Shh!!

I had an interesting Saturday night. I went to see one of my favorites - Will Hoge - this soulful, bluesy rocker with a kickass voice. Part singer/songwriter, part Memphis blues-rock. Love him. He plays the acoustic guitar and the harmonica, an instrument I really can't get enough of. His music is not at all the type that would attract brawls or girl fights, but that's exactly what transpired.

He has an incredibly powerful voice and always sings part of a song or an entire song without any accompaniment or microphone. The first time I ever saw him was a few years ago in a little Athens hotspot. He jumped up on the bar and belted out an entire song. He stepped away from the mic on Saturday too, but my listening enjoyment was interrupted by a woman sitting nearby talking loudly. My love of music blossomed in many long nights spent at the Bluebird Cafe, whose motto is "Shh!" and I think it's disrespectful to the artist to talk loudly during a concert and also disrespectful to other audience members. I leaned forward and said, "Shh!" I didn't say, "Shut the fuck up, bitch" or "If you don't shut your mouth, I'm gonna shut it for you" or anything like that. I didn't say a word, in fact, just a sound.

She flipped her head around and gave me a icy death look, then flipped back to her friend and said, "Oh no she didn't! I know she didn't just shush me!" Foolishly thinking that communication can solve any disagreement, I leaned forward and explained myself, "He was singing without any instruments." I received another glare and just shrugged, turning my attention back to Will.

I decided not to let this woman's attitude contaminate my evening and walked back down near the stage, where my other friends were standing. We were dancing and having a good time, when the rude woman's mean friend came down and got in my face to say, "You just told my friend to shut up, and I want you to know that when she was talking, she was saying how good he sounded! Don't you open your fucking mouth to her again!" I tried to respond and said, "But he was..." Though at that point, she whipped her brown hair in my face and stomped away.

I had to fill in my friends and explain why a stranger just yelled at me. I laughed it off and decided not to let it bother me. It's easy to get caught up in little things, and this ridiculous altercation was not something I was about to let bring my funk down. I went back to enjoying the awesomeness that is Will Hoge. The next thing I knew, the two women pushed and shoved their way through the crowd and stood directly in front of my friends and I. Very aggressive. We exchanged glances and took a step back.

My friends were really nervous by then and one of them had his arm tight around me. I thought they were exaggerating and told them everything was fine. I even encouraged my big strong bodyguard to go get another beer, reassuring him that he didn't need to protect me. He wouldn't listen and stood behind me shooting daggers at the women. Several minutes passed without any dramatic event, and one of my favorite songs came on that I always have to dance to. I stepped away from the 6'3" tough guy standing guard over me and went a few feet away to dance and sing with another friend.

The song ended and we were laughing when I felt violent, persistent taps on my shoulder. I knew who it was, of course, but decided I could ignore her angry tapping. She kept it up so I turned around. She waved her finger at me, yelling, "Don't you ever mother-fucking say another mother-fucking word to me! EVER." I shrugged and said, smiling, "Ok. Are you having fun tonight?" She looked confused and cocked her head to the side like my dog when I ask her a question. "Because I'm having fun tonight, and I hope you're having fun tonight too," I grinned sincerely. She grunted and turned sharply on her heels. Mama always said to kill 'em with kindness. :)

Later on, my bodyguard told me that before the two women bombarded down to stand in front of us, the rude woman was cracking her knuckles and her neck. Getting ready to rumble. Everyone saw it but me - I was blissfully clueless. Thank God for good friends!

I started thinking about how thankful I was that I was with the people I was with. How would other people have handled the situation if they had been there? Haha one good friend said if she was there, she would've just punched the woman. What would have happened if I was there alone? I'm really just not that tough. More sugar than spice.

I have the greatest friends, I love that they're so protective, that they would fight for me. And I love that the people in my life are always on my side. While I'm listing things I'm thankful for, I should also add that I'm grateful I didn't get bitch slapped Saturday night.