LOL’s of Joy

Last night I went to a small venue in Manhattan, The Bowery Ballroom, to watch Emily Wells play.  This was my first experience listening to her music and for most of you that had never heard of her, she is “an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and producer whose genres encompass alternative, experimental, and classical.”  (According to Wikipedia, since I wasn’t quite sure how to describe her music.)

First of all, her voice is amazing and she plays the violin (I LOVE string instruments!) so that alone made me happy.  But then I watched all that she did while she played and sang to capture and produce her own product on the spot… it was captivating and quite impressive!  The music was hypnotic and for that, relaxing.  To say the least, I enjoyed myself immensely last night and I will go see her again one day.

However, what I truly want to share was something that happened at the concert.  Just before she was about to play her song “Don’t Use Me Up,” she asked the crowd in the front to back up to clear up some space to create a “stage” on the floor.  Then she invited her friend to come out onto the floor to dance (ballet) to this song.  A complete surprise walked out onto the stage… an 81 year old man in full on tights!  It was dark and it was loud, so I didn’t quite see what other people’s reactions were, but if they were anything like mine and John’s, jaws were dropped and mouths were wide open in shock.

This man was absolutely adorable and I couldn’t help but to laugh.  At first I felt so bad that I was laughing because there was no reason to laugh at him.  Was he good?  Eh… for an 81 year old yes, but I wouldn’t bet that he was a dancer in his younger years.  But, the look of pure joy and happiness was all over his face.  This was his moment to shine and he gave the performance of his life!

I laughed throughout the entire performance. After the initial waft of guilt had left, I realized that I was not laughing at him.  He was fantastic!  Watching him and his face, it warmed my heart.  I couldn’t stop laughing because in his moment of glory, I had a moment myself of pure happiness.

Listening to the song and watching that man dance made me think about my mentality concerning my midlife crisis and it helped to take the edge off a bit.  It was quite a moment for us all I suppose.