at worst I feel bad for a while

Last night, coworker GBF and I decided to impersonate 19-year olds and go see Lily Allen at the Great American Music Hall. We picked up our tickets, looked at the crowd, and decided it would be best if we have a drink elsewhere. It was nice to sit in a bar with a sticky countertop in a dirty neighborhood, with the Neutron Dance playing in the background.

The funny thing about cities is that they're almost all pretense, no matter what. There are those sterile neighborhoods I've ranted against already, where the pretense is unbearable. But even in the other, gritty neighborhoods, I am convinced a solid 50% of us are full of crap. We have respectable jobs, make a good living, but head into seedy bars so that we may then order a Grey Goose & Tonic. Even though I do not always acknowledge it, I am well aware of my own hypocrisy. Nonetheless, I am more comfortable amongst the police sirens and the shredded newspapers than the whitewashed homes with well-manicured gardens.

By the time we headed back to the Music Hall, we were in a good mood, making cracks about imagined scenarios, scenarios involving little punks approaching us to buy them alcohol. And yet, for all our talk, for all the ceremonial stampings to proclaim we were of age, we walked in and ordered two bottles of water.

If anyone gets a chance, you ought to check Lily Allen out in concert. I was struck by how little her voice is manipulated on recordings, because she sounded phenomenal. And then there is the matter of her disarming manner. She didn't take herself very seriously. Plus, she covered Keane. This is always good for laughs, because the little hipsters in the audience were clearly conflicted: should they own up knowing all the lyrics to Everybody's Changing and thus confess to being shockingly mainstream or should they snub their wee indie darling? Yet another rare moment when age serves as an advantage- CGBF and I waved our hands in the air like we just didn't care.

At one point, CGBF turned to me, swooning a bit from the coolness of seeing this show, and marvelled, "I can't believe you couldn't find someone to go with you to this."

To which I replied, "But I did find exactly who I wanted," throwing my arm around him. And the thing is, I meant it.