Who: Vanessa Carlton with Anna Nalick and Ferras
When: June 25, 2008
Where: Erie County Botanical Gardens/ Buffalo, NY
With: Zak
Of Note: Vanessa saves us from the apocalypse; I fall in love
Warning: This is pretty long.
When I was a sophomore in undergrad, there was a magical Saturday in the spring when, despite the fact that it had been cold and miserable for months, it was a beautiful, 65 degree day. So excited to get out of the dorms, we spent the whole day outside, frolicking on the lawn outside Governor's and just enjoying the beautiful weather. I was bummed when I had to go to work, but was refreshed from the great day outside. I headed to Shoe Hell in khakis, a long sleeved shirt and sandals.
A scant six hours later, all hell broke loose. I was trying to close up the store, but security guards came through and said that there was now a safety issue and we needed to evacuate immediately. I learned later that lightening hit some sort of box and there was an electrical fire at Victoria's Secret. When I left the mall to go to my car, it was a disaster. The sky was a scary, bright orange. There was snow and ice on the ground. There was thunder and lightening. There was enormous hail. It was terrifying.
When I finally got back to the dorms, Beth and I watched the storm and marveled at the difference in weather from earlier in the day. It was so sudden and so scary and lightening with snow? We were convinced it was the apocalypse. It gets a little fuzzy here, but somehow, Beth and I came to the logical conclusion that because of her then ubiquitous song '1000 Miles', Vanessa Carlton was going to save us from the apocalypse.
As you may be aware, the world did not end in the spring of 2002, so Vanessa did her job. Vanessa would continue to do her job for many years to come - '1000 Miles' popping up in grocery stores while buying snacks for finals' study sessions, on Muzak during a shopping trip to buy my college graduation dress when I was having a quarterlife crisis, on the shuffled iPod after a particularly exhausting bout with the family...she always saved us. Beth and I remarked frequently, "I need Vanessa to save me!" So, when I heard that she was coming to town, I had to go.
Zak and I had been dating about six months and I roped him into going with promises of beer and wine tasting. The 'Starry Night' event is really nice - you get to wander through the botanical gardens, there's tons of food from a variety of restaurants and a bunch of beer tastings. By the time we had eaten and drank our fill, it was almost time for Anna Nalick to perform. Zak and I took our seats on the lawn.
Anna was great, I've always been a big fan of the song 'Breathe', which was delivered sweetly, almost hauntingly. She played a few songs from 'Wreck of the Day' and a couple of new songs from her 'upcoming album', which, for those keeping score at home, hasn't been released yet. She also did a neat cover of the Chili Peppers' 'Breaking the Girl'. Her whole set was pretty minimalist, just her, a guitarist and a bassist. I remember her being funny, though not what she said. She also had a cute, sparkly top on.
It's worth noting that the weather that day was gray and very, very windy. You could see the clouds race across the sky and it looked like it was going to open up and pour at any minute.
Vanessa came out, and it was just her and her piano. Her set was full of songs that I loved - 'White Houses', 'Nolita Fairytale' (which was new at the time), and 'Pretty Baby'. She kept talking about how windy it was and how we were all going to get blown away and how fast the clouds were moving. Then, she said something that will be seared in my mind forever. "Man, this weather...here in Buffalo...with the wind...it's like it's apocalyptic!" I lost it. Vanessa Carlton said the world 'apocalyptic' in my presence. It is like she knew her job was to save me. Oh Vanessa. If only you had known. Then she played '1000 Miles'.
She introduced a song that was going to be on her upcoming album, 'Heroes and Thieves' (which has since been released). It was a song called 'Home'. That song slayed me. In the first two verses of the song, each couplet starts with 'Some people live...' and talks about different situations that people live in (ie. "in a house on a hill", "have a ship where they sleep", "in towns, cardboard shack on concrete"). The chorus opens up to say, "I've always known with you, I am home." Sitting there, on that lawn, with a boy I had been dating six months, I realized that was exactly how I felt about him. I felt like I was home with him. That the walls I usually kept up to keep people out weren't needed with him, that I was my best self with him, that I finally belonged with someone. It was at that moment that I knew I was in love with him.
Knowing what happens just shy of three years later, it would be easy to revise history, pretend that hadn't happened, pretend that's not how I felt. Instead, I like to remember that moment - a windy night in June, seeing a performer that I loved, having an epic 'celebrity moment', realizing that I was in love - as one of those perfect life experiences.
