A Treatise: Why You Should Go See Katie Herzig at Everyday Joe's on Tuesday

I remember the very first Katie Herzig show I went to. It was around Christmas time in December 2005 or 2006. I had never heard of her but my very dear friend and then roommate Jessie said I would like her and I should go. I was supposed to go with Jessie, I think, but for some reason she ended up not coming home from Texas as planned and I had to go alone.

I actually really hate going to things alone, so I almost didn't go. And it's good that I went because not going would have been the mistake of the century.

I live in Fort Collins, which is where Katie is from, and the show was at Everyday Joe's, which is where it is tomorrow night (hint, hint). I'm not from Fort Collins so I didn't know her in high school or anything, but I know people who did, sort of like six degrees from Kevin Bacon. I'm like two degrees away from Katie, which probably puts me at only four degrees away from Kevin. If you come to Katie's show tomorrow, I'll be signing autographs.

This particular concert was also my first time at Everyday Joe's and as I looked around at the crowd that evening, I was introduced to the then up and coming fashion trend of what I like to call the "wear-everything-you-own-in-your-closet" look. I'm about as hip on fashion as I am with my new smart phone and will choose a t-shirt and jeans most of the time, but that night I saw girls wearing jeans with a dress over them with two layered shirts over that with a sweater over that with a belt over that and a scarf topping it all off. Lots and lots of scarves at Everyday Joe's that fateful evening. For me, scarves and Katie Herzig concerts go hand in hand. I will confess that I even bought a scarf to wear to a Katie Herzig concert a couple of years ago. But I'm not going to talk about that anymore now. And as tempted as I'm going to be to wear it tomorrow night, I will refrain, because it's going to be too warm outside.

This was back in the days when it was just Katie and her guitar and sometimes a pregnant local friend who would get up and sing with her. Also the days when she ended all of her shows with "Sweeter Than This." 

Now, I like music, but I don't go all crazy about it. I like to listen to the same 400 songs I have on my ipod that I've had on my ipod for the last 6 years. Sometimes I listen to the radio. I think I just get overwhelmed by the vast array of music out there and I don't know what to do, so I fall back on the familiar and comfortable. I don't go to a lot of concerts either, unless I score free tickets. I pay to see Paul Simon, Reba McEntire, and after that night at Everyday Joe's, Katie Herzig.

Here's what I love about Katie and her music and why I keep going back every time she comes to Fort Collins and dragging as many people as I can with me: she's real, she's honest, and she's hilarious. Her voice is childlike and innocent at times, but other times speaks with an honesty that can only come through heartache and loss. We're around the same age and she's a single woman too, and I really connect with her songs in that way, but I don't think they're limited at all to just a 30-something year old single women audience.

After Dave died, I listened to "Wish You Well" over and over again. When I need a good soundtrack for my life song, I listen to "Sweeter Than This" over and over again. When I'm lonely and think I'll be single for the rest of my life, I can't get enough of "Sumatra." And when I'm stopped at a train, I put on "Jenny Lynn" because it always reminds me of this Fort Collins show from a few years ago when a train came by right as she started this song. Hilarious moment. Basically, no matter what is going on in life, I can find a Katie Herzig song to sing along with.

Speaking of trains, I tried to make Runaway Train listen to Katie when I was with him in his country a few months ago, before things completely unraveled. It was Sunday afternoon and we were at the beach. It had been a hard weekend and I was leaving the next day. But I wanted to share Katie's music with him because of how deeply I connect to her songs. So I shoved an earbud in his ear and cranked up "Lost and Found" from her new album Waking Sleep, which you can get on iTunes (shameless plug - did I mention I'm on her Street Team? It means I do things like blog about her, post facebook statuses about her shows, and go to the venue beforehand to make sure they are displaying her posters. Did I mention I'll be signing autographs tomorrow? You know you want one.)

He politely listened and took the earbud out of his ear before the next song began. That should have been the clue for me then and there that there was no future for us. I asked him if he liked the song and he said, "it was fine and it's nice that you like it." Uh, no. Wrong answer.

Not surprisingly when things came to a screeching halt with him two and half weeks later, "Lost and Found" turned out to be the most appropriate song to listen to over and over and over again as I started the process of moving on.  Now you get to listen to it too!



I asked Katie to play this song for me tomorrow night and she said she would.  Granted, she would have played it anyway, but I'm going to pretend like she's playing it for me and it wouldn't have crossed her mind to play it if I hadn't requested it.  And I will think about Runaway Train and be grateful for the brief moments we had and even more grateful that God firmly shut that door because He knows what's best for my life and I trust Him.

Because I feel so strongly that you won't be able to resist Katie's charms if you hear her just once, I am giving away a free ticket to tomorrow's show.  That's right - my blog is now the cool place you can go to win free prizes.  Next week I'll be giving away my cat Charlie to an unsuspecting lucky reader. 

To win, you have to be the person who writes the third comment on this blog.  That's all.  You can thank me later when I'm signing autographs at the show.