Monday, July 14, 2008

Eddie Izzard and the Bizzarro Date

Guess what I did this weekend?

I went to see Eddie Izzard, live on his Stripped tour. Oh, it was divine, thanks for asking.

I am not a big "woo"er. I'm not talking about wooing as in courtship. I am talking about it as in, when I go to shows, or out dancing, or any other place where there is a lot of "wooooooooo!" or "wooo-hoooo!" going on, I am not participating in the woo. As a matter of fact, I often wonder what the heck wooing is. Where does this sound come from? Is it primal? Were there cave people who, after killing a beast of some sort that would feed their families for a month, welcomed the hunters back by saying "wooooo-hooooo!"? Somehow I doubt it. Where does this sound come into human history? What is the etymology of the word wooo? If it is indeed some sort of behavioral evolution thing, then I haven't evolved that far yet.

Or at least, I hadn't. Until this weekend. Where I went apeshit for Eddie Izzard and woooo-hooooo'd myself hoarse. I even did that thing where you clap for someone, with your arms up in the air. I also feel like that behavior is a little bit dipshitty. But I did it. I felt it. I can admit that.

It was an awesome show, people. Awesome. If he is coming to your town, GO. Please. You will thank me. Although the tickets are probably sold out and the only way to get any is to sign away your first born (which is basically what I did), it is worth it. If it can make me "wooo-hooo!" then you know it has to be something special.

Aside from the fact that the show was truly great, and I laughed until I wanted to puke (always nice), and we had seats right in front where I could see everything right up to the eyeliner on his face, there was a little bit of side entertainment for me.

I was sitting next to a couple who were on a date from hell.

Now, I don't mean to imply that I was getting entertained by someone else's awful evening. Entertained is the wrong word. I was intrigued by it. It made me realize that although I think I have had some bad dates in my life, I really haven't. Being a little bored by your date or ordering a bad meal or getting a little lost on a hike together or something is small potatoes, really. Anyway, here's what happened.

We got there about 15 minutes early and found our seats. When the couple next to us arrived, they sat down, both whipped out their Blackberries, and started to play solitaire with themselves in silence. For 15 mintues. No talking, no acknowledging each other, nothing. Ok, I thought, maybe that's just what they do. Maybe that is the equivalent of reading the Sunday paper together in silence. Nordic Boy and I are comfortable with silence. Maybe not in this type of venue, but to each his own, right?

Wrong. Then, the show started. When Izzard came out, everyone went nutty for a second. Cheering, clapping, standing up, stomping (and whoo-hooing) for a solid minute or two before he could even start. Sourpuss and Grumpypants stayed seated. As I sort of turned myself to sit back down, I glanced over, and they were glaring at each other. Like a STAREDOWN. What the hell is that? Then, when the show started, the woman, who was sitting next to me, sat there, her arms folded across her chest, and didn't laugh once. Nothing. I don't know about the dude, but I don't think he was laughing either. I got into the show right away and sort of forgot about them, until about twenty minutes in, when Sourpuss (the dude) leans over and whispered something to Grumpypants. And she says in an irritated way (kind of loudly, like I thought maybe even Mr. Izzard heard it) "NO! GAWD!"

Yikes, people.

I thought they might actually start arguing right there, fifteen rows away from Eddie. They didn't. Whew. (Whew is totally different that woo, by the way, and I am very familiar and adept at whewing). Then, about twenty minutes more after that, she grabbed her purse and stormed out. And I mean stormed. And, sitting up so close, it was extra noticable because she had a long way to storm to get out of there. About five minutes later, the dude stormed out after her. They didn't come back.

I know, in the grand scheme of things, that's not the worst date ever. But in my life, I can't think of a time when I had a date where I was at an event with someone I wasn't too gaga for where I didn't just, at the very least, enjoy the event. I'm not saying that to point out that I think Sourpuss and Grumpypants should have sucked it up and tried to have fun. I have no idea what was going on in their lives and it may have been something terrible and legitimately staredown-worthy. I am just saying, I've never been on that date. It looked awful.

You know what? Even with that shit going on right next to me, it was still the best show ever. Seriously, you should go.

I'm out,
Librarian Girl

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

To ad to the mystery around the "woo".... they don't do it in Canada. I went to a hockey game in Canada where there was lots of cheering and yelling etc... they make a different noise. I can't recall what it is now, but it wasn't "woo". But they had a noise all their own and they did it all through the game... quite loudly actually.

cadiz12 said...

maybe those two broke up (over something unforgiveable) but had already bought the tickets and neither wanted to forfeit his/her seat. too bad, though, because it sounds like neither was able to enjoy the show. that sucks.

librarianista said...

I've been on a worse date than that. It involved me getting bitten by a dog.

I like to think I'm not a woo-er, but I kind of am. This was really brought home to me at a recent Storm game. But it was LADIES! Playing BASKETBALL!! I don't know, I couldn't help myself.

Chris Cactus said...

I went on some bad dates in my time. But how can a date be bad when it involves Eddie Izzard?

Xteener said...

Why sit there in such an angry state? Even if they stayed to keep from wasting tickets, there is no way they enjoyed the show. Go home and take care of business there.

Darlene said...

First things first - a message to ali...I'm Canadian & I've done my share of 'woo-hooing' in my time. I haven't been to a hockey game in, like, a jillion years, so I'm not sure what it is they scream there...Probably some Neanderthal chant for 'This is dumb-get me out of here'...I'm just sayin'

Sometimes the 'side performances' are as entertaining as what's on stage. Glad to hear you had a great time!

Sauntering Soul said...

Oh honey I have been on that date and it is awful.

Mine was with my ex-husband who was bi-polar and about 10 minutes before we arrived at a Norah Jones concert he snapped into one of his depressive states. When he snapped like that it was the oddest thing ever. You could physically see him change and it happened in a matter of a few seconds and it was completely unpredictable as to when it might occur. Whenever that happened, he would normally go for about 3 days without saying a single word to me.

So we sat at the outdoor venue and I ate my part of the lovely and romantic picnic dinner I had spent almost the entire day putting together while he sat with his back turned to me, not touching the food I spent hours on and without saying a single word to each other. Because everytime I tried to say something nice he snapped my head off.

Desperate Housewife said...

Another Canadian here.

I don't know if it's just in Canada, but I know a common cheer is the Na Na Na Hey Hey thing.

Hey LG, I read STori Telling last month! I will admit to enjoying its juicy trashy-ness, though she struck me as a great big whiney baby.

Claire said...

Eddie! Izzard! Wow! You so lucky. He ROCKS.

I "woooo-oooo" all the time, but it's kind of a requirement at music gigs, you gotta wooooo the band to show them your lurve :))

Anonymous said...

I used to whoo-hoo all the time. Now whenever I do it, I feel like I'm a commercial for WAMU which makes me mad. I liked their Cowgirl Grandmas ads a lot more than the current whoo-hoo. As for Eddie, I never heard of him til "The Riches" and then when I say some of his specials on cable, well, whoo hoo. Loved him. Since I was accustomed to his straight look, it was really a shocker to see him in his eyeliner and everything else.
By the way, I've been on that date: Bobby McFerrin concert which just proves that you CAN have a miserable time even when the show is a heart stopper!
CLo

dharmamama said...

And all this time I thought "wooooo!" was just for us Southern gals. Part of the Southern belle mating call, along with "Ahm s'druuuuunk." Live & learn.