“Nice Bag” leads to seeing the funniest folk parody duo live.

I am a fan of pictures of people jumping. I am a fan of these two funny fellows. Therefore, this picture brings me joy.


As I walk out of the theater leaving rehearsal, I look down and see a Flight of the Conchords (FOTC) bag. I remember when I was a kid and the desire to have as many products for the show or music group you liked. Over the years I owned a General Lee Big Wheel for Dukes of Hazard, an ALF backpack and a New Kids on the Block T-shirt. As I eye the hip FOTC messenger bag my friend Rich grabs it. We start a conversation about this great comedy duo that has a show on HBO and has become a cult classic within one season. He said his girlfriend bought him tickets to the show that was coming up. I had tried to grab tickets weeks earlier but they were sold out within 10 minutes. My mistake for waking up at 10:10 that Saturday Morning. Snooze cost me something awesome…again.

About a week after this I get an email from Rich, who I haven’t spent too much time with. He informs me that he has an extra ticket to see FOTC Friday night. Without even thinking about my schedule or his girlfriend, I email back immediately YES!!! I didn’t even consider the loss of a relationship. This is how guys operate, no pity, no “do you want to get a movie and bottle of wine and complain all night”, nope. We’re going out to have fun. Sure enough two days later I’m in front of the Orpheum with Rich. I found out that he and his lady of two years had broken up. He was going to take another friend but that fell through and wanted to take someone that would appreciate the talent rather then some chick that would be self-absorbed and a distraction. As we sat in this beautiful theatre in Downtown LA, I thought about how I would never let a lame blind date ruin a night like that. Good call Rich, good call.

The concert was perfect. If you haven’t experienced Flight of the Conchords, I’ve done you a favor and placed a few videos below. Take a look and enjoy their wit. They were everything you want when seeing a band live. They performed all but one of the songs that I wanted to hear. They played new stuff that cracked me up. They mixed it up, harmonized, stylized different favorites, it was so good. This isn’t a group you go to enjoy for the music but if more bands made the choices they made musically, then bands would disappoint with live performances . Sitting in the third row allowed me to catch the little looks and laughs between Bret and Jemaine. Their characters are dry and deadpan, but it was great to see them have fun. They engaged with the audience and had plenty of banter (which is just professional talking.) It was really a great night. They lived up to expectations, which is impressive considering how high of a pedestal I’ve placed them on. I got to enjoy their music, just feet away from them, all because I said Nice Bag. Here’s to kindness and paraphernalia, and the great things that happen when they come together.


Please watch these videos in order…

Robots

Hiphopopotamus Vs. Rhymenoceros (feat. Rhymenoceros and the Hiphopopotamus)

Business Time

Funny story…I found out about this band when a friend told me that they saw a song from some New Zealanders about the realities of marriage. This was in a church small group and prompted some great discussion. This made me laugh and want to give that small group leader a big hug. Well done.