Glowing

Despite my four hours of sleep and extra exhausting work week, I would like to think that today I was glowing. Glowing from a mid-week date night. Glowing from finally trying a new restaurant after walking by it for years. And glowing from seeing Donavon Frankenreiter at Webster Hall. I had a lot to glow about.

After Brian and I attended the Life is Good festival back in September, my Ipod was quickly loaded with new artists and albums and I had a burning desire to see more live music as soon as possible. I typed away on Facebook, liking each artist I saw and following their posts about upcoming tour dates. And when I saw that Donavon Frankenreiter was coming to New York City in December for $25 a ticket, I knew we had to go. When I scrolled down and discovered that each ticket came with a copy of his new CD, Glow, I couldn't have clicked Purchase Tickets fast enough. My tickets arrived in the mail before the Halloween decorations came out, and the countdown began. Last night, our concert date night finally arrived.

First, we walked to Arepas Cafe for dinner. We pass by this restaurant every time we walk to or from the train, but for some reason have never given it a try. We decided our time to feast on Latin American food had finally come. We chowed down on Tequeños, a stewed chicken arepa, and sauteed pepper steak with french fries and yuca. And it was all delicious. It may have taken three years to step foot in the place, but we now know we need to go in more often. Because Arepas Cafe is thumbs up fantastic. 

After a relaxing dinner, we hopped on the train and headed to Union Square. We laughed as we clicked away on my Pocketbooth, doodled on Glow Draw, and challenged each other on iDragpaper. What is iDragpaper? It is a fun little Iphone app where you try to unroll whole rolls of virtual toilet paper in seconds. It can get pretty competitive over the course of a 9-stop subway ride. And pretty embarrassing if you don't like looking a little crazy in front of strangers as you frantically swipe your pointer finger across your Iphone yelling, "7 seconds, ha! Take that!" Luckily, we have no shame.

Once we zoomed under the river and downtown, we warmed up with a cup of coffee and chocolate chip cookie before walking the final few blocks to Webster Hall. I was excited to see a new Think Coffee on 13th and Broadway. Who doesn't love cases full of fresh baked goods and organic, free trade coffee. Check em out.

Once our tickets were scanned and coats were checked, we settled upstairs in the Grand Ballroom tucked up against the left side of the stage. We arrived a little after 8, and Donavan was not scheduled to go on until 10, so we had some time to kill before the show. The opening act, Ximena, was great. We both really liked her songs and voice and bought her CD before leaving.

Not only was the opening act enjoyable, but the merchandise table had a special treat in store for Brian. Free Donavon Frankenreiter mustaches. I love that Brian immediately opened his, stuck it on his face, and wore it for the rest of the night. He rocks. That's all there is to it.

Donavon Frankenreiter rocks too. He rocked out with his band for almost two hours and sounded amazing. We started standing against the stage, but after a few songs we realized that the speakers directly in front of us were making it difficult to hear the vocals. So, we pushed through the crowds and found a spot a little farther back where things sounded a lot better. And then we listened, sang, swayed, held hands, and enjoyed our perfect NYC date night. It doesn't get much better than this.

"Glow, I want to see you glow, I want to see your daylight shining all around your heart, I want to see you glow, I want to see your daylight so bright all around my soul. I'll run this world with you..." -Donavon Frankenreiter