Privileged Party Invite

There was this party. And while I was there I was treated to a dream come true. I really wasn't supposed to be there, but someone was very very nice to me. Here's what happened. My little brother has this super good friend - they met in kindergarten or something and have stayed friends ever since. This friend, we'll call him "Josh," went on to become quite the successful doctor, married to quite the successful lawyer. This is all well and good and the only reason I bring it up is because it has enabled them to throw serious birthday bashes for one another. This November, "Josh" turned 40, and his wife went ALL OUT. They don't live in Utah, but they came here for the party because he has so many friends here. She rented out East High and hired a caterer and gathered friends to surprise him. It was this great black tie affair. Very classy. She gave him a guitar for his birthday, and as he unwrapped it in front of the guests, the lead singer of his favorite band of all time, Sean Kelly of The Samples, came walking out from behind a screen and signed his guitar. This is the caliber of party I'm talking about. Can you imagine?

So like I said I really wasn't supposed to be there. It's not like I'm Josh's super good friend or anything, although I was his babysitter. That's true - I really did babysit him and his big sister when I was a 7th grader and he was about six. That doesn't seem to be enough to qualify me entrance to this party. The real reason is because Josh's cute wife knows that I'm the reason Josh knew about The Samples. I became a huge fan in high school, spread the word to my brother, who spread it to Josh. I take all the credit. And happily, wife Melissa knew this and had mercy on me and invited me to the party. 

I have been to I think six Samples concerts, three of which were on a road trip in Colorado with buddies James and Shawn. This band was a big part of my life and I love them. Sean Kelly, lead singer, is now doing personal appearances, and it was beyond my wildest dreams to get to hear him singing to a small group. Unlike some singers whose careers got started 20 or 30 years ago, his voice and singing are as awesome as they ever were. I was just so thrilled.

Here's the best part though. Melissa arranged for Sean to invite my brother Peter to come up and play his cello with him for a few of the songs. I would not have been able to handle that! I would have been ridiculously nervous - to the point of paralyzation. Well not my brother. He only met with Sean about an hour before the party started and they spent a few minutes tuning their instruments together but did little to no practice as far as I could tell. So a few songs into the show, Sean calls Peter up to the stage, and Peter and Sean (plus there was one more guitarist) just played. I mean, I knew Peter could play the cello well. And I knew how awesome he was at just speaking the language of music and just getting how it works. But my jaw was just on the floor. Peter improved along with the songs, fitting in perfectly, never missing a key or note change. He just gelled right in and it was stunningly beautiful. Somehow Peter and Sean just spoke the same language. 

What an experience.