Extraordinary Machine? Indeed

This past Sunday, Dec. 4th, I was fortunate enough to attend the Fiona Apple concert. The entire journey started when I realized her show was sold out. I agonized over bidding online for a ticket, but eventually decided it was worth the risk. The tickets certainly weren't cheap, but I figured it was worth it. So I received my ticket via certified mail (my first certified letter ever) and it looked authentic. So fast forward to the 4th. I wait in line in the freezing cold for 30 min. That certainly wasn't fun. I decided to go to the show by myself because 1.) No one wanted to pay that much to see her that I knew, 2.) I enjoy fiona more alone. Yes, most of her songs are angry. But that is what I enjoy about them. They are all very emotional and if you have someone jabbering in your ear the entire time, it ruins the experience. So I finally got into the building, paid too much for beer I didn't even want (I think that goes back to the days when I was too young to get a beer but always wanted one. Now, I don't want a Miller Lite ever, and especially not for $5, however I feel obligated to make it up to my under 21-year-old self to get it.) and then went up to the balcony to look for a seat. It was pretty packed when I got there, however me, needing a single, found a single seat in the front row of the balcony! It was perfect. The opening act was David(pronounced with a Spanish accent) Garza. Frankly, he stunk. His music wasn't too bad. He had that spanish/frenchish instrumentation with the bass and the cello and some flutey looking thing. His lyrics, however, were a disaster. Whenever someone, especially a non-black someone, says "honeys" in a song, they lose all credibility with me. Also, he was going for that hipster 'I haven't washed my hair in three weeks, nor have I brushed it, aren't I hot?' look. I hate that look. For god's sake, brush your damn hair. The unkempt part isn't as much a problem for me as is the greasiness. That is just gross. He finally left the stage and it was time for some fiona. She came out to a hearty round of applause. She played(and I mean played because she plays the piano for over half the songs she performs, and for all the songs on her album) for about an hour and a half. I was impressed. And she was happy, even if in a manic sort of way. She was giddy. Giggling and joking around. It was great. She dances a little like Eileen from seinfeld, but that really only made her more endearing. Her little jerks and twists and spasms are totally charming. Actually, I couldn't take my eyes off her. There is something enigmatic about the way she sings that made it impossible not to watch her. There is quite a bit of passion behind each performance of each song and it usually gave me the goose bumps. I have a serious non-sexual crush on this woman and it is depressing to know that I won't have the opportunity to see her for god knows how long. My money couldn't have been spent any better. This was probably the most fulfilling concert I have ever seen.