But it was totally worth it.

We were in Raleigh last night, at the Lincoln Theater, listening to music.

It was a great line-up: my friend Alli Rogers (whose husband Kirk proved himself true to his reputation: The Greatest Guy In The History of Guys), Sandra McCracken, Andy Osenga, and then an honest-to-goodness rock concert by Derek Webb.

Yes, it was great listening to the music. I could (and, in fact, with the help of my iPod, do) listen to Alli any and all the time, but it was a Real Pleasure to hear her live last night and enjoy all the nuances of her lovely voice.

Sandra McCracken followed Alli and spent most of her time sitting at the keyboard, from which she drew beautiful and surprising music. Sandra’s voice is lovely, too, and very different from Alli’s. She is seven and a half months pregant and I wondered what it’s like for that baby to gestate with all that music going on so nearby. What a gift to give your unborn child.

And then it was Andy’s turn and he played that song about Kara that I love. He says it’s a chick song (well, he didn’t exactly say those words exactly but that’s what he meant), and I suppose it is a chick song, but it’s true for everyone, even if you never did sort of fall in love once and then accidentally-somehow-foolishly-on-purpose-because-you-didn’t-know-what-you-were-doing let the relationship go. It’s just one of those songs that’s True, even though it actually isn’t true. Not even for Andy. Andy also played some songs from Morning, his latest record that I am delighted to say I Now Own (thanks to Kirk).

Derek’s rock concert was great. Kirk had furnished us with ear plugs (I told you he’s the Greatest Guy), but we didn’t wear them– although I considered it. The band was Loud, and really excellent, and I started dancing a few times but always ended up stopping because Derek is an amazing lyricist and it’s hard to concentrate on the words when you’re hopping up and down. The entire audience didn’t dance, in fact, and I think this is because of the listening thing. We were listening Very Carefully.

We listened Very Carefully the entire night. And after the concert was over, I got to chat with Ali O, who once a very long time ago was my student and now is a wife (to Andy) and mother (to Ella and Sadie) and blogging buddy (to me). I got to meet Derek(again) (who is husband to Sandra) who didn’t remember me from the first time at the HopeFest two years ago, and I got to ask him a burning question I had about one of his lyrics from I See Things Upside Down. And I got to meet Sandra (who is wife to Derek) for the first time (for real, even though she had been at the first HopeFest; I just didn’t get to meet her) and thank her for her music.

And I got to hang out with Alli, which was sweet but all too brief. I’ve quoted her lyrics here so many times before; like as not I’ll do it again. Meanwhile, I’ll sing along with her as I listen to her on my iPod.

And shortly I’ll be downloading the music from her latest cd onto my laptop, so that I can put it on my iPod. Yes, we also got a copy (I’m very excited) of Alli’s latest cd, At Sea, because her husband Kirk is really and truly the Greatest Guy In The History of Guys.

Alli’s record is a live recording, and I’m truly very pleased about that, because maybe, when I listen to it, I’ll always be able to pretend that it’s still last Monday night.

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