Can’t I See Tegan & Sara?

It’s embarrassing, but there was a time when I didn’t listen to female musicians. I can’t say for certain if this was completely intentional, or merely a by-product of the music I was exposed to via “mainstream” radio. What I can tell you is, apart from a few No Doubt and Alanis Morissette songs—every female artist I heard growing up didn’t do much for me.

Then, when I was a little older, I started listening to Little Steven’s Underground Garage. This late-night “garage rock” program came on Saturday nights—a night that was my “Monday” for three years. And no—there is nothing more depressing that having 11:00PM on Saturday be your “Monday.”

Anyway, Little Steven plays fantastic rock both old and new. And he’s the guy that showed me that chicks can indeed rock. As a champion of rock, Little Steven is truly one of the most democratic jocks left on the air. One of the new acts that the Underground Garage introduced me to was Tegan & Sara.

Hot, Canadian, lesbian, identical twins.

I realize that perhaps I still have a long way to go with the “sexism” thing…but honestly even if Tegan & Sara weren’t “hot, Canadian, lesbian, identical twins,” I’d still dig their music. They began as a kinda/sorta folk group but have since become a pretty rad rock duo. For those not in the know, I strongly urge you to check out either SO JEALOUS or their current album SAINTHOOD. Both are really good rock records with excellent lyrics and killer hooks.

A few weeks after I’d bought one of their records, Little Steven mentioned on his radio show that he’d seen them perform live and that “they were cool.” So, when I found out that the hot, Canadian, lesbian, identical twins…er—band…was coming to Kansas City I bought myself a ticket. I was to see them a few days after going to this other concert (The Bravery—kinda like The Killers, but less good).

I was also going to Hawaii for the first time right after seeing Tegan & Sara. It was going to be a kick-ass week for me: two concerts AND Hawaii!

I went to my first concert (The Bravery—kinda like seeing The Killer…but less good) and in the course of an evening bumped up against someone that was deathly ill. How do I know this? Because I soon got incredibly sick and was forced to skip Tegan & Sara so I could rest up for Hawaii. Now, up until this point this incident was the only time I’d ever bought tickets for a concert and then drop out of seeing the show (this of course happens to me more often than I’d like now). It was a major deal for me to miss this concert.

Well guess what? I had tickets to see Tegan & Sara when they were recently in Saint Louis.

And guess what?

I didn’t get to go.

I got damn close, though.

I was less than a mile from the concert venue—but once again illness kept me from seeing the band. Now, there is a very interesting story behind this “concert miss,” however I can’t tell it because it involves my wife—and her barricading herself in the ladies room of a bar after eating bad hospital calm chowder (I ask you, is there any other kind?).

So, if Tegan & Sara come to town again I will buy tickets…but I don’t suspect I’ll make the show.