A Relaxing Night out in Austin

Took a night off and went to see Zoe Keating in Austin yesterday. I found myself really zoning out on the drive up; just letting my mind wander with the radio off. I hadn’t felt all that great earlier in the morning, but by the time I had to leave, I was feeling better thankfully…I had really been looking forward to seeing her and she definitely didn’t disappoint!

I met a fellow str8 and we went for happy hour at Roaring Forks beforehand. I was very impressed; great food, really good service and surprisingly affordable. Wendy got the smoked salmon, which she shared with me and I selected the fried avocado (I also shared with Wendy) and drank a huckleberry margarita. Everything was delicious! The salmon just melted in your mouth and the fried avocado…I mean, doesn’t it just sound yummy? I only managed a tiny bit of salmon and one piece of avocado and even that was overdoing it; I felt stuffed by the time we left, but we had a nice walk from the restaurant up to where the concert was taking place.




It was such a beautiful day; not very hot, the slightest of breezes and just clear, sunny and gorgeous in general. We arrived at the church and were eventually allowed to go inside where we got front row seats. If you aren’t familiar with Zoe, she is a cellist that uses sampling techniques and computers to build and layer her music. It is simply amazing to see first hand, but the cello has always been one of my favorite instruments so her music kind of marries my two favorite things in music: the cello and the use of technology to build these amazingly layered pieces. At the end she treated us to an improvisational piece that was just amazing to watch and listen to; true genius.

After the hectic pace of this week, it really was nice to unwind with someone who is becoming a good friend and then lose myself in the beauty of her music. I honestly didn’t want it to be over, but when it was, we actually got to spend a bit of time with her as she answered questions about what it was like to spend a 9 hour layover with a 15 month old to how she coordinates all of her computers and equipment while playing live. When I got an opportunity to talk to her and get a picture, I mentioned that I “discovered her” several years ago when she was touring with Imogen. She laughed and mentioned how amazing it was to have worked with her. Here’s me holding out hope that maybe they’ll collaborate on something in the future. I’d love to see them tour together again.

So, batteries recharged to some extent. Working today and then heading to the pool with Shannon for a bit more recharging. Here’s hoping I can get a little sun and have some fun with her before her surgery. If I get brave I may post some pictures of our pool party later ;)

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