ACL Day 2

Conversation I never expected I’d have:

Her:  Did he just stick a tampon up his nose?
Me:  Yes.  Yes, he did. 
Her:  He’s singing with a tampon.  Up his nose. 
Me:  I didn’t even know who this guy was, but now he’s my favorite ever.

We’re talking about Ben Kweller.  And, if you don’t know who he is, you need to learn.  This kid has heart.  He started late because he got a pouring bloody nose just before the show.  He apologized and started playing. . . and his nose bled.  A lot.  But, he played anyway.  His hands were covered in blood.  The cameras panned to his guitar – covered in blood.  He drenched several towels in blood.  But, he played on.  At one point, he stopped and asked if anyone had a tampon, and on cue, tampons flew to the stage.  I really thought he was kidding when he picked one up and unwrapped it.  But, nope, he stuck that tampon right up his nose and sang.

He wasn’t able to do the whole show.  He was really bleeding ridiculously.  He did half a dozen songs or so, and he tried so hard.  It was possibly one of the sweetest displays of dedication I have ever seen.  I fell in love with him on the spot.

We started the day with a schedule full of bands I’d never heard of.  At the end of the day, I’m a new fan of three:  Ben Kweller, Nada Surf, & The Raconteurs.

In case you were wondering, Mr. Bob is the keeper of the photos this weekend. . . so you can expect to see them in approximately 3.5 months.  I’ll be so excited to show them to you at that time because the lessons we learned today include:

*  Braids & bandana = WAY BETTER than pigtails.

*  My abs are magically photogenic.  In real life, I look like I’m stashing small children in my belly.  In photos, I look crazy buff. 

I’m off to bed. . . to rest up for tomorrow, which includes Tom Petty.  We made it all the way up front for Massive Attack for Bob tonight, so I get to be rewarded with as close to Tom Petty as we can get tomorrow.  I’m super excited.  WOOOOOO!