Rock Star Moment

Last night I got to sing in front of more than 15,000 people. Seriously.

San Francisco radio station Live 105 hosted their annual Not So Silent Night concert last night, featuring Bush, Mumford & Sons, Florence and the Machine and Green Day (a replacement for original headliner Jane's Addiction, who had to cancel at the last minute due to an emergency involving the drummer's dad). The show also featured regular people singing karaoke onstage between bands, and for various reasons, I was invited to sing as a karaoke ringer.

That's right.

I had been so excited about this opportunity for weeks, but I told virtually no one because I didn't want to jinx it and all of sudden to be told that they wouldn't be able to use me. No jinxing happened, however, and there I was last night in front of thousands, warbling my rendition of "Only the Lonely" by the Motels. I went on at about 9:00 p.m., between Florence and the Machine and Mumford & Sons.

I was nervous as all get out all day yesterday because... well, 15,000 people! In fact, this is a photo taken of the crowd about five minutes before I sang, and the angle only captures about half the audience. The good news is that once I started singing, I wasn't nervous at all. It felt just like singing at any karaoke bar, and honestly, the majority of the audience probably wasn't paying me any attention. But even if just ten percent of the people there were listening, that's 1500 pairs of attentive ears. And if half were listening...well, you get the point.

I can't say I know what a real rock star feels like because the house lights were up during the karaoke portions so the crew could set the stage for the real bands. Plus, I was singing a 30-year old song accompanied by a karaoke track. However, the three-minute duration of "Only the Lonely" made for the most rock star three minutes of my life so far, and I certainly will take that.