Surprise Date Night

Early last week Tom mentioned to me that we had plans for Friday night but he wouldn't say where we were going - a surprise date! All he would tell me was to be ready to go at 4:30. My guess was dinner and a movie because that’s our usual routine but I knew something was amiss when we got onto the highway towards Philadelphia. Hmmm… perhaps he had discovered some amazing vegetarian restaurant in Philly? That thought was dashed when we pulled into the parking lot of the local Baja Fresh. Don’t get me wrong – I do love me some Baja and I don’t think I’ve had any since we left LA but I couldn’t imagine why we’d driven an hour to eat there. I think I devoured my veggie bare burrito in record time and wondered what was in store for us next.

After dinner we drove through a beautiful old neighborhood and ended up parking next to a quaint shopping district scattered with clothing stores and restaurants. It was such a nice night out I thought a little strolling around the shops would be just the thing to do. But when we got to the corner, Tom stopped, turned to me and asked if I had figured out what we were doing yet. I looked around and saw an old timey theater. Ah, so we were going to a movie after all. A movie called… Neko Case?! You can’t even imagine my excitement. I’ve been singing along to Neko songs nearly everyday since the last album came out and I’d memorized all the others long before that.

The show itself was amazing. I’m notoriously bored by opening acts but I really enjoyed Crooked Fingers. It wasn’t long before Neko and the band took the stage. There was lots of kooky stage banter among them throughout the show. Neko sounded pitch perfect - not a sour note all night. If you're a fan at all and have the chance to see her, I can't recommend it enough. All in all, it was a perfect date night! (Collage by Tom b.)