When Tim and I first started dating, we loved seeing live music together. He’s a huge fan of all kinds of bands. And despite the “Don’t blame me, I voted for Richard Buckner” sticker on his truck, his musical taste is, admittedly, wide-ranging. Our very first date was at this dark hole of a bar, Augenblick, where we went for Irish music, and then afterwards drove around the city just listening to stuff on the radio. The pub is no longer there, and now it seems like there’s a whole lot of Katy Perry and Frozen music sing-a-longs happening in the car thanks to our girls. But we still share music as much as we can.
It’s great there are so many ways to connect with it too. Between iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, and other music fountains, we keep adding to the library. But actually going to see live music? That’s probably one of the greatest gifts we give to each other and to ourselves. The funny thing is, when I think about it, it’s not even like we’re super connective during the shows. They’re late. Days with little ones are long. By the time we’ve made it out the door, into the city, and to a venue, I’m half asleep and Tim is mellow and enjoying a beer. But when the show starts it always makes me think about how great life is that we can have this kind of experience. And for an hour or two, feel totally transported.

We just had one of those nights. This past weekend, Augustines played at my perfect venue. If you’re new to Augustines check this out. So good, right? The trio, Billy McCarthy, Eric Sanderson and Rob Allen, has been together for about three years. And McCarthy and Sanderson have a deeper history. Read an interview here and here, and you can’t help but think they just seem like good guys. It’s not often I see a show and want to know more about the people behind the music, but this was definitely one of those times.

Just as the show was about to start, an enthusiastic twenty-something adjusted her chair towards the stage, looked at me and deadpanned: I have to see the cuties. Ha! Their set, nearly two hours, passed quickly in a series of inspiring moments, including an entirely acoustic encore they played right in the middle of the crowd. The lead singer, McCarthy, was charming and upbeat while serenading a soon-to-be-married couple (super sweet btw), and when climbing up a very large speaker to sing closer to the balcony where we stood. So good. I would love to see them again.

{Augustines at Lincoln Hall, Saturday, March 15, 2014.}