A Friday Night With Good Friends & Sara McLaughlin

Last Friday didn't start out very well. I had to drop my car off at the dealership to get some work done. As a result I reached work late. To top things off I was still feeling the effects of the virus I recently fell victim to. Not a great start to the day.

By the time I got home later that afternoon, I was exhausted and irritated, and even though I had a wonderful evening to look forward to, I couldn't seem to get past my own misery. A phone call from my friend Karen snapped me out of the misery pit I was digging myself into. The excitement and joy in her voice was contagious, and lifted me out of my personal wallowing session. We were going to see Sara McLaughlin in concert that evening, how could I feel glum with such an night to look forward to!

As I waited for Karen to pick me up, I searched high and low for my Sara McLaughlin CD, wanting to set the tone for the evening, mood music if you will, but I couldn't seem to locate it anywhere. All week I had been waking up to her voice in my ears, as my radio alarm, set to music, played her tunes. I thought it odd that the station played only her music every morning, but shrugged it off as part of the build up to the concert. I didn't even know what station it was, no radio hosts ever seemed to make an appearance, and when I tried to find this same station on my living room set, I never could seem to do so. Mornings are never my best time, and it's hard for me to put any coherent thoughts together at that time. It was only this morning, a number of days after the concert, that I was struck by the fact that I was still waking up to Sara's dulcet tones in my ears. After many concerted attempts, the lightbulb eventually did click on in my brain, and I finally realized where my missing Sara McLaughlin CD had gotten to; apparently, within the depths of my CD/Radio/Alarm player! And the slow seepage of grey matter continues merrily on its way!

Fortunately for me, Karen was playing her CD in the car when she came to pick me up, and on the short trip to the concert hall, catching up on the week with each other, Sara's voice set the mood for the evening ahead. 

Making our way to the lobby, we noticed a box on the merchandise table with the label "Ask Sara," and decided to do just that. I filled out a question for Sara, as did my friend Karen, not dreaming that it would ever see the light of the concert stage. On Karen's advise, I refrained from asking a "normal" question, and instead asked Sara "What was your most absurd inspiration for a song?" As the paper dropped from my hand into the box, the inclination to catch it back up grew strong in me, the word "absurd" echoing in my mind. Why did I use that word? What an absurd word to use! But it was too late. The die was cast. Karen's two questions for Sara were "What was your most embarrassing moment on stage?" and "This is my daughter Katie's first concert, what was yours?" And with those questions firmly in the clutches of the "Ask Sara" box, we made our way to our seats, the questions now fading away under the clamor of the audience voices, and the growing anticipation of Sara's appearance.

The lights dimmed and the concert began. What we experienced was a lovely treat. Sara McLaughlin's voice translates beautifully on CD, but nothing compares to hearing her sing live in concert. It was a comfortable feeling in the hall that night, a tone set by Sara herself. She was honest, straightforward and warm. There were no flashy costumes or over the top numbers. The music stood for itself. Instead of an opening act, Sara chose to showcase two of her band members musical giftings; singing back up on their numbers. It was a generous thing to do; something I don't think very many headlining musicians would. Karen and I enjoyed these artists named Maureen and Butterfly. Both with powerhouse voices, and very different styles.

In the middle of the first half of the concert, the black hat containing the audience questions made its first appearance. Putting her hand in it, Sara scrounged around and pulled out a peice of paper and proceeded to read "What was the most absurd inspiration for a song?" Pausing, she continued, "Absurd, what an interesting word." The echo of that one word sang out in full harmony within my brain. I knew I should have used a different word! Where was "Strange" when I needed it!  But another voice sang out "She read your question!" And that was just the beginning, because the next two questions she pulled out were Karen's! When she came to the question referring to Katie, Sara asked where Katie was, and after identifying her spoke to her personally! What an amazing moment! Sara shared that her first concert was Twisted Sister, but how privileged and honored she was to have Katie's first concert be a Sara McLaughlin one. After that surreal experience, the rest of the evening fulfilled every expectation I had, and more.

I shared that moment with my sister-in-law Bridget, thinking how wowed she would be by it, but she had her own moment which certainly matched up to mine. On a recent trip that she and her husband took to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, while attending a ball, seeking some fresh air, she went outside and struck up a conversation with a lady who was doing the same. A little later, my brother George came out in search of her and joined in the conversation. At some point George made a comment as to how familiar this lady looked, the reason for that soon became clear, because seven days before, he and Bridget had watched this same lady, Melissa Leo, accept the academy award for best supporting actress for her role in the movie The Fighter! Definitley a special moment for them and they have a picture to prove it as well!

Well, back to my own special story. There really isn't much more to tell, perhaps just to end it by saying, that for a day that started out on such a discordant note, this particular Friday evening turned out to be a wonderful time spent with good friends and Sara Mclaughlin.