How to meet your musical heroes and still look cool -if it’s opposite day

I had been waiting for this concert for 3 months.

Christabel and the Jons.

My absolute favorite band. I discovered them during Talley’s Folly (the show we did at Sleepy Creek Vineyard over Valentines day) and they have been burning up my MP3 player ever since.

I should probably preface this story by telling you that in 1997 I came precariously close to getting kicked out of a Christian concert being given by Miss Angie and 6pence None the Richer. I was THAT GIRL. You know the one. Who stands in the front row, singing along as loud as she can to EVERY SINGLE SONG. I actually got dirty looks from Leigh Nash, and when I met her after the show, she commented on what a lovely voice I had. (She said it nicely, but still…Lesson learned.)

So my goal at Christabel and the Jons was to not make the same mistake. I would not sing during the concert.

We got to Sleepy Creek after I spent HOURS getting ready. Yes, I said hours. You don’t meet your musical heroes without far too much thought in what you will wear, and how you will do your hair, etc.. Matt briefly mentioned the word “obsessive,” but I turned up the music so I couldn’t hear him.

(I also insisted on doing his hair. Any of you women out there know that how your man looks is just as important as how you look. Poor Matt took being a human Barbie doll like a man. As much as he could. I also picked out his outfit. Normally he can wear whatever. NOT to Christabel and the Jons. Enough said.)

Those of you who made it out to see Talley’s Folly in February know that Sleepy Creek vineyards has a really intimate feel to it. It’s small, quaint, and there’s no place for performers to hide. (There is a swing out back…. Hee hee) And being a total math whiz, I knew that this quadrupled my chances of meeting the band. We walked in, and the band is milling around talking to people. And I got a glass of Hen Pecked (my favorite wine ever) and tried my best to look cool.

Mentally, I was doing that thing all of us girls do on important occasions.

Checking hair (mine was fake) to make sure it’s in place.

Wiping any misguided mascara from corners of eyes. (Why does makeup always end up there anyway?)

Making sure lipstick has not feathered. (Matt had no clue what that meant when I asked him if my lipstick had feathered. He said “It’s on your lips.” I went to the restroom and checked for myself.)

Quick bathroom break and then making sure the dress had not gotten tucked up inside the back of my unders like Rachel on “Friends” (the bridesmaid episode).

And finally, taking one last look at my shoes. (these are the ones I decoupaged last year with scrapbooking paper and Modpodge. They only come out on very special occasions. Last night was a special night.)





And there the band was. All 4 of them, standing together, outside, enjoying a moment of peace before the show.

Being a stalker uber fan who was perfectly in place from head to toe, I made my move.

Casually as one can, I sashayed outside- right in front of them, and that was when my mouth took over.

“Hi my name is Charlie and you all have been burning up my Ipod and I absolutely love your music and I have been waiting so excitedly for tonight and I am your friend on facebook and I am so excited to hear you play and you guys are my favorite band ever and I just love the simplicity of your music, yet there is such depth, and the people here have no idea what they are about to experience, but they will be loving you by the time you finish, of course they will be slightly drunk, because they come for the wine, not like me, I just came for you, of course there is a different kind of drunk here, it’s not rowdy like most bars, because the people here are a little more classy, so it’s kind of like a classy drunk, or maybe a different echelon of drunk but I am so excited to see your band tonight because you are my most favorite band ever and I listen to you all the time and I brought my husband, he’s not really a music guy but he came here with me because I wanted him to hear you live and experience your music and I know I am gushing all over you, sorry for that- if you have a newspaper in the van you can smack me on the nose with it and I will stop!”

Now, of course, I am falling all over myself here. It’s sad. Matt rushed to my rescue.

“If you can’t tell, Charlie loves your music. She’s thrilled to be here tonight.”

Thank you Matt, for summing up what I was trying to say in 2 sentences.

By this point I am doing my best not to look any less cool than I already do. I made a few more unrelated, incomprehensible statements, and finally I relaxed. The band was exceedingly gracious. We talked for a few minutes more, and I was edging myself closer to the parking lot. I use my hands when I talk, and I tend to gravitate where I have space to talk and no one gets smacked in the face. I couldn’t trust myself after the last run on sentence of nonsense , and quickly decided wide open spaces were my best bet.

What I didn’t consider was the gravel on the parking lot would be so uneven. One big dramatic hand gesture, and I found myself in the slow motion fall backwards, with my decoupaged shoes to blame. My arms immediately went into windmill mode (you may have seen it before, where your arms circle around you in wild fashion trying to recapture your balance) and I stumbled backwards. In reality, I caught myself before I hit butt on gravel. But it was a very close call.

The concert was wonderful, and the band was just as amazing as I had hoped. I sat a few rows back where they couldn’t see me singing along to every song. And I sang very softly. I only disturbed Matt. But during the second set, there was a lull as they were discussing what song to do. And of course I shouted out my favorite (Extremely loud) “BOY CRAZY!”

Securing my place as the crazy stalker fan in their hearts.

As they prepared to do the song, Christa said “This is the song my good friend Charlie requested…”

And to be honest? I didn’t hear the rest of what she said. I was too over the moon to hear another word.

So, in grand Charlie fashion, I would like to share a new song of theirs. The lyrics are most appropriate for how I feel for acting like such a nerd to the band.


The song is called “I cried over you.”