Concert and a Date

Yes indeedy folks. I went to my first, and hopefully not my last concert. Chris Mann, finalist on the Voice, graced all of Rexburg and the surounding area with his presence yesterday (June 7th) at 7:30. And it WAS a good presence. But before the concert itself, I should tell you about my date. She's a good friend of mine who I cherish dearly. There were only three people I would have taken on that date, and 2 of them don't live here. You do the math. ;) (No. It wasn't an obligation. It was a priviledge. One that I'm sincerely glad that I had.) She's a joy to be with, and she doesn't particularly care if I mess up, though she laughs at me anyway. (And, you know, if anything were to happen that wouldn't be appreciated, she'd kick my butt.) So, I picked her up, and we drove to Rexburg. We parked the car at Britney's dorm, and then walked to the Gardens on BYU campus, where we had a short (but good) "picnic". I made some chicken and pasta salad, and she made dessert, which was a tiny chocolate cake with strawberries and a glaze. It was really good. (Or rather, I had someone make it for me because yesterday, before getting home as late as I did, I was home for a total of 10 minutes.) It was a good little picnic, and then we meandered our way to the auditorium where he was to perform.  We took our seats on the floor of the auditorium, and we waited for him to come out. Sure enough, come out he did, in all of his "Mannly" glory, amidst screams from the audience. (Mostly women.) My date didn't know who he was at first, so she was in for a treat. :) He actually is quite funny, and his singing has only grown better since his time on "The Voice". (At one point he was talking about the Voice, and he's asking the audience about their favorite teams, and he called us all traitors, because we liked Adam or Blake better than Christina. At another point, he called out someone in the audience. "Yeah. I see you. With your cell phone. What's your name?" He's really good with the audience.) He sang all sorts of songs, from Viva la Vida, and In Your Eyes (by Phil Collins), to several songs in Italian (His Voice audition song, Ave Maria, and one other) and a few of his own. He also covered Hallelujah, which was amazing. (The one song from Shrek.) Everything he sung came out beautifully, and I'm really sad that the concert had to end. (I could continue to sing his praises for blog posts on end, but I won't.) But end it did. We were walking out, and any words that came out of my mouth were unintelligible. I was stunned. Which is a feat, but for him, probably not. He's freaking amazing, and anyone who doesn't think so needs to do a little more listening. After we "escaped" the auditorium, we went back to the car, and had the adventure of backing out of Britney's Dorm. Let me tell you, you want a nerve-racking experience, do that. You basically have to pull out of your spot into the incredibly narrow parking lot and back straight out. Not fun. So we went back to her house where I stayed for a few hours. Watching things, listening to her playing piano, and even singing sometimes too. I just enjoyed her company, and that of her brother and his friend. Oh, and her father, who takes any and every opportunity to tease her mercilessly. But for most of the time, it was the both of us and Kenny (Yes. That's his name.) and Kenny's friend. We had a good time. :) Then I had to go, and it felt kind of strange. I wanted to stay a little longer. I like all of them. But, my family would have had a fit. They already were asking what happened to my face, so any longer and I may have incited a riot...

Well, you guys have a good day. If Chris Mann comes to your area, don't miss the chance! And steer clear of avalanches.

ZW