Dear Internet,

Another Tuesday, but this time a wrap-up of my weekend in Detroit and seeing elbow.

It was a most perfect weekend.

I left N. Michigan late morning and traveled to see Kristin first, who lives at the midway point. We had Korean for lunch and then headed to see our friend Anne.

I took off close to 3 p.m. I had plans to meet Evan and his wife Julie at a restaurant near the theater around 5:30 p.m. I was hoping to get to the hotel first, clean up, and then meet them for drinks, but alas, traffic around Detroit was fucked and I rolled into the restaurant a few minutes after our arranged time.

I hugged Evan and Julie and reminded them it had been a decade since we last saw each other. Evan and I are buds on Facebook and chat through Messenger quite a bit, so it was not like we were wholly out of touch. As I mentioned in Issue #223, it was Evan who told me that elbow was playing in Detroit!

We chatted and drank for a few hours before we parted ways, with me heading to the hotel. I checked in, dropped my stuff off, swiped on some lipstick, and left. It was incredibly warm, around the low 80s, and I had a 10-minute walk to the venue, which I did not mind. Evan and Julie met me in the lobby, and I was in a really good mood from our previous drinks, so I continued the evening with the “artist’s choice” of vodka and some other shit I cannot remember. I spent the $24 (after tip) on the single drink because it was named “One Day Like This” (one of elbow’s songs) and had a plastic ice cube that flashed like a disco ball.

Evan and Julie had seats while I was down in the GA. We said goodbye when the lights dimmed. My drink was gone, so I bought an expensive bottle of water, which I know they got at Costco for 50¢. The floor was not packed, and I was in a good spot, being the third or fourth person back from the barrier. The opener, Mike Kotta, played, and she is a charmer on the stage. Her music was…fine. I think the sound engineer did her a disservice so that I may investigate her on Spotify later.

During the break, I just relaxed and listened to the people around me. A very energetic dude was talking to the couple next to me, so I assumed they knew each other (they did not). Mr. Energy asked where the couple came from and they said from where I am from! I piped in and we had a rousing conversation about driving for bands and who we liked. Mr. Energy bragged that he once flew from Detroit to Chicago and back again within 16 hours to see some band I cannot remember. I wanted to one-up him by saying I bought tickets to see Doves in Glasgow, Cardiff, and Belfast a few years ago, but the lead singer’s mental break canceled the tour.

(Tbh, I didn’t know if I wanted to have a crush on Mr. Energy or call him a pretentious fuck twat. Mr. Energy complimented me on my toenail polish and told me he liked my sandals. (Docs with a leopard print band.) He then proceeds to tell me that he likes to dance, and if he steps on my toes, to kick him. My response was, “Thanks…and OK?”)

elbow’s set was a mix of new and old and I knew the words to 80% of the songs. I like to believe that I caught Guy Garvey’s (lead singer) eye during the show but who am I kidding? I told Mr. Energy that if Guy got divorced and I got divorced, I’d marry him in a hot minute.

Guy is a champion showman and should be after he dropped the tidbit that the band formed 35 years ago! Guy has always been a big man, and he’s a bit punchier now, and his hair is grey, but he is still one of the many loves of my life. I was beyond thrilled to see he had a duplicate tattoo of the Manchester bee on his right forearm (mine is on my left forearm). The bee is the symbol of Manchester (and Guy is very much invested in his hometown. (Look at me feigning intimacy with calling him Guy.)). Since so many of my bands tend to come from that area (Joy Division, New Order (also Joy Division), elbow, Doves, etc etc), it seemed right to get that tattoo.

The show was a solid two hours, and I enjoyed myself very much. Mr. Lisa is not a fan of elbow (or most of my music), and he prefers to be seated, while I want to be one with the crowd. I danced, I sang, I drank water, and I sniffed my pits because I could feel the sweat pouring down my back.

I invited the local to me couple for drinks and they demurred, which was fine. We never exchanged names, though they live 15 minutes away from me. I bought my $40 t-shirt (I buy t-shirts at every show I go to), and met Evan and Julie outside. They both enjoyed the show immensely (though Julie was not familiar with the band). Since we ate very little when we had drinks hours ago, we walked to a local Coney Island where I had coney fries. We chatted some more and then did the Midwest goodbye as we parted ways. My hotel was a block away and as I was crossing the busy thoroughfare, a fucking maniac nearly hit me!

I got to sleep around 1 a.m. and was up at 7:30 a.m. to continue on my adventure.

So, yes, alone, in my zone at a concert with nary a care in the world was totally my jam. I don’t know why I go to more concerts alone. Also, why don’t I go to more concerts? I’ve also loved being on my own and not having to worry if the other person(s) are happy or not or if they are enjoying themselves.

Hopefully that will change in the future.

I had more adventures that day but I’ll wrap that up in a future AMUN issue. The subject, “And you’d twirl in a chaos of charm,” is the last line to elbow’s song, “The Seldom Seen Kid.” I’ve heard this song a zillion times but I guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention. I’ve decided that line is a future tattoo right after I get the caffeine molecule tattooed on my arm to represent that selfish bastard, Brendan.

lisa x

P.S. I did not a single solitary picture of the show, not even of the marquee, nor did record a single note on my phone. I was in the moment and I wanted it to be as authentic as possible.