"I’m not clean, I’m not washed up. This dream I don't ever give up."

It's one thing when you go see a performance for the first time by an artist you've really admired and listened to for a while and walk out feeling fulfilled and high from the experience. It's a great feeling, but also you realise, of course it was good. It had to be good. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed, but I'm so glad they delivered. Yeah!!

It's a whole different story and even more rewarding when you go in blindly to a performance and walk out with your eyes wide open and seeing bright vivid colors for the first time and saying, "I had no idea!" That pretty much describes my experience last night.

Patty Griffin performed at The Vic Theatre. The Vic is one of my favorite venues for concerts. This show had assigned seating, which is not usually the case there, and we did not have tickets, but thanks to a very special favor from a good friend we found ourselves in the 6th row.

Now I say I went in blindly and that is the truth. W has put on cd's of her's while we were doing stuff around the house, or talking, or whatever, but it's been more like background music. So while I was familiar of who I was going to see and had an idea of what kind of show I was going to, I really knew nothing.

10 minutes after we take our seats the band walks out followed by a very tiny girl with red hair who immediately commanded attention from the very first notes sung. I was mesmerized. About 4 or 5 songs into the set she sits at the piano and tells a story of how she had been talking to a songwriter friend who said, "Ya know, between the 2 of us we don't have one happy song and that's just pathetic." Patty talks about how she decided to take a crack at it and "it's real easy if you just write about shoes and mom and stuff." She starts in on piano and then the band kicks into this beautiful powerful heavy song. 3/4's into it, almost teary eyed, I look at W and say, "This is supposed to be a happy song?" She too is almost speechless and in awe. This song is followed by 3 more very emotional songs sung just over an acoustic guitar and I'm thinking to myself, if the band doesn't come back out soon I'm going to lose my shit. I look around and there doesn't seem to be a dry eye around me. The band does come back out and it gets pretty rockin and before we know it the show is over and we're definitely left wanting more.

What a songwriter. What a voice. What a show! And the best part is I had no expectations. No idea I would leave so completely moved and inspired. I ran into someone I know in the line for the bathroom on the way out and told him the brief version of my experience and he said, "Yeah, she could sing the phone book and it would be amazing."