A Cute Night

Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

-"Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie

It was a chilly night- one of the coldest in recent months. The outfit I so carefully planned by laying out various options on the bed was covered up completely by my black jacket. I probably could have seen my breath form tiny puffs in the 7 o'clock air, but I was too excited to notice.

Sky and I took long strides towards The Assembly Hall (the place in town where big concerts and basketball games are held), and took a minute to snap photos outside the glowing building. When we realized I had won floor seats, we decided to trade them- Sky doesn't do well with crowds and neither of us wanted to stand all night (i.e., we're old). We traded them for some still-awesome seats a little higher up, and made two teen girls very excited for their good luck of upgraded seats.

The opening band was actually good. I didn't know that was even allowed. They made lot of jokes about the Illini's last minute win that afternoon, and wondered if we were all student skipping homecoming. One of them announced, "This is your homecoming." When the exited the stage after an hour or so, someone from the crowd yelled, "We're surprised you didn't suck!"

And then, the lights spun downward and disappeared. I loved the moment of mystery and anticipation.The only glow can from a few cell phones until we saw a stagehand hold out of flashlight for Death Cab to run onstage. Wild cheers erupted. "Hello everyone," the lead singer said, "We're a band called Death Cab for Cutie, from Seattle, Washington."

Sigh.

They played all but one song I had hoped they would play. And after a long attempt at an encore, they came back on stage to play three more songs, too. This should have been my second concert seeing them play. But as you know, it was only my first. That's okay.

It was a perfect date and a perfect night.