Catching Up On Vacation, Part II

or it's all about Rhett **Obsession Alert**

Okay, so as I write this the Old 97's are three days into a four night no-repeat, Evening With... concert fest at Dallas' historic Sons of Herman Hall. Our New York friends, George and Maria (yeah...same names. weird isn't it) have flown down to partake in the pure, unadulterated joy of every single show.

I am so freaking JEALOUS!!

I am completely green with envy.

I hate them.

No. Of course I don't. Well... maybe just a little. They're lovely people whom we've gotten to know from going to Old 97's & Rhett shows. (They went to all four, no-repeat shows in Hoboken this summer, too. hate them.) It's just the green-eyed monster talking. Every year the band puts on a balls-to-the-wall, four day fest for their home town. I would LOVE to go, but here's the rub. Even though I've been at my job for like, a full 2 1/2 geological periods, I will never have the week between Christmas and New Year's off.

Never. Ever.

Until I retire. Let's see...I'll be 65, Rhett will be 55, Murry & Ken will be 60 and 62... They could still rock out, right? I mean, look at the Stones. Yeah...that's just too sad and pathetic a thought to ponder. So I have to settle for living vicariously through others.

Here we are after Rhett's Pawling, NY show from this vacation. They're lovely people, but I still pretend hate them a little.

But wait...isn't this supposed to be about the fun we had on our vacation? Sure was, drama queen. Stop belly aching about what you're missing and concentrate on the good fortune you had. Loser. Alright, Alright... No need to get snarky. Be-yatch. (is talking to yourself the first sign of crazy?)

Okay, so let's start again...

Let's begin with Monday. Again through the powers of Twitter, I stumbled on a tweet from a wonderful New York charity near NYU called Housing Works. They operate an all-volunteer run bookstore and consignment shop, whose profits go towards providing housing to people with AIDS. They just so happened to be hosting a benefit featuring TV's Jill Hennessy and ... the lovely blue-eyed one.

Jill Hennessy (from Crossing Jordan) was surprisingly not bad. She has a nice voice and called my Rhett on stage for her last song, The Pogues "Fairytale of New York".

I just love how shy and awkward he can be. It's endearing. And Gez Louise. Could she have a longer neck?!? Seriously. BTW, that's George and Maria in the front row.

Anywho-he compiled a literary set list consisting of only his songs which contain the word book (504, Book of Poems, Drowning in the Days) or reference authors like DeLillo, Salinger or David Foster Wallace or are based on literature. It was rather impressive. He's one smart, well-read guy.

And boy did he rock the place!! So much so, his usual high-energy, foot stomping actually separated the two-piece, make shift stage sending his beer tumbling to the carpet, spilling its contents. A sad sight indeed.

Book of Poems/Four-Eyed Girl

That video perfectly illustrates the kind of energy he puts into shows. He is moving that platform, Baby! You see why I love him? He puts everything he has into performing. Sorry the image is out of focus. Apparently I suck as a videographer at times. This is one of my favorites, but then again...there're all pretty much my favorite.

Drowning in the Days

Not only is he gorgeous and uber talented, he speaks French, too. The perfect fantasy man, even if he plays a sour chord once in a while and duffs some of the lyrics to his opening number. Still perfect.

Question

As my friend Cindy says, "Any time I get to stand in front of him and hear him sing is a good day."

Right on, Sister!

Believe it or not, the week wasn't ALL about my fantasy husband. In between Rhett sets, Geo and I went shopping at the Union Market and bought the grooviest zipper purses. They come packaged as a spool and you zip it up to form the purse. They are the absolute coolest! We bought, like five.

We also went to museums, drank festive cocktails, ate incredible ethnic foods, visited our nephew, drank margaritas, ate more tasty foods, shopped some more, drank and stopped by the Rockefeller Tree.

Our last concert stop of the week was a short jaunt north to a quaint little club in Pawling, NY. Once again, who do we see at the front center table? Our pals George and Maria, who happened to be seated in front of friends of the Millers. We were seated half way back, but honestly there wasn't a bad seat in the house. New Paltz's own The Trapps did a fine job as opening act. The place was packed with their friends and family. It's always fun to watch people who are unfamiliar with Rhett's song stylings become converts.

It was interesting to see Rhett in his natural habitat playing to friends of his. The club is only about an hour east of his home. He seemed really relaxed and playful. His friends even sang the long abandoned "You got the teeth of the hydra upon ya" chorus to Singular Girl, shaming him into singing it as well.

It was fantastic! He played a 24-song set list including two Christmas songs

Holly Jolly Christmas

and charmed us all with his witty banter and the story behind I Need To Know Where I Stand

You can hear Geo laughing in the background. Mr. Miller is so freaking charming!! Seeing him play makes me so very, very happy. Every show is distinct. Every song interpreted a little differently than the last time. Every evening he puts himself out there.

Oh yeah...and he's really kind and tolerant of goofballs who adore him. Oh and did I mention how gorgeous he is? No? Well he totally is.

Whether he's playing alone or with the band, Time Bomb is always the final song of the night. It's such a bittersweet moment for me. It is such a great song, which he plays with complete and utter abandon using up whatever energy he has left. But it signals the end of the evening. And I'm never ready for him to stop. EVER.

What's the show biz saying, always leave them wanting more? Well, he certainly does.

So ends my amazing year following a remarkably talented, lovely blue-eyed man around the Eastern seaboard. The more amazing thing is my darling Geo was along for the ride. So it's only fitting to end this post with the perfect closer. And I promise not to be so obsessive next year. HaHaHaHa!! *Snort* Sometimes I crack myself up.

"I got it badly for a stick-legged (boy)!!"