Father John Misty and my bum leg.Last photo courtesy The Washington Post.- See train arriving on Metro platform. Know you’re going to have to switch at Gallery Place so you decide to jog up two cars to be closer to the escalator.
- Take one step, feel a POP in your left calf and sudden searing pain.
- Hobble onto train, fighting back tears, freaking out the people around you. Man offers seat, woman offers seat, another woman offers the pole to grab on for dear life, another woman rubs my back telling me it will be okay. Tear up even more over the kindness of strangers at rush hour no less.
- Hobble to the Green Line. Sort of stuck in the middle of the city so might as well meet my friends and then take an Uber home. Feel helpless and tired and scared and yes, am in pain. More kindness of strangers knocks me for a loop and makes me love DC even more.
- Hobble out of the U Street Metro station and collapse in the grass next to the Navy Memorial, frantically Googling what in the world I did to my leg and how to treat it. Ugh, torn or pulled calf muscle. Clean up my tear-streaked face.
- Husband meets me.
- Sister drives by and picks us up.
- We decide instead of our original dinner destination to hit Satellite Room because there’s no stairs and it's right next to the club. I am famished and my sister has ibuprofen in the trunk of her car so we figure I might as well eat a bit before I take a cab home.
- See friend at Satellite Room who has VIP pass she can’t use. Talks to the 9:30 Club staff who reserve a stool for me in the VIP balcony. Hug friend and tear up over the awesome gesture.
- Yet again attempt to clean up tear-stained face but instead decide to take a tip from the FJM handbook and just leave on my sunglasses.
- Take ibuprofen, bartender wraps ice in a towel and I put it on my calf. Eat some food (hello tater tots!) and a Jack and Ginger (or two) which makes everything feel far better.
- Hobble/hop up the stairs at 9:30 and arrive to a stool in VIP with my name on it. Tear up again from the kind gesture and also the exhaustion and pain of getting to said stool.
- Don't even try to clean up face, it's dark and my sister got me a cocktail.
- See a phenomenal concert. My sister also got VIP so we had a great time together; Karl went down into the throng but I could see him from my vantage point. It was clear he too had an amazing time.
- Let the crowd disperse then my sister helped me down the stairs. Met Karl outside, and Debbie had scored a sweet parking space right in front of the club. Headed home, sharing our stories from the evening.
Drama aside, Father John Misty puts on an amazing show. His voice is just as good as on the album, but he’s more sarcastic and snarky and ridiculous in person. His hips gyrated, he made jokes, he was everything I hoped for in the show. He did a cover of Happiness is a Warm Gun and a song off his upcoming album (videos not from 9:30 show). I’m even greater of a fan after the show and am so glad things worked out for me to actually attend. While Father John Misty is doing the festival circuit, he won’t be at any of the fests I plan on attending; it’s exciting that I was able to see him when I did!
