...and Lilith smiles on us once again

I'm starting to think my friend Gina and I have the best concert luck ever. Remember this post? Our luck struck again this weekend at Lilith Fair.

The funny thing is, about ten years ago, we attended Lilith Fair and when it was time for Sarah McLaughlan (who we both adore) to perform, we simply walked up to a man guarding the reserved seats section, flirted a bit, and were given access to seats. They were pretty darn good...center stage, maybe twenty rows back.

On Saturday, we attended Lilith Fair for the first time since then. If you aren't familiar with it, Lilith Fair is a celebration of women in music and raises money for women's charities. I love the vibe there...it really is all about love and acceptance and the strength of women. (It's totally not a man-hating thing as people tend to think.)

So even though my discomfort has increased lately, and it was 100 degrees with a crazy humidity level here, I was excited to go. I picked Gina up and we headed to the venue. We got front row parking and walked up to the gate.

Gina looked at me and said, with determination, "We are going to use your belly to get into seats tonight."

Turns out, my belly wasn't even necessary to initially begin our plan of action.

Two women who worked there greeted us with an offer of free upgrades to seats. No strings attached. Apparently, they had only sold 3500 tickets, which is awful for this venue. We were moved up to 28th row. We were thrilled with the view and the partial shade, although we couldn't sneak up closer because we were actually in the second section.

Our friends sent me a text a few minutes later saying that they had just been given 7th row seats. We knew it was time to put the belly plan in action. We found the women giving away the tickets and I told her that these seats were still in the sun (only a partial lie) and, patting my belly, I was wondering if she had anything a little closer.

Up we went to 12th row.I was starting to think I should have played the lottery that morning.

We found our friends, who called us up next to them, as there were empty seats everywhere. We watched Courtyard Hounds and EmmyLou Harris from the 7th row.

We moved a little closer to the center for Mary J. Blige. If you've never had a chance to see Mary J. and you get it, take it. That woman is awe-inspiring. She sounds better in person than on the radio. Her dance moves are stellar. Her messages are enlightening. I want to be Mary J. Blige when I grow up. When we could tear our eyes off of Mary J., we scoped out the empty seats in the very center to figure out our next move, as Sarah McLaughlan was coming on next to end the show.

As soon as Mary exited the stage, we made a break for it. Some extremely nice women told us that the seats we were sitting in were taken, but pointed out all the seats around us that had been empty. We chose the ones that were 4th row and perfectly center stage.

As we waited for Sarah to start and the seats started filling up, we kept an eye out for where we'd move if someone came to claim our seats. But our luck continued. No one even glanced at us. We were literally close enough to hear Sarah pat out the beginning beat to the songs on her jeans.

And although I had to sit several times because my little personal heater in my belly was taking over, and my feet were swollen and painful, I couldn't have enjoyed the show more. Sarah rocked my socks off, from beginning to end of her set. She played classic Sarah songs, like Fumbling Toward Ecstasy, I Will Remember You, and In the Arms of an Angel. She introduced her new album, which we loved. She ended with the crowd singing along with Ice Cream...my favorite Sarah McLaughlan song ever.

She played the piano. She played the guitar. She belted out her songs. She danced around and smiled. I had goosebumps for most of the set.

Anyone want to hire Gina and I out to tag along to your next concert with you? Our next trick is to attempt to get backstage.

Dave Matthews, are you listening?