a witness

I'm struggling to formulate what D and I just witnessed. The Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise show concluded with Jeff Mangum singing the Neutral Milk Hotel B-side "Engine." He was flanked by fellow NMH member Julian Koster, who played the singing saw.

And, oh yeah, the song was performed a mere 3 feet from me.

Indeed. Mangum and Koster waded into the crowd and began to play. To say I, along with everyone else, was mesmerized would be a grand understatement. It was amazing. Mangum's voice carried over the audience and filled every square inch of Rhino's. I briefly thought about snapping a photo of their performance but I couldn't. It would have been disrespectful. And some things shouldn't be recorded. Sometimes, just the memory of a moment is sufficient.

Mangum waved to the audience, said thank you, and appeared to be genuinely grateful for the crowd's generosity.

As D and I left the venue, he asked me, "Did we just witness that?"

We did. And it was an unforgettable experience.

xx