My First Avenue Life

I went to see Soul Asylum at First Avenue last night. Anyone who knows me and my taste in music (Ben Folds, James Taylor, Luther Vandross) might wonder just what in the heck I was doing at a rock concert? On a frigid Minnesota night? Believe me, I was asking myself the same thing all day long and all night long. I was still asking myself the same thing when I went to the bathroom during the concert.

Simple answer: I was being a good wife.

Some times a wife has to do what a wife doesn’t want to do to keep the passion going in a marriage. If that means I have to stay out after midnight once in a while, so be it.

We went with two other couples who we’ve gone out with before. A few years back I Good Wifed to see The Decemberists at The Fine Line. I didn’t know who The Decemberists were. And now I’m a fan. So I was kind of hoping the same thing would happen with Soul Asylum. But after last night’s concert, it’s definitely not going to happen. I am not a rock and roll fan. I don’t get what all the white boys see in this kind of music. And the place was full of white boys doing the overbite head bop.

Also? Soul Asylum didn’t even go on stage until 10:45. p.m.! At night!

I am 51 years old. I have recently gone through chemo. What in the hell was I doing – going to a rock and roll concert in a crowded bar on a frozen night in the middle of the night?

We ate at First Avenue’s new restaurant, The Depot. Good, pre- and post-concert food. And it was fun because my nephew, who is now a manager at First Avenue, came over to visit and even comped us a round of beverages. Free Diet Coke for me! (party animal that I am)

Bonus? The Big Nugget was ready to leave by midnight, before the concert was even over! He claims his back was sore. But I am suspicious that he may have been trying to save me, his nearly bald wife, from being bumped around anymore. Overbiting headbopping white boys, especially the two getting high next to me, would not stay out of my personal space.

But, my nephew put me down for two free tickets to Ben Folds when he comes to First Avenue in January. Definitely worth being  a Good Wife.

You know what’s weird though? Going out when you’ve got a nearly-bald head to a place you’ve been going to since you were 19. We could do a life’s perspective of how I’ve looked over the years at First Avenue. From a bikini-wearing teen (they had a pool one summer and ladies could get in free if they wore swimming suits), through the disco, post-disco, new wave years; taking our kids to all-ages shows,  to a middle-aged cancer survivor. Guess I’ll just have to keep going to First Avenue through my 90s.