It all started with a dream. As the summer progressed, it became an obsession. Now, the heat has died down a little, but I am still in love with Britt Daniel.

Next time someone asks me “any men in your life?” I’ll just tell them the truth – I am in love with a rock star and regular dudes just don’t do it for me anymore. The cool thing about being in love with a rock star is, you can just listen to their records and you’ll never know all the bad stuff. For all I know, Britt Daniel is a total wanker. But I can listen to his records over and over and I will always love his music. There is a comforting certainty in that.

After all these months of obsessive behavior, I was a little unsure about how I would feel at last night’s Spoon show at Cane’s. I was borderline underwhelmed at the June 21st Avalon show, but that was pre-dream. I’d read that Spoon sucks live, I’d read that they were awesome live, and my previous experience was somewhere in between. So I spent the day almost fearful that I would be underwhelmed, that my obsession would stop (which it will, it has already started stopping, but I prefer to let the love morph into something lasting without the intensity, if that makes any sense.) Yes, I was fearful. And nervous. And very, very excited. Isn’t it great to be alive?

I went with Mark. Even though we broke up over a year ago, he remains my live show buddy. His girlfriend is cool with it, but it seems to perplex some of his friends who can’t understand the whole breaking up and remaining friends thing. The great thing about Mark is, he puts up with me. And you have no idea what a pain I can be at shows. I have to “get my spot.” Once in my spot, it “must be guarded, never left.” Then I “must have another Absolute Mandarin and Soda, please.” Many, many people would be like, chill the fuck out. But Mark understands, and he goes with it with humor and grace. This is the sign of a true friend.

So, we got to Cane’s early and went up to the restaurant on the roof they have there. There were lots of people eating and when we sat down for a drink I scanned the whole roof for Britt. I told Mark I knew he was up there – I just KNEW. And he WAS. Mark went over and found a table that was, seriously, ten feet away from the man himself. I went over and I was facing him. Holy fuck. I could barely look. He was eating fajitas and talking to a girl with a hippie skirt and flip flops, not looking too enthused. Then he got up and left. I was almost relieved. Flip Flop Girl looked totally dejected when he left. Britt Daniel has a bit of a reputation, at least on the internet, and this girl couldn’t have been a blip on his radar. Me and her have that in common.

Mark and I then went into the club, right when the doors opened, because I had to “get my spot.” And my spot at Cane’s is awesome. There is a little raised area that has a railing just to the left of the floor. From there, you have a full view of the stage just a few feet away. This could, in fact, be the best place to watch a show in the entire universe. And I had it, and I wasn’t going to move.

American Music Club opened and they were awesome – so good that I am kind of shocked they were an opening band. I was totally fascinated by the drummer. The guy had a “I’ve Lived and It’s Showing” look but he was such a brilliant drummer – understated, unique, perfect. I could hardly take my eyes off him.

Then it was time to get ready for Spoon. All of a sudden, the place was packed with a handful of real fans and a gazillion chicks who “love that song they played on the OC” and a bunch of dudes who “like that Camera song.” THIS is why I stake out the perfect spot WELL in advance. I was on the rail, looking down at all these people. If I would have been down there I would have hated it. As it was, I wanted to smack many of them upside the head. I didn’t know there could be a worse crowd than an L.A. crowd. Wrong. Pacific Beach crowd wins.

But, I wasn’t about to let the constant text messaging and hair flipping get to me. It was on my radar though. Bad crowd, no donut.

Then there was Britt. And I can say, the love ain’t going anywhere. It was a totally inspired, fun show. The whole band was into it, Britt was into it, even the lame ass crowd was into it, when they weren’t text messaging each other. After five months of listening to Spoon practically constantly, it was like the sountrack of my life played loud, hard, and well. It was AWESOME. I fucking LOVE Britt Daniel. I love his raspy voice and his bedhead blond hair, I love the fitted shirt soaked through with sweat. Sometimes he would turn around and empty his guitar of sound with his back turned to the audience for what seemed like hours. I am not sure anyone noticed but me, and this is what I love – the wall of sound only an electric guitar can give. I love the smile of a man who is doing what he loves and is doing it perfectly. The combination of those two things? Doesn’t get any better than that, unless you throw in a bottle of Owen Roe Pinot Noir. Perfect song after perfect song, it went on and on. I didn’t even mind Britt’s obvious flirtation with practically every girl in the front row. My love is deeper than a one-night stand.

I didn’t want it to end, but end it did. Now I have to take a nap, so I can be fresh for the Dandy Warhols show tonight. Please let me dream again.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 19th, 2005 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Adventures in Rock and Roll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.