And We Danced/And We Cried/And We Laughed/And Had A Really, Really, REALLY Good Time.

New York City. Macklemore.
What an insane day.


By some act of God we managed to make it to Webster Hall Saturday night. It was touch and go for a while there, but we made it, $60 poorer from the cab we had to take from Saratoga to Albany, a little more subway savvy after accidentally ending up in Harlem, and goddamn soaking wet from the torrential downpours Ben Haggerty and his crew brought with them from Seattle.

In the end it didn't even matter. Part of life is dealing with the curveballs.

It's funny (I feel like I say this a lot... No?) that in spending the whole day in New York City--a place so entirely different from Seattle where I'm from, I would realize how much I miss my own beautiful city.

It must have been that combination of rain and Northwest rap... Both well known in the town by the sea. Hearing him rap about the Mariners and KJR Radio (KJR Seattle! Channel 95.7! Got the jingle stuck in my head now...) and Northwest soul and the rain... It was overwhelming. Those are things I grew up with. Little stupid things like Safeco field, or a 206 area code--things that seem so inconsequential when you have them around you 24/7, but when all of the sudden they're gone you realize how much you miss it all, and how much you just want to be back in the place that makes you you.

And it is. Seattle and West Coast culture are such a huge part of who I am. 

So you can imagine being at this concert... Inevitably, it reminded me of the days when I would drive my old-ass-broken-down Volvo through downtown or along Alki or up by school blasting Crew Cuts or Irish Celebration with all the windows rolled down as if to say 'What up Seattle? I know I'm a motherfuckin' badass.' When he sang My Oh My, I nearly cried. When he sang The Town, I felt an overwhelming sense of Northwest pride. 'Yeah bitches,' I thought as I watched and listened and sang along, 'That's where I'm from! Y'all New Yorkers got nothin' on me. That's my city. That's my jam!'

Sometimes out here in New York, so far away, I feel lost... I feel like I forget who I am. When I came to here, I knew who I was--I knew what I wanted in life and where I was going. I had a plan. Nothing could have stopped me.

Of course that all went to shit.

How could it have not? Leaving your home--your friends and family--turning your life upside down, can have that effect on a person.

That said, moving out here has been an amazing adventure despite my homesickness. And even though being away from the place that makes me me--the only place I have ever truly felt grounded and secure, has been the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life, I don't regret my decision. Not even for a second.

I don't believe we should always feel grounded. I think part of life is about being uncomfortable. It's about trying new things, new places, new people, and seeing what works for you. It's how we find ourselves. It's scary as shit, but how else are we supposed to do it?

I'm doing my best.

I realize that's a lot to say about one concert, but what can I say--it was a great show...

Here's to the filthiest city in the world.
-Lo

A Little Seattle Sweetness... For Your Listening Pleasure.