A "Swell" Story of the Jacket of Destiny

Last weekend, I got a special treat. A friend from Michigan and her husband were in Key Largo for their belated honeymoon. They came up on Friday night for a little happy hour and dinner action, and we got to catch up. It was so great to see Sucker (and Jason too!!) and just talk and hang out. I still can't believe she's never been to Florida before! Crazy! But I kind of love this picture because we were laughing when T took it. :)

That Sunday, T and I went to the beach to hang out with a friend who's leaving Miami. It was so relaxing to just bake in the sun, and the water was so warm! There were tons of plants in the water so we didn't make it out too far, but chillin' in the shallow end has its perks too.

We stayed until the late afternoon and the tide started coming in, so we all began to build a moat to prevent water from getting our towels all wet. Mine was totally awesome--and effective.

As if all of that wasn't enough excitement, Monday The Aussie and I went to see a show at the Fillmore. I'm embarking on a one-woman campaign to keep that place open! I'm obsessed! But anyway, we went to see The Swell Season, a phenomenal band that began after the movie Once. The two actors/musicians from the movie, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, met while making it, fell in love (like they did in the movie), and formed a band. The song "Falling Slowly" from the film actually won an Oscar that year. Glen and Marketa have since stopped dating but they still make beautiful music together with The Swell Season.

Anyway, we went to dinner before at a Japanese place (that was delicious!) and as we were headed back to the theater, The Aussie realized she forgot her jacket at the table, so we turned around. This jacket, however, is no ordinary jacket. This was the Jacket of Destiny. As we retrieved the jacket and proceeded back to the Fillmore, who do I see coming around the corner but Glen Hansard himself! I go, "That's him. That's Glen."

"Huh, are you sure?" The Aussie replied incredoulsly.

"Yeah, that's Glen." At this point, I decided to pursue him, like ya do when you see a rockstar. I walked quickly, then ran a few steps, then went back to walking, then ran a few steps, until I was within speaking distance. "Excuse me," I began, "Are you Glen?" He said that he was, and I was like, "We're going to see your show in a bit!" We talked for a little bit, Glen claiming that the "spring break-ness" of Miami was a bit interesting, and then this other group of people came by and stole our moment, insisting on taking a picture with Glen. It was okay though, because then The Aussie and I made them take a picture of us with Glen. All of this was with much thanks to the powers of the Jacket of Destiny. :D

He was super cool to us and I loved his Irish accent a lot. :)

Anyway, we got to the show and our seats were pretty amazing, second section back right in the center. Not bad for buying them a week before the show! The opening act came out, a guy named Tristan Clopet, who apparently is friends with a friend of mine. Um, dude, next time you hang out with rock stars you LET ME KNOW. Kthanksbye. He was pretty good--guitar playing, singer/songwriter guy. He sang a song about his nephew and it was super adorable.

The Swell Season released a second album in October of last year (I think) called Strict Joy, and many of the songs they played at the show came from this album. They sang most of the songs I know from it, which was awesome. They opened with a song called "If You Want Me" and Marketa and Glen just switched back and forth between piano and guitar/microphone. They play together so well and even if they're not in love any more, their voices sure are. They just sound so perfect together. Glen's voice is kind of Bob Dylan-esque (if Bob, bless his heart, could sing) and she sounds like this haunting, ethereal bird or something. Just thinking back on it makes me wish I was there, again, in that room where magic was happening.

The pair talked to the audience quite a bit, and Marketa was shocked by the fashion choices of people (read: women) in Miami, and the fact that there was a roof top pool with a bar in it at their hotel. She called Miami "mental" but in the best possible way. Marketa's accent, by the way, is also extremely awesome. She's Polish (I think) and learned English in Ireland. Picture THAT combination! The Aussie decided that Marketa is her new best friend, and I couldn't agree more.

At one point in the show, everyone left the stage except the violin player (who is now my new boyfriend) and he played an old Irish tune as a solo. He had a CD out, apparently, and now I must track it down. It was a super cool moment, especially having just (0kay, not JUST but you know what I mean) returned from Ireland where I got to hear all kinds of music of that sort. *sigh*

Towards the end, the two sang "Falling Slowly" together. How cute are they?

They, of course, came back for an encore. First, it was just Glen who grabbed the guitar and stepped away from the mic and just wailed this song called "Leave" acoustically, which was amazing. Angry Glen is awesome. Then the rest of the band trickled back out for a few closing songs (it was a long encore!), and a little tribute to Bob Dylan, whose birthday it was. They sang "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" acoustically and everyone seemed to just be jamming and having a great time. It was the perfect way to end an amazing night.

I think my version of heaven will be that concert, on replay, for eternity. I can dig.

Much love, friends.