one Carlile album - "The Story", and two songs of hers on Cities 97 Samplers. All I knew of her was that she had some songs I liked. I didn't even know what she looked like.

The concert was at the Alltel Center in Mankato. Here's a picture of the stage:



See, I didn't bring my camera, but I can't blog about something without a picture, so I had to use my cell phone, which is terrible. Just like when I went to the Ben Folds concert! (Dammit! I need to start learning from history!)

Brandi said that this was the biggest place she'd ever played, which means that if her life is Rock Band 2, then she needs to pick it up a notch. She also said that we were an amazing crowd. I think she meant it. I think she was speaking specifically to me.

It was a very good concert. She played some songs I knew, some that I didn't, and a few covers. The highlight of the night was when she finished her show with "Folsom Prison Blues". It was cool.

The other highlight of the night was people watching. Because it was that kind of audience. I was trying to discreetly get a picture which would capture the mood of the evening, and this is the best I could come up with:

It seems that Brandi has a huge following with ... people who celebrate an alternative lifestyle. There are a number of things I could mention here which would get me in trouble, so I'll just post this now.