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After The Clean finished up, the crowd began shifting as people walked away from the stage to perhaps hit the bar or use the bathroom. We wasted no time in squeezing our way past the crowd and up to the front. Ordinarily, I frown on people who muscle their way up to the foot of the stage, but tonight we were one of those people. I have no regrets. The show had sold out, and the club was quickly filling up. A poor kid standing to the left of me had to use the bathroom, and I could overhear him fretting about leaving his spot. "I'm never going to be able to make my way back up here," I overheard him telling a friend, who in turn kept promising she would save his spot. Finally, a complete stranger behind us butted in with an exasperated, "If you gotta go, then GO! We'll hold your spot...Sheesh!" Well, I didn't see that boy again for the rest of the night, I kid you not.
And then our beloved Yo La's took the stage! I just gotta gush --- I love them I love them I love them!!! They began with the very quiet dreamy "Beach Party Tonight" off their new album, with everyone's sighing vocals intertwining beautifully, and then kicked into a total rocker, if I remember correctly, "Cherry Chapstick" off of And Then Nothing...! Sweeeet!
They mixed songs off the new album well with old classics. They ended their set with "Nuclear War", a song I admittedly wasn't crazy about the first time I heard it, but now that I've seen it live three times, I totally groove on it. I sing it around the house, albeit with PG-13 lyrics, ahem!
They came back for the first of two encores, with the band taking requests from the audience. And then Ira looked down at Mike and asked, "What do you want to hear?" Mike flummoxed a little, and other people took advantage of the moment to start shouting song titles again, but Ira furrowed his brow with disapproval, shaking his head quickly, and then turning his attention back to Mike. Mike quickly recovered, shouting out "Autumn Sweater!" and the audience roared in approval, and Mike felt relieved. And then we giggled madly that they played a song just for him!
The band came out for yet another encore.
And then the show was over, and the club turned up the house lights, signaling its patrons to get the hell out. We quickly said our hellos and gave James a box of Cookie D'Ohs (the Simpson-shaped shortbread cookies), and told him we'd be driving down to Portland to see them, so "see ya tomorrow!".