Posts tagged eau claire
Posts tagged eau claire
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I feel like I often begin sentences with, “I’ve had the good fortune to…” which is fortunately the case for me a lot of times. I’m not trying to brag (well, maybe a little) but luckily, sometimes I’ve had really good timing.
My birthday was one of those instances. I got to see Beirut (one of my faves) play at First Ave in Minneapolis. A week later it was my friend Jack’s birthday, and we got to see our fave Bon Iver play in Chicago. Due to Jack’s brother’s cleverness, we even moved up to the second row (a la Pitchfork in Paris). The show was amazing (once again) and I felt more fortunate than ever to have seen Bon Iver twice in one year.
Jack and I drove back to Minneapolis on Monday where we had to drive through Justin Vernon’s (who is the lead of Bon Iver) hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He was playing the first of two homecoming shows that night, despite the shows having sold out months prior, Jack and I decided to test our luck. We arrived early enough to get our spirits down about the prospects of entering the show. After a pitcher of beer (mostly me, Jack still had to drive) and some delicious grilled cheeses we headed over to the venue one last time. Jack and I were prepared to pay semi-top-dollar to go to this show. Due to some sleuthing on my part (and by that I mean the scalper flashing his extra tickets to anyone and everyone) we approached. The following was our interaction:
Jack: Do you have any tickets?
Scalpy (the Scalper): Yeah man, how many do you need.
Jack: Two. How much do you want for them.
Scalpy: Face.
Jack: I beg your pardon?
Me: Are you SERIOUS? What’s that, like 25 dollars?
Scalpy: Twenty two.
Jack: Seriously?
Scalpy: Yes, I’ve been standing out here for two hours without anything so I’m happy just to get rid of them.
Me: Are these real tickets?
Jack: We’ll take them.
Scalpy: Man, I should have started at a higher price, you guys probably would have paid it.
Then, Jack and I did something that will forever solidify us into the “wost-scalpers-ever” category. We paid more. Only one dollar more than he asked (only by a dollar!)—we each gave him 23 because we felt a little bad for the guy. I know, pitying a scalper.
But, the real story is that Jack and I got to go to a Bon Iver concert, for the second time in four days, in the band’s hometown.
I may have not gone gracefully into 25, but maybe 25 won’t be so bad. Just so long as I get to keep starting my sentences with, “I’ve had the good fortune to…”
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Guest Poster: Michaela
Relation: Former roommate/coworker/half of an increasingly codependent couple/travel partner/friend (foreverrr)
Current Location: Oslo, Norway
Additional Info: I was fortunate enough to have a voluntary guest poster (that never happens!) and such a perfectly timed post as well. My beloved Michaela wrote me a guest post because she knows that I’m at the Pitchfork Music Festival this weekend and am too busy obsessing over Bon Iver (and standing next to the stage six hours before his show to ensure the best spot) to be creative. Sorry. But thank goodness for Michaela!
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Right now Jill is watching Bon Iver live in concert, and her life is changing. Seriously, this concert is truly a pivotal moment for her, and not just because he’s an amazing artist and I’m extremely jealous.
No, it’s because this concert has dictated so many decisions in young Jill’s life that I really believe Bon Iver has some subconscious overarching power over her destiny. First, she booked this concert in July across the world in Singapore. Where she also booked the flight from Oslo to Paris…wishful thinking. In choosing to leave Oslo, she battled with losing the Paris ticket, with not going to the concert – with missing the one and only Bon Iver, not to mention losing some serious Euros. As we know, Jill went to Paris “to learn French” but I think she went to wait for Bon Iver. Coincidentally, she scheduled her apartment, her language class and her return ticket to the states to all coincide with this very concert. Also, coincidentally, she’ll be seeing him again in concert upon her arrival in the states. In fact, in a way, the last two months and two major decisions of her life are completely revolved around this very concert, on this very day. So I’m curious, what does it all lead up to? Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I’m convinced Jill will meet her French husband at this concert. That years from now when she’s surrounded by her French speaking children and American nanny moving to Paris unemployed to learn French and wait for Bon Iver all led up to some magical love story that only Paris and Bon Iver could create. But hey, that’s just me. I think it’s safe to say, that even if this concert doesn’t lead to a French husband or job offer or unexpected scooter ride around the city, it will still be the end to a pretty amazing chapter and mark a milestone for many more to come.
