An Enchanted Evening

Despite my not feeling well last night, the evening turned out to be really wonderful and more romantic than I ever expected.  It was snowing lightly as we stepped outside into our darkening parking lot and I enjoyed hearing the crunching sound of my footsteps in the thin layer of snow that covered our walkway.  The thick snowflakes were more of a pleasant surprise as when it's warm enough to snow, it means that the temperature is bearable.  As we drove the well known roads, my fiance pleasantly carried the conversation himself which was nice as I still wasn't feeling my best and didn't have much to say.   Like the layer of snow on our walkway, the rest of the world was blanketed as well and it gave the night a more peaceful, pretty look to it.

We stopped to eat at what has become our favorite cheap burger joint, Five Guys.  Their burgers are absolutely delicious; so thick and juicy with the perfect amount of cheese.  Their fries actually look like they come from real potatoes and have that crispiness on the outside but are soft to chew on the inside.  The best part is that it is clear that their fries and burgers are made fresh that moment; they weren't sitting in some freezer for weeks waiting to the thawed, cooked, served and you can definitely taste the difference.  Word of warning, however, to any of you that are interested in going: it is not the place to go if you or whomever you may be with has even the slightest peanut allergy.  There are peanuts and peanut shells everywhere and their fries are cooked in peanut oil so be cautious.  Anyone from down south where the chain Five Guys originated may laugh at my relatively new discovery of its tasty goodness but it was only recently brought to Massachusetts.  

Feeling full and with some time to spare, we casually drove the ten minutes to Natick Center.  I completed my student teaching in a Natick school system but I had never been to this part of town before.  The center of town was picturesque in its quaint New England-way, decorated with lights that glistened off the falling snow.  Vienna Teng was giving her concert in a small, renovated firehouse and when I walked in, it was everything that I was hoping for and more.  The inside was very intimate, no more than one hundred or so people and dimly lit.  Each of the side walls were solidly made of brick.  The right wall had large, dark green doors that once opened for firetrucks as they sped through town saving burning homes and rescuing kittens trapped in trees.  They are now tightly sealed to prevent the heat from escaping.  The wall to the left was covered with large pieces of artwork.  On the stage, in front of a closed curtain, stood a single piano where Vienna would step out and perform.  

Just before Matt White, the opening artist, took the stage, Dave came back to our seats with a warm hot chocolate and I remember thinking that this was exactly the setting I envisioned for her performances.  Matt White performed well and was quite witty when he experienced some technical difficulties with the microphones.  However, it was Vienna we had all come to see and as she took the stage there seemed to be a collective stillness to see just how she would begin.   Any notion of this being a strictly formal affair was quickly dashed when she made a simple joke about playing without her normal co-artist, Alex Wong.  She said she actually enjoyed it because she didn't necessarily need to have a plan when she got on stage at which point someone yelled out asking her how school was going.

Though she recently has become my favorite artist, I hadn't really taken the time to learn about her as more than a musician.  Turns out, she was once a software engineer before later becoming a full-time musician.  She  has recently decided to take a full course load at the University of Michigan to get her graduate degree.  At that precise moment, I had a stab of desire where I wished I could be her even if it was only for a night.  She made a joke about how someone twittered that they hated a particular song of hers and segued into playing that very song.  It is at this moment that I tend to hold my breath as I've only heard her on her albums and sadly, not everyone is as good in person as they are in studio but to my immense relief she again exceeded my expectations.  Her beautiful voice echoed through the small firehouse and my finance casually placed his arm around me and we relaxed and sipped our hot chocolate.   The best song of the evening was "Antebellum" where she had us sing the duet part at the end of the song; it was such a cool moment and feeling.

The concert seemed to fly by and at the end, Dave and I bought a flash drive with a live concert that she performed with Alex Wong and videos.  The best part of the evening had to be when we got the chance to meet her.  She was so incredibly humble and was truly excited and honored when Dave and I told her about our engagement and that I plan to walk down the aisle to "Soon Love Soon".  She signed our tickets and wished us well and continued to greet her long line of fans.  By the time Dave and I stepped outside the theater, it had stopped snowing and the area was quiet.  We didn't say too much to each other on the drive home still enjoying the blissfulness of the night.