rumiNATION

April 27 - "Somewhere You Went"

Tonight we went to Burlap and Bean to see Ryanhood play a cozy little show - which normally would've been good enough, because I love B&B and I love Ryanhood. But this night was even better than it might have been. You see, several months ago they had a little deal where they asked people who they should have come play a show at the shop. So I suggested this wonderful band from Arizona whom I'd recently discovered on Noise Trade.

Sometime in December I learned that the booking manager, Tara, had managed to get Ryanhood to come play. Score! On March 1st, as soon as tickets went on sale, I bought them and reserved the best table in the house. I made a Facebook event and invited all my friends to come out and enjoy this awesome band who largely none of them had ever heard of. A handful of them said they'd come, which made me happy - even though I was hoping to sell the show out.

Then, a couple weeks ago, Christi (my campus pastor who also happens to be a co-owner of Burlap & Bean) asked me if I was getting something special for having been the one who suggested Ryanhood come to town. This was the first I'd heard of perks and benefits, beyond having one of my favorite bands come to one of my favorite venues anyway. She said she'd look into it at their next staff meeting and let me know.

The week before the show, I got an email from Tara saying that my tickets & table for the show were going to be free. Neat. Oh, and I could get to the show an hour early and meet the band and listen to them do their sound check, if I wanted to. WHAT? Um... yes, please.

So we got to B&B tonight at around 6:30pm and there were the guys sitting in the leather arm chairs in the shop, talking to Kyle - the sound guy. "Are you Tim?" Ryan (RYAN green / cameron HOOD) asked  me as I walked over. (I tried my best not to totally geek out.) "Yes. Yes I am. Good to meet you." I made some (probably awkward) small talk and then they went up onto the stage to do sound check. By this point, I was still excited, but past the initial geekdom. Melissa and I sat down on the couch to listen to sound check while enjoying some hot beverages. (Which were on the house. Another perk of my "prize". Free coffee all night long!)

After sound check, Ryan & Cameron came and sat back down and we hung out there for the next 15 minutes or so, just talking. Cameron though I looked familiar, but I assured him this was the first show I'd ever been to. I told them how I'd stolen gotten their album "The World Awaits" from http://www.noisetrade.com/ a year or so ago and quickly become a fan, going on to contribute to their Kickstarter campaign to finance their newest record, After Night Came Sun. (Side note: Their goal was $3,000 - which was pledged within the first couple hours. By the time the week was over, the total was up over $10,000. 340% of the original goal. Is that a testament to fan support or what?) I felt as though it was good conversation, not just me being a creepy stalker fan. (Which was probably for the best. Even though staring blankly and giggling would've been a fun alternative.)

Anyway, it's getting a little late for me to make a long story short, but the crowd of 30 or so that slowly arrived was probably 75% made up of people whom I'd invited. So I spent my evening with some of my favorite people, drinking beers and listening to some incredible music - including all 4 songs that I'd requested on the Ryanhood FB page earlier in the week!

Though I've been to much more "epic" shows (Dispatch at Red Bull Arena - woah!), as well as shows for more well known bands (does Petra count? Okay, so I don't really listen to many well known bands), I think I can honestly say this was the best all around concert experience of my lifetime. Thanks to the wonderful crew of people who own or work for B&B, the fantastic friends who came out to support a band that I love (and that they now love!), and a couple of super talented and genuinely nice guys from Arizona who flew 3/4 of the way across the country for a show at a little coffee shop in the suburbs of Philadelphia!