Poor Rich Folk

I didn't want to go out tonight.
ME. Can you believe that?

My neck is swollen from yesterday's biopsy, and it's really sore, and I was pretty much feeling sorry for myself for reasons that are completely unclear to me. You'd think the words "NOT CANCER" would make a girl wanna celebrate, right? But I didn't wanna. I wanted to stay home and go to bed early. Again - ME? Can you believe that?

But there was this band playing... that I really wanted to go see... 'cause last time I had the chance, I also had the flu... and the time before that, I was out of town. And tonight, they were filming the show for a promotional DVD that they're taking to GMA Music Week in Nashville next month... and I wanted to be there to support them in that effort.
(Even though I was scared of being filmed with my tree trunk neck. But the room was mostly sorta dark, so no worries.) :)

I've been to one of their shows before, about a year ago or so. It was sweet and fun and I wished them well. But it was sorta forgettable. So tonight, I really wasn't expecting anything different. I wanted to go not so much to be entertained, but to support the band. We know Luke in a friend-of-a-friend sort of way. Last winter, at Darren's company party, we bumped in to him. We were chatting about stuff that strangers chat about when I noticed his name tag. Luke Brawner. Brawner. Luke. I knew the name from somewhere, but the face didn't mean anything to me. Still... that NAME. I finally asked him. Where are you from? How do I know you? Did I do a wedding invitation for you? Where do you go to church? Why is your name so familiar to me? I'm sure he and his girlfriend were starting to get scared of me when we finally figured it out: he had been writing articles for a church newsletter that I had also written for and was still getting in the mail. His articles usually featured his song lyrics, and I was always impressed by the depth and maturity of his articles. THAT's why his name stood out to me. Luke Brawner. It happened that he had JUST started working for Darren's company that very week, 13 months ago.

Luke has an absolute gift for songwriting. His lyrics are straightforward and honest - plain and simple, and clever without being cute. I love that. So anyway, I showed up tonight knowing I'd enjoy myself, excited to see Luke again, but not expecting much more. How wrong I was to think that! The band was awesome! They've added a couple of new musicians since I last heard them, and the four of them completely blew me away with their sound. The harmonies were tight, the energy was fantastic, the background vocals were full of color and texture, and the bass and drums added amazing depth.

Poor Rich Folk released their first CD last spring. We have a copy; Dani loves it, and has used their lyrics on her blog several times. (She changes her Xanga title frequently, always using song lyrics from her favorite bands.) I've listened to it enough that I knew the words tonight as they played. But I hafta say... tonight's sound was WAY better than the CD. They've improved some of the songs by changing the tempos, adding vocals, etc. I can't wait to see them play live again. Next time, I'm taking a whole big group of friends and I'm makin' them all buy the CD, 'cause I'm selfish like that. I want the band to make lots of money so that they'll record a NEW CD so that I can buy it and promote it and when they get famous, say, "I knew them when they played the Fort Worth coffeehouses, way back in the day."

I didn't want to go out tonight.
But I'm so glad I did.