Don't Mess With a Woman Who Has A Wayback Machine

Today is The Suz's birthday. I'm not supposed to say how old she is. To celebrate the momentous occasion, Saturday night she, K-Rock, and I stepped into the wayback machine and journeyed to 1994.

Actually, we just went to see the Indigo Girls play in Nashua. It amounts to the same thing, except now we have smartphones. And everyone in the audience had a smartphone. And everyone in the audience with a smartphone seemed to be sharing the experience on facebook or texting with their friends or checking their email repeatedly or otherwise avoiding having an authentic experience.

You'd think the people at an Indigo Girls concert would be all about the authentic experience. These were very earnest, crunchy, New Hampshire liberals. Lots of handmade dangly earrings and flowy tops on the womenfolk. Lots of Drew Carey glasses, and t-shirts promoting obscure microbrews on the menfolk. And a lot of guys in fedoras.

I don't understand guys wearing fedoras.

Still these guys were part of a predominantly female audience. So I'm pretty sure that the Fedora Guys who came to the show with their girlfriends are getting a free pass on all kinds of dirty stuff for at least six months. Well played, Fedora Guys.

When I saw the Girls in 1994, there was much more gender equity in the audience. I knew a lot of guys who genuinely liked the band, and not just as an easy way to ingratiate themselves. But that was 1994, and it was the South, so the Girls had a pretty good local following. Listening to Rites of Passage puts me right back in my freshman dorm. I don't think I'm the only one who was around in that time and place who could trace the trajectory of her early 20s through their lyrics.

And my late 20s.
Early 30s.
...late 30s.

Anyway, I'll skip the rundown of favorite lines. And despite the rampant smartphone usage, it was a successful evening out and allowed us all to hearken back to our college days. I am happy to report that Amy and Emily can still deliver the goods.

And with that, I'm going to go plug my headphones into my own smartphone and hop back into the wayback machine for the rest of the evening.

Ahhh, 1994, it's kind of nice to be back for a little while.