alyssum

Went to go see Devotchka last night, with a couple of the Boy's friends. I knew it was going to be a freaking awesome concert when it opened with a cover of my favorite Nina Simone song, and quite possibly one of my favorite songs of all times. Sung by a girl with an absolutely amazing voice, apparently operatically trained. So now I'm slightly obsessed with that opener, My Brightest Diamond. Wow.
Then Devotchka. Opening, again, with a cover. This time, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and again one of my favorites in their catalogue. And again, I'm blown away by one particularly talented member of the band - the violinist.
At one point in the concert this adorably chatty hippy girl turns to me and says "The violinist is fucking sick!" Words I'm pretty sure I never thought I'd hear together. But she was totally right. They whipped out horns, including a tuba covered in christmas lights, a theremin, an accordian, and my gypsy-music-loving heart swooned repeatedly.
And then to top off this strange and awesome night, as we were leaving I saw this grey haired old man towering over the people around him. Very conservatively dressed and looking terrifically out of place. Wait, his face, I've seen it before. Whoa. John Lithgow. Oh crap, I'm staring at him. So I turn to the friend behind me and ask her to verify. Yup, 3rd Rock From the Sun guy. In Portland.