friends, fire, and rock and roll

kevinmandy
Originally uploaded by mandyloula.

So Shauna should be doubly happy today because I'm posting two separate entries in oen night. (See #1 below.)

After the prayer walk at Naropa, I drove up to Johnstown (tiny town about thirty minutes north of Boulder) to see my good friends Red Umbrella and Seven Glory. It's still really strange to me that these two bands are touring together. My friends Gabe and Fred play in Seven Glory. We first met in college at Indiana Wesleyan. Just last October, I met the guys from Red Umbrella, who are from Canada, and found out that they knew Seven Glory. And now they're all touring together. it's always odd when two friendship worlds combine. :)

Anyway, so I went up to Johnstown. I'll admit, I was very excited to see the guys. Like I said a few posts ago, it's always very refreshing to see familiar faces from outside of my current situation. Not that I don't love the people who live with me in Boulder . . . there's just something very refreshing about seeing someone else. I have a special place in my heart for each of the guys in the band, but I was especially excited to see Kevin. Like I said earlier, we met back in October very randomly at a concert in Chillicothe. I was just home for my friend's wedding, and went to this small venue in our town because some of my friends were there. Chris Free tried to play a trick on me by getting Kevin to try and convince me that we knew each other. Long story short, we hit it off, and have been friends ever since.

And it's strange to think about how that small decision to go to the concert has impacted my life. Kevin has been such an amazing friend and has traveled every step of this journey from Indiana to Boulder with me. Honestly, the road hasn't always been fun or easy, but he's listened to me vent, cry, laugh, and tell the stories of what God is doing in my life and in the lives of people in Boulder. He is just such a faithful friend. So, needless to say, I'm really glad I went home to Chillicothe that weekend. I'm sure I still would have made it to Boulder and would still be loving my life here even if I wouldn't have met him, but there would have been a lot more moments of loneliness and one less faithful friend to call up when I had something to share.

So there's my little plug for Kevin. :) He's just such a great guy and is really good at telling me how much he appreciates me, so I just wanted to make it known that the feeling is mutual. :)

Moving on . . . so I went to the concert. I've seen Red Umbrella play many times, but I have to say, I really think they just keep getting better. If you ever get a chance, check out their web site, listen to their music, or go to a show. They're fabulous. Absolutely fabulous.

After they were done playing, Kevin and I drove to Boulder and spent some time on Pearl Street. As usual, the street performers were out, and I caught one of the best street shows I had ever seen. A man and a woman were twirling fire on these long chain-type things while some guy beat on an African drum. It's kind of hard to explain, but trust me, you would have been mesmerized. Afterwards, Cara, Amy, Tara, and Niles joined us on Pearl, and we had some good conversations and more good times walking around Pearl.

You just can't beat nights like that (well, maybe only by going to a Coldplay concert). I just truly love sharing life with my friends.