If you read my Spring Tour Blues blog below, you already know how I found myself going to an Archie show in Duluth Minnesota on Saturday, March 7th. If you were in Dublin's Bark O'Lounge Friday, you may have read (please remember that I was virtually drunk) that I had planned to cookify Mr AC on the drive up and use positive reinforcement by pole dancing to Barbasol for him once back at the hotel. Well....the best laid plans of mice and minion....

I had bought another DCTR and played it for Mr. AC on the way to the casino/hotel, which was the halfway point to the show. At the casino I found a slot machine called "American Dreams" and thought it would work well with the AI theme I had going. I should have quit when I was 25% up. Later I found a slot called "Wild Cougars" and thought...you know. I should have known it would suck. I had also bought and played DATR on the second leg of the journey to the show so Mr. AC might enjoy some of the songs when heard live.

Pre-Archie-Show State of Mind: I was a little down about going to an Archuleta show rather than a Cook show, but I wasn't gonna cry about it. I wasn't. Ok, so I did, a little. Afterall, I was enviously green around the gills from all my fellow DCOer's guh-ing from having been to a show or giddy with anticipation of one with their tix in hand. I was simultaneously being rewarded and taunted by the youtube gods of David Cook spewing water, backbending, dropping to knees, squatting, moaning, hugging bandmates, dancing his Union Jacks, mounting equipment and generally doing us vicariously with the mic-stand while delivering awesome vocals. With all this foreplay, someone was going to get it and get it good. Mr AC and I have a 35 year running streak. So if I wanted to keep that going, I figured it was best if it be him and I also figured that a night in a casino hotel room would be just the place.

Post-Archie-Show State of Mind: Picture Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth" getting smeared with white makeup and announcing, "I have become a virgin." One does not attend an Archie concert and come out all hot and bothered. Yet...I felt transported....to another place or even time...of innocence...and free of economy angst and nightly news woes. I felt so damned wholesome and peaceful. Archie is even cuter (if possible) in person than on screen. He still has a mad talent and sang his heart out as teens & tweeners shouted, arm waved, and held up signs...which made him happy and it made me happy to see him so happy.
Not my vid, but if you're interested in his happy bouncy show intro of "Touch My Hand"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlGWQXuz9DQ&feature=channel
He also gets nice and bouncy in a new song Zero Gravity.

As we stood through Archie's entire set, I was surprised to find myself singing along and surprised that I knew so many of the words. After listening to DCTR eleventy-mumble times, I must have slipped DATR in there once or twice. Barriers & ALTNOY (yes, they speak titles in acronymns on his fan site too) were favorites of mine along with old favs Crush and Angels. He also did a medly of covers of some of his favorites and dazzled us with his piano skills on A Thousand Miles.
Throughout the performance, one young lady stood on her chair with a homemade sign with "I love you" on one side and the equally original "marry me" on the other. It was blocking me a bit but I couldn't get too annoyed as she was so happy and it made me happy to see her happy. However, Mr AC invited me to stand in front of him where I had a much clearer view. My Mr AC is "just right" taller than me and was feeling the love too. As David delivered this vid of "Somebody Out There" from his bonus track....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJe3m9MNoec&feature=related
...I had my man's arms around me and was moved by Davids delivery. But I didn't cry. No, I didn't. Ok, I did. Quietly I felt the unbid tears and quietly I wiped them. I noticed a teen noticing me and she probably thought it was wierd that an old lady like me could be moved by a young pop-star. But that's only because I had enough life experience to appreciate the lyrics. I had had a tough year. After nineteen years, I quit my life-sucking job. I also had a frustrating year with a sick adult child and had other "lessons to learn from; some of them hit (me) so hard." I had felt very alone most of that year until Mr. AC and I "rediscovered" each other. So it was poignant to hear, "there's somebody out there, somebody somewhere, to show you the tenderness you need," and that I already had "someone to hold you when worries control you" and it was the guy right behind me. When we got back to the hotel, we did not have mad, hot, BBS sex. We made sweet sweet love and the afterglow lasted throughout the weekend. Contentment and peace like that is rare and I'm just smart enough to recognize it's value when it happens. I'm also grateful enough to acknowledge the sweetness and talent of David Archuleta and thank him for it. Even if it is only in a blog. I will treasure the experience...forever.

Some day I will get my tix to a Cook concert and I will cookify my husband and we will have our mad, hot BBSex. For now it was as it should be. My name is Archucookie, afterall.