Colbie in Concert: Our night out on the town was splendid. Colbie Caillat is a teenage girl’s dream, soft, sexy, and descriptive on stage of thwarted love, regrets of affection withheld, vows to reveal more passion and take no guff (well that particular song was really about her girlfriend). With a slim body sporting denims with holes just where they meet the boot tops, straight wispy blond strands of hair requiring that precision sexy wave of the hand to sweep them from the eyes, she entranced the females from age six to, well, sixty plus off their seats and onto their feet singing the simple lyrics of love that make her songs as easy to inhale as wads of pink cotton candy. And I have no doubt that the dads and the dudes in the house were “moved” as well. And it didn’t hurt that her sensuous struts and leanings about the stage put her in hot proximity to her mostly male band members. The intro act, Andy Grammer, whose hit is “Keep Your Head Up”, was no slouch himself in bringing on the love: cute, talented, a cross between Jason Mraz and every one’s brother or son. To tip the scales even further in his favor while we waited for Colbie, he dedicated one of his first songs to his deceased mom, which evoked a deep groan of sympathy (Ohhhhh) from our daughter, probably heard from back balcony to front stage. What was I doing throughout the night? Grooving of course. And my gal pal, too.

Proud and Punch Drunk: They do serve beer at this theater but I didn’t drink, nor partake of the macaroni and cheese that is part of the family oriented snack bar. Nope, my inebriation came from bubbles of joy watching my daughter act so teen, knowing the lyrics, swaying and high-fiving with her best bud, the ever present apartment-mate. It felt so “normal”; forgive me for using that term. So free of the “outsider” world she inhabited for so long, and in ways still does. Maybe I waited a long time for this moment; actually I was content when it didn’t come. But strangely, now it was here. Though hardly a pre-teen or young teen at age 21, still our daughter manifested all the signs of an intoxicated groupie and honestly, that felt great! Oh what a night.

©Jill Edelman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. 2011