Back in the day, my man and I found ourselves living very Nashville lives. He was finishing up college and playing keyboard/loops for Riki Michele, and I worked for a record label. We were quite poor, crazy busy, and erm, well, I still had a lot of growing up to do. But we made some great memories.
So one day we found out Riki Michele had been invited to open for Sixpence None the Richer. My favorite band at the time — I think they had just released Divine Discontent, an album that made me wish I was a songwriter. I eagerly took some vacation time so I could travel with the band to that gig.
The trip to the venue was hilarious. Michele’s backing band (plus me) traveled several crowded hours in the drummer’s ancient Toyota minivan. The drummer honked the van’s asthmatic horn as we yelled Weezer songs at the top of our lungs.
Of course, once we got there, it was a different story. Paul and I realized we had left our luggage in the trunk of our car. In Nashville. Sigh. He had the minimum gear he needed to do the show, but we had no toiletries or extra clothes. Cue a quick trip to Wal-Mart for toothbrushes and an outfit change. I found a broomstick skirt that ended up being one of my favorite skirts for the next few years.
I spent soundcheck being completely starstruck. I know, I should have my Nashvillian card revoked, right? (Actually, I lived in Antioch at the time, so it was okay.) I kept hoping I would talk to Leigh Nash and we would discover that we had everything in common and that we would be BEST FRIENDS. But mostly I just hovered around the people I knew, smiling nervously.
The concert itself was fun. I spent much of it babysitting Michele’s gorgeous baby girl, but I did get to see Sixpence perform.
After the concert Michele’s band planned to see the Matrix Reloaded. Secretly, I was pretty sure this would cement our friendship with the members of Sixpence None the Richer. They would join us for the movie, and then we would all hang out afterwards, and then we would be BEST FRIENDS.
Instead, we didn’t really see any of the other musicians before we hurried off to catch the last showing of the movie. And of course, it was a terrible movie. And then the next morning, Michele was like, “Where did you go last night? Sixpence was going to invite you to hang out on their tour bus.”
Sigh. Celebrity stalking FAIL.
Gig over, we took our Wal-Mart clothes and headed home. Ten years later, I’m still not best friends with Leigh Nash. So Leigh, if you ever need a shopping buddy or want to go get frozen yogurt, give me a call.
This is an awesome reminiscence. If it’s any help: I think you’re super cool and Leigh would love you and the boys if she had only had that chance to hang out with you lo those many years ago. It’s a sure thing.