Pearl and the Beard

A few weeks ago, my cute little Zooey Deschanel-like friend Kelli invited me to hear Pearl and the Beard play at a local bar. I fell in love. "The Beard" (aka Jeremy) took our cover cash with a giant smile and not even an iota of pride. Jocelyn (the blonde) joked around with us while she dug out a medium t-shirt for Kelli at the merch table. Then they hit the stage with mad skills on the guitar, cello, glockenspiel, melodica, and drum. Oh, and voices. Yes, the voices.

They came out into the crowd for a few songs, inviting us to clap and sing along. We (me, Kelli, and a couple other gals) were so enamored that we stayed around afterward to get a photo opp. Emily (the redhead) asked me to help her carry a bag to their van, and then we were all carrying gear to the van like a bunch of roadies. It was fabulous.

I felt transported to my late-high-school-early-college days when most of my friends were in bands (myself included), and weekends consisted of toting gear around, setting up and tearing down, loud live music, sweat, inspiration, and late nights at Waffle House where our "artsy" duds made us stand out like sore thumbs. The only thing that would have made the night better would have been taking Pearl and the Beard to Waffle House.

The high I came away with at the end of the night reminded me that I need that creative energy and community so badly. I don't even know how much I'm missing it until it's there again, washing over me like the first rain after a drought. I soak it up and never want to leave. It's why sometimes I linger in the graphic design/video department at work, chatting and just being with the creatives there. I want us to sit in fake wood booths with our elbows on sticky tabletops, drinking strong coffee and eating hashbrowns until the sun comes up.

Someday I think I will have a place where creative types hang out all the time, where that creativity and community is fostered 24-7. I will make sure there is always coffee brewing and cool music playing. And Jeremy, Jocelyn, and Emily will always be welcome for hashbrowns.

Courtesy of Kelli's phone :)