anti-praying with tom mcrae

Yesterday nite was magical for me. I got to see my musical hero Tom McRae live for the first time. He played at the tiny (I mean, tiny) Hotel Utah Saloon. The space was just about twice the size of my living room, and there were probably about forty people max in attendance. Absent of inviting him to sing and play guitar in my house, this was as intimate as it gets.

Tiny venue or not, Tom's performance was big time. His vocals simply soared. The songs were majestic and haunting. And his onstage bantering was charming and funny as heck. He did this bit about how his career is now over because post-Obama-elected-as-US-president world is so full of hope that it is bound to put his brand of miserable songwriting/storytelling out of business. He then quipped about how he'll make a return engagement in eight years, after Palin takes over, at which time he will be number one all over the world. And later he introduced Boy With The Bubble Gun (with the lines "If words could kill, I would spell out your name...") by asking all of us to think of that person we want to hurt, and thru collective anti-praying, we can make it all come true. Haha... BTW, guess who I dedicated my anti-prayer to...

Most thrilling of the night though was that I actually got to meet Tom (my new BFF) and shake his hand twice and have him sign my cd booklet. You see, before the show, I actually spotted him standing near the bar area, and I immediately jumped out of my seat and went up and introduced myself. I gushed about how I've been a fan since the beginning and that his music means a lot to me. I was actually very nervous and didn't really engage in a conversation or anything. I just rambled like a dorky fan. But he was very polite and gracious.

Here are the mementos from the night:






Thanks Tom. Your brand of misery made me a very happy boy yesterday nite! And no Obama-worldful of hope can change that.