Sing for the Laughter and Sing for the Tears

I'm totally exhausted. My friend S. just took off and now I need a a day or two to recover from my weekend. I've always been a big fan of the blending of sweet and salty and this weekend was a perfect combination of the two. We partook in plenty of the fun/cheesy holiday fare and then washed it down with a trip to the Picador, (the bar formerly known as Gabes) to see my friend Ed Gray play music and drink some PBR. How classy is that?

Saturday afternoon, S. and I attended Coadster's show choir performance and it turned out to be quite a spectacle. It wasn't just the choirs performing, it was a whole winter music celebration. There was a jazz band, skit introductions and some of the upper classmen sang songs with assorted forms of accompaniment. For the most part, is was a big cheese fest, but if you ever have to witness a cheese fest, make sure you bring my friend S. with you.

She was a perfect, private announcer. When one of the girls came clumsily, tromping, tripping and almost falling on her face across the stage, S. leaned over to me and whispered, "New shoes". And after two sisters sat on stools and did a duet of the song "Believe" from the movie, The Polar Express, (a film I've only been able to watch once, because an animated Steven Tyler is scarier than any clown, as far as I'm concerned) S. said, "I've never had a sister or anything, but if I did, I can't imagine I'd be too comfortable gazing into her eyes and then holding her hand in front of all my high school peers." I was forced to concur.

Once Coadster's show choir took the stage, we both quietly watched the performance. I got a little sappy and teary eyed (which S. totally called me on) after Coadster nailed her solo in the second song.

Afterward, Coadster was kind enough to wave her happy hands so I could take action shots while she was still in costume. I think it's important to capture the full effect of the sequined, turquoisey, goodness.

I promise that after this, I'll give the show choir posts a rest. I understand that not everyone is as amused by the concept of competive show choir as I am. But if you had to see Aerosmith's, "Dream On" performed by a bunch of Iowa teenagers copiously flashing jazz hands, you might just feel the need to vent about it too.