LOST: Blackberry Pearl, Monday Night at The Paradise

If we've had a discussion since last Friday then you probably already know that I ended up scoring tickets for last night’s Kooks show at the Paradise. After having a few beverages one night last week, I was able to “win” two tickets on eBay. Some people choose to drink and drive, others drink and dial. I guess I’m guilty of drunk online shopping.

UNLIKE drunk driving, you're not risking your life and the lives of others, you won’t end up in jail, your reputation won’t be tarnished and you won’t lose your job.

And UNLIKE drunk dialing, you won’t end up regretfully sleeping with an ex or, even worse, sleeping with someone you met at a lame Faneuil Hall bar, doing the walk of shame the following morning with raccoon eyes and your shirt on backwards and then, of course, having to make a trip to CVS to purchase an EPT two weeks later.

Instead, drunk shopping allows you to make irrational purchases that you will either A.) immediately justify upon receiving or B.) fight mall traffic in order to return for a refund (keeping in mind that your shipping and handling fees are non-refundable so basically you just spent $12 on a frustrating mall experience).

At first, the Kooks tickets (or any tickets, for that matter) might seem like an irrational purchase worth a refund. It's true that if I were thinking rationally, at the time, I may have argued that the tickets weren't going to be worth the money because it’s just a one-time event that’s over in a few hours and I’ll have to shell out more money when I get there, yada, yada, yada. Concert tickets are NOT a pair of True Religions or Tory Burch flats that I can justify as an “investment.” However, they ARE non-refundable. So option B wasn’t really an option, in this case, was it?

After using the process of elimination, I chose option A and immediately justified my purchase. After all, I wasn’t able to get tickets to last year’s sold out show, I already have too many regrets about passing up other shows at my favorite small venues and I’m President of the Kooks fan club (so my brothers’ say). Not to mention, the tickets only cost me $10 more than the face value. Those are pretty good rationales, right?

I’m happy to report that purchasing these tickets turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Yes, the show was on a Monday night, the 18+ factor made me feel like a coug and I’m now sans cell phone, but it was totally worth it! Despite a mediocre review from Joan Anderman of the Boston Globe, I thought the Kooks were AMAZING live (did you really think I'd say otherwise?)! The fact that her name is "Joan" tells me that she's too old to fully appreciate them.

Anyway, the best part was that they wasted NO time talking to the audience (except to say “we’re the Kooks” in their awesome, thick British accents). This, in turn, allowed them to fit in most of the tunes from their 2 albums. After all, I go to concerts to hear live music, not to take pictures and scream when the lead singer disingenuously tells the audience that Boston fans are the BEST!

If you’ve never heard them before, please download a few songs. It’s British pop, it’s fun, it’s catchy and what makes them stand out, in my opinion, is the fact that they don't pretend to be anything they are not and their voices are so distinctly British (unlike the British people who typically sing with American accents).

Some song suggestions: Naïve, She Moves in Her Own Way, Always Where I Need to Be, Shine On and Seaside (which we played at our wedding).

Oh, and by the way, if you’re trying to call me, it will probably take a few days for me to either A.) buy a new cell phone or B.) find my old one. I’m guessing I’m going to have to go with option A again. And you'll be happy to know that I won’t be having any drinks before that purchase.