The perps-
Dylan Flipse
Dan Meismer
Candi
Stephanie
I didn't actually know Candi or Stephanie before the day of the concert. They're freshman at Baldwin-Wallace, and I met Candi after posting to the Sarah Slean mailing list asking if anyone from Cleveland was interested in going to the show. Dan came along after I told him he should, and that tickets were only $3, about two minutes before I left to get Candi and Stephanie. There was some...creative navigation, but we got to the place right about 9:00, the supposed time for the show. Doors were actually then, and Sarah came on about 9:30. But first, food. The Dionysus Disco is on the bottom floor of Wilder Hall, the Oberlin student union. Dan and I got very, very tasty sandwiches, with the themes of "smoked" (Gouda, turkey, bacon). Then we paid and went into the show, where, just for this special occasion, they had food set out! So we also filled up on pita chips and hummus. The 'Sco (As Oberlin-types call it) also has some very reasonable prices on good beer, which is quite nice.
As I mentioned, Sarah came out at 9:30. She played for about an hour and a half, then hung out to sign things and meet people after the show. I wish I could remember more of what she said and played, but I'll just relate what I do remember - She played some new stuff that'll be on the upcoming album, Me and Jerome was in there somewhere (Introduced with "This is a song about kidnapping J.D. Salinger, which precipitated an excited clap from yours truly...I'm such a dork), as was Sweet Ones, and she closed with Weight. She made a few comments about Valentine's Day ("We'll be playing songs about love") and also a few jokes about the rest of the events going on there that evening. (After the show, there was some sort of Oberlin Dating Game happening. "We're opening for The Dating Game tonight. That's a good one for the resume, eh?") She played both with the Night Bugs (guitar, bass, drums) for most of the show, but played a few songs with just herself on keyboards in the middle of the set. There were probably 40 people there, and we were seated at a table directly in front of her.
You really have to see Sarah Slean live to appreciate this, but this was easily one of my best concert experiences. And everything *outside* the actual show was really cool also. The concert was on Valentine's Day, and it was cool that 75% of our group was in an anti-Valetine's Day sort of mood. The group was actually very fun, in a thrown-together sort of way. I already mentioned the food, and the intimate atmosphere. After the concert, I bought a poster and a replacement for my Universe CD, lost a few years ago at the Baltimore airport. I asked Sarah to sign my poster, which she did, adding the note "Cheers!" Then I told the following story-
"I saw you open for Moxy Früvous a few years ago in Boston. After your set, you said you'd be in the lobby, and I went down to talk to you. But my seat was way up in the balcony, and I wasn't wearing my contacts. So, I got to the lobby, and found a girl in her mid-20s, short dark hair, long black dress. After talking to her for ten minutes, and said "I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your set." And, obviously, it wasn't you. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'd really enjoyed that set. And the one you played tonight was really great also."
Like I said, I'm a huge dork. But she laughed. Candi asked her about a song she'd played, and Sarah told her it'd be on the upcoming album. Dan asked about some of the artwork on the poster. And that was it.
