Dan Mangan at Schuba's

First off, let me say that the beer tonight was delicious. And, in the interest of re-hydrating before bed, I am taking the time to blog a bit.

CG drove us home from Schuba's tonight, and on the drive, we three reflected on how we live in a big city but perhaps do not take good enough advantage of that. I admit: Conrad and I are old marrieds. We have a cozy life of dinner at home and a bottle of wine. It suits us.

But by gosh was it fun to get out tonight.

Dan Mangan was playing at Schuba's. Never been to that bar/venue before, and now I'm keen to go back. An intimate space for music, and - a happy addition to the evening - Conrad and I had an enjoyable dinner out on the sidewalk. Grilled pork chops, a bottle of modest Chardonnay at half price. Nice weather as a backdrop. Oh, and isn't that Dan Mangan sitting over there (pale blue t-shirt, on the left)?

Sorry, I'm such a fanboy, I know. Look, I like his music. A lot. Giuseppe introduced me to him last year (almost a year ago!) in conversation over a good lunch together in Vancouver. That is why Giuseppe is so totally A-list for the wedding. I've listened to >Nice Nice Very Nice so very much since, and I've tried to indoctrinate friends, too. During the Olympics, we dragged Brian and Conrad to a show at the Yaletown Roundhouse, and though the act that preceded him was, well, dreadful, it was so worthwhile.

And now tonight, there he was, a small room, not many people, and a good set. He opened with Sold,
closed with Robots, and encored with So Much for Everyone. Perfection would have meant playing Pine for Cedars, but I'll cut him slack since he wasn't the headliner. Still, how great was it? He was funny. He was cute. He and his band came down to do the last two songs acoustically in the middle of the room. The four of us chatted with him before the show, and then I stole a few words with him after the show as I picked up something for TK (TK, pretend you didn't read that) at the merchandise table.

And CG said he sounded Canadian.

:-)

So I sit here, having enjoyed beers during the show, high on the concert, looking toward Hawaii on Saturday, and I have to think how terrific my life is at this very moment. Now then, when can we see Dan Mangan again, and how do I convince the rest of you to go out and try his music?

A fine night, and the capper? He complimented me on me Camp Mangan t-shirt.


Peter, a giddy and girly fanboy this evening. Yep, no two ways about it...