We're With Her!

The Station Inn sits on the corner of 12th and Pine, back-turned and barely acknowledging the boutique hotels, bougie restaurants, and hipster clothiers that have fallen in line behind it down that strange little crook of 12th Street in downtown Nashville. We did not get to see I’m With Her perform there on Friday, March 9, the second night of their two night stint, but that didn’t stop the all-chick trio from refueling the musical tanks of 5 music lovers who met waiting in line for the show.

We waited for about two hours, in fact. We had hopes that the beautiful spring night, and the moon in Sagittarius, and the power of our collective thoughts might lead some guests on the mysterious, rumored “list” not to show, or that others might leave early out of boredom or overly enthusiastic pre-gaming. We even saw Sarah Watkins stroll by, which gave our waiting powers a boost of optimism that kept us on that sidewalk for at least an extra half-hour. We moved in sway with the line as it went from half-full to half-empty and back again, but to no avail.

By the time we reached this arbitrary two-hour waiting mark, we had collected a small crew of I’m With Her enthusiasts and determined it was time to ditch and drink, with thoughts of coming back to reassess the situation at the halfway-point of the show. We made our way around the corner to Burger Republic for truffle oil-drenched tater tot sustenance and booze, but found ourselves best warmed and refilled by the conversation that ensued.

Without sharing our names, we talked about what we were doing in Nashville (is there anybody in town that is actually from Nashville?) and what had brought us out to this particular show on this particular night. A fresh-faced girl with cherry red lips and a big grey overcoat talked about studying jazz guitar and hunting down Chris Eldridge in East Nashville in search of lessons. An army vet talked about taking his VHS copy of Chris Thile’s “Essential Techniques for Mandolin” with him during his deployment in Iraq. And we all talked about Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan, and how these powerhouse, Grammy-award-winning women (calling themselves “I’m With Her,” no less) have inspired us. They couldn’t have brought together a more disparate crowd with more in common than the 5 of us, and I take it as a good omen for the powerful effect of the female spirit and of talented women just doing the damn thing.

We went back to the Station Inn after the show had ended. We stepped in and felt the near-empty room still humid from warm bodies and hot licks. We saw the Sarahs and Aoife chatting in a small clump of people. We took in the stage, the instruments, and the good vibes. On our way out the front door we did something we shouldn’t have done, but didn’t regret—we pulled the concert poster right off the door and went on our way. A group passing us on the street at just that moment turned out to be the O’Donovan family, who applauded our thievery and gave us a copy of “See You Around” to boot. Who says that crime doesn’t pay? On the sidewalk we said our goodbyes and reveled over our night of endless waiting and missed music that somehow didn’t feel the least bit wasted.