general admission

So, a couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday night, David Sedaris was in town.  Right here in Little Rock.  Bryan and I first heard about it months ago, but because of a combo of our procrastinating skills and unexpected illness in the Jones house, it wasn’t looking like we were going to get to go.

But late in the afternoon my husband convinced me to call one of my oldest friends and meet her for the show.  The tickets were general admission, so we decided to get there as soon as the building opened, since we hadn’t bought ours yet. Somehow we ended up at the right door at the right time, because while we are standing there waiting and talking about kids or school or something I don’t even know, right THEN these 3 men walk up to the door, and this little short guy in the middle turns and smiles and nods at us, and about the time I’m going to tell him he can’t cut in line, I realize that it was him. Right there. David Sedaris.

That’s the kind of celebrity encounter I like.  Close enough to touch him, quick enough that I don’t have time to actually open my mouth and let the gibberish begin.  I can imagine all kinds of things about that nod and smile, like how he was probably trying to let me know that he could tell just by looking at me what a witty, brilliant person I am and how we would probably be best friends if he only had a little time to get to know me and how much he regrets that he doesn’t.  Or something like that.

Sorry about the quality of this pic; I’m pretty sure I snapped it right as he was explaining how he doesn’t allow his picture to be taken at readings anymore.  I was a little scared he was going to see me and stop and confiscate my iPhone.  Since I was sitting about 20 feet away from him, with tickets we had bought an hour before.  That’s just too good to be true, people.

He was hilarious (and if you’d like to try him out, this is one of my favorite stories – but be warned, he’s not for everyone) and I was only sad that Bryan didn’t get to come.  You see, I was introduced to Sedaris by Bryan at about 3 am one morning while he was driving all night to Colorado.  I was trying to sleep in the passenger seat beside him, but was having a hard time because Bryan was SNORTING with laughter while listening to him read his stories aloud.  From that night on we’ve been hooked.

However, at that point Bryan was pretty sure I was going to miss the next night’s adventure, due to the aforementioned illness, and so he was letting me have my turn.  But then, Monday morning, people woke up better, and my wonderful parents stepped in, and we got in the car and headed to Dallas for our next general admission event. (Click on these to enlarge.)

And let me tell you, we had just as much luck with this one.  For 30 bucks, we stood up against a rail with a counter and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I know these seem like a whole bunch of pictures of the same thing, but I couldn’t stop.  That stage, the lights – were simply amazing.  I couldn’t believe how many different ways they could make it look. Not to mention that little rock band that happened to be on stage.

I love this – Bono simply sitting in the lights, all the little lights out in the crowd…

The next two shots are from “Beautiful Day,” which may have been my favorite one, stagewise, that they did – just rotating those gorgeous lights around the stadium.

One of the best things about both this show and the Sedaris reading was the feeling of having caught these performers in their prime: completely comfortable, nothing to prove, finding such joy in what they do. Not a moment of feeling unsure or arrogant.

This pic for a couple of reasons: first of all, can you even believe that screen? Second, that’s a kid that Bono pulled up on stage with him to walk the circle. As Bono sang to him. And gave him his sunglasses. Poor thing, he’s fourteen and I think the coolest moment of his life already happened to him.

Again with the screen – you’ll notice now that they shrunk it back down, but low.  Those faces still make me laugh.

I couldn’t help thinking what an incredible crew they must have – lighting, cameras, sound – every shot on that screen looked like something out of a movie.

This one’s a little blurry, but one of my favorite moments -four friends, leaving the stage, clapping each other on the back, seeming to be truly grateful.

Wish you could have been there – what a show.

If you’re not tired of pics yet, you can see what some people with really good cameras have done here.