i'm a little dinosaur

you think i'm kidding.

you think i'm deluded.

but i know this thing that is true and honest. something that proves that i am such a nerdgirl, even when i deny it and you insist. i know that i love jonathan richman.

in the midst of all the little twee couples flowing into the makeout room, with the cute girls in their 50's outfits and cats eyes glasses, grasping the arms of their tall, cute boyfriends donned in mechanics jackets bearing the name of "ricky" or "harold." i know, that deep down inside, i heart jonathan.

it didn't really strike me as true at first. what with the circles under the eyes that gaze longingly into the crowd, trying to find anybody, anybody that was even close to his age. sure, he should be inspired by the young kids, 18 to 25, dancing to his songs of loneliness or love, but it's got to be weird to realize that out of that entire room of teeming bodies, you're the oldest one there. they all want you.

it's just got to be weird.

at first, it just seemed like another who-is-it at the makeout room in san francisco. who plays at this bar with the red twin peaks curtains and the tiny stage from the talent show? who the hell is this jonathan richman? someone mentions that he's the greek chorus in those farrelly brothers movies. big deal. so what?

then jonathan comes out. alone. tommy, his drummer, follows soon after, taking his station at the tiny, standup drum kit at stage left. no... he's not going to sing anything from these farrelly brothers movies. he's going to sing something jonathan.

i was a little bit surprised by how loud the crowd noise was during some of these opening songs. that summer feeling is so slow, so soft. it's sung to emote that warm, lazy feeling you would get on the east coast, when the humidity is almost unbearable, but apparantly just right for that moment of day. it's a slow song. with a lot of jonathan on guitar.

"shhhhhh!" says someone in the back, where all the noise is tittering from. there was a lot of noise, you'd have to admit. it was enough to be distracting from jonathan and his guitar.

"shhhh!" the sound kept repeating. slowly. the sound reverberated through the bar, and by god, wouldn't you know it? the noise started to quiet down. the shhh'ing was being replaced by honest-to-goodness respective silence. jonathan continued on his guitar, serenading us in spanish, then french, then back to english again until almost everyone in the bar was swooned into silence.

it went that way for awhile. the conversations ebbing and flowing, into excited chattering and solemn quiet. by the end of the show, everyone was clapping. everyone was on jonathan's groove.

it was perfect.

(04.02.02)

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