When: June 25, 2008
Where: Erie County Botanical Gardens/ Buffalo, NY
With: Zak
Of Note: Vanessa saves us from the apocalypse; I fall in love
Warning: This is pretty long.
When I was a sophomore in undergrad, there was a magical Saturday in the spring when, despite the fact that it had been cold and miserable for months, it was a beautiful, 65 degree day. So excited to get out of the dorms, we spent the whole day outside, frolicking on the lawn outside Governor's and just enjoying the beautiful weather. I was bummed when I had to go to work, but was refreshed from the great day outside. I headed to Shoe Hell in khakis, a long sleeved shirt and sandals.
A scant six hours later, all hell broke loose. I was trying to close up the store, but security guards came through and said that there was now a safety issue and we needed to evacuate immediately. I learned later that lightening hit some sort of box and there was an electrical fire at Victoria's Secret. When I left the mall to go to my car, it was a disaster. The sky was a scary, bright orange. There was snow and ice on the ground. There was thunder and lightening. There was enormous hail. It was terrifying.
When I finally got back to the dorms, Beth and I watched the storm and marveled at the difference in weather from earlier in the day. It was so sudden and so scary and lightening with snow? We were convinced it was the apocalypse. It gets a little fuzzy here, but somehow, Beth and I came to the logical conclusion that because of her then ubiquitous song '1000 Miles', Vanessa Carlton was going to save us from the apocalypse.
As you may be aware, the world did not end in the spring of 2002, so Vanessa did her job. Vanessa would continue to do her job for many years to come - '1000 Miles' popping up in grocery stores while buying snacks for finals' study sessions, on Muzak during a shopping trip to buy my college graduation dress when I was having a quarterlife crisis, on the shuffled iPod after a particularly exhausting bout with the family...she always saved us. Beth and I remarked frequently, "I need Vanessa to save me!" So, when I heard that she was coming to town, I had to go.
Zak and I had been dating about six months and I roped him into going with promises of beer and wine tasting. The 'Starry Night' event is really nice - you get to wander through the botanical gardens, there's tons of food from a variety of restaurants and a bunch of beer tastings. By the time we had eaten and drank our fill, it was almost time for Anna Nalick to perform. Zak and I took our seats on the lawn.
Anna was great, I've always been a big fan of the song 'Breathe', which was delivered sweetly, almost hauntingly. She played a few songs from 'Wreck of the Day' and a couple of new songs from her 'upcoming album', which, for those keeping score at home, hasn't been released yet. She also did a neat cover of the Chili Peppers' 'Breaking the Girl'. Her whole set was pretty minimalist, just her, a guitarist and a bassist. I remember her being funny, though not what she said. She also had a cute, sparkly top on.
It's worth noting that the weather that day was gray and very, very windy. You could see the clouds race across the sky and it looked like it was going to open up and pour at any minute.
Vanessa came out, and it was just her and her piano. Her set was full of songs that I loved - 'White Houses', 'Nolita Fairytale' (which was new at the time), and 'Pretty Baby'. She kept talking about how windy it was and how we were all going to get blown away and how fast the clouds were moving. Then, she said something that will be seared in my mind forever. "Man, this weather...here in Buffalo...with the wind...it's like it's apocalyptic!" I lost it. Vanessa Carlton said the world 'apocalyptic' in my presence. It is like she knew her job was to save me. Oh Vanessa. If only you had known. Then she played '1000 Miles'.
She introduced a song that was going to be on her upcoming album, 'Heroes and Thieves' (which has since been released). It was a song called 'Home'. That song slayed me. In the first two verses of the song, each couplet starts with 'Some people live...' and talks about different situations that people live in (ie. "in a house on a hill", "have a ship where they sleep", "in towns, cardboard shack on concrete"). The chorus opens up to say, "I've always known with you, I am home." Sitting there, on that lawn, with a boy I had been dating six months, I realized that was exactly how I felt about him. I felt like I was home with him. That the walls I usually kept up to keep people out weren't needed with him, that I was my best self with him, that I finally belonged with someone. It was at that moment that I knew I was in love with him.
Knowing what happens just shy of three years later, it would be easy to revise history, pretend that hadn't happened, pretend that's not how I felt. Instead, I like to remember that moment - a windy night in June, seeing a performer that I loved, having an epic 'celebrity moment', realizing that I was in love - as one of those perfect life experiences.
Great Post Jen! I know it sucks to revisit memories sometimes...but this was a great post!
ReplyDeleteI still do not remember this crazy weather day back in 2002...however there were tons of crazy weather days during my time in the B-lo!