Adam Ezra Group

The day after Paul and I broke up, I went to a concert. At a folk club. With my dad.

Why would you do such a thing? you ask.

Ah, well, you see, apparently there was a last-minute cancellation at a club called Passim (review at The Amandangle) and Adam Ezra was filling in. I didn't know his music too well, but he played at my school freshman year. I joined the mailing list and I'd been getting announcements about local shows ever since. Adam's from Boston so most of the shows were local. The only problem was that most of them were 21+, and I am not. But this one was all ages!

A night in would have been a bad idea. I did well that first day after the breakup. I went shopping with my mom and sister, I spent time with the whole family.... I forget what else I did but I might have made feeble attempts at writing my informative speech, since I was no longer invited to California and would have to deliver it a week earlier than planned.

Anyway, I felt really good until Paul called to ask how I was doing. How could I tell him I was doing great? I was better than I'd been since the beginning of summer. I was free. And I was going to a concert. But I pretended not to be happy because I figured it would make things worse. I was right. Even my "nonchalance" (his quote) made it worse. I couldn't possibly explain that this was the end of my pain when his was so fresh. After hanging up, we both felt worse than before he'd called.

So as I said, a night in would have been a bad idea. The good news is that my dad's always up for a daddy-Mandii date, especially because he'd been raving about Club Passim ever since he and my uncle saw Shane Hines play there last spring.

I can't thank Adam enough for helping me through what could've been a really awful night. He's an enormously positive presence on stage with his clever, beautiful lyrics and energy, not to mention he collided with the microphone at one point and told us embarrassing stories from his dating life (or attempt at one). Everyone laughed like they knew each other as friends (and I found out later that a lot of them probably did; I guess there's a pretty tight-knit community at Passim). My dad and I about died when he sang this song about a guy named Ray Thomas. My dad is Ray Thompson. Our laughter was utterly inappropriate since it was actually a very sad song about a guy who drank a lot and beat his wife, but you would've laughed too if it was your dad.

After the really depressing Ray Thomas song, Adam invited his mom to come up on stage and sing with him, saying, "Me and mama, we're both Jewish, and we know nothing cheers you up like singing a song about Jesus!" I'd never agreed more. His mama was really good! I would've gotten up and danced if there had been more space, but the tables and chairs were set up like Tetris blocks. Not conducive to dancing.

Afterward Dad and I went out to the entryway to buy Adam's CDs and Adam was there. I wanted to thank him, but without telling the story of the past ten months of my life, I couldn't express the degree of gratitude I felt. So I just said, "you have no idea; your music was exactly what I needed to hear tonight." Then I asked if he remembered the time I bought him coffee at Gordon, and he did! Or at least he pretended to, which made me happy enough. He said I should come back in a couple weeks to see him open for Ellis Paul. I said I would.

And I did! Last Thursday I took the train in to visit Wanda and the two of us went back to Passim. Wanda kept saying she felt like a hipster, which I thought was silly because Passim is way more indie than hip. I mean, indie is kind of hip now, but this place is indie indie.

Adam only got about 30 minutes to play, but he brought his mama back onstage and played my new favorite song, "Desperate Plea from the Heart of a Shithead." That's the one about his failed attempt at dating. Between sets I went out to say hi to him and he remembered me again. I got a hug this time (I only got a handshake when my dad was there. Lol). We talked about him coming back to my school again, which I'm working on now. In fact, I'll be right back; I must go harass the campus events council some more since they have yet to respond to the email I sent last Friday.

OK. Now that that's done.

Ellis Paul is a folk legend. I was not aware of this until Adam said so. He was definitely more folksy than Adam, who's more of a singer/songwriter. Still, even though his style wasn't my favorite, I really enjoyed being there, listening and laughing with the rest of the crowd (some of whom had seen him the first time he played Passim IN NINETEEN EIGHTY NINE. That's the year I was BORN.) I think the coolest thing about the set was that I never realized folk singers were so silly. I never would have expected to have such a good time at a folk club, but there I was. It goes to show you should never write anything off!

When Wanda and I left, Adam gave me another hug and said thanks for coming, and made me promise to talk to the events council at school about a show.

Now Wanda says I should date him. o_o