Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

The set last night was amazing!!!  Crystal’s band wasn’t the only performers but they were one of three, and they were really good!!!  They even pulled a fast one on me and did a rendition of an anime ED I like!  “Happy Happy Friends!”  I didn’t even know they were practicing that one!!!

I clapped hard!!!  Hahaha!!!

Beth even sang it in Japanese!!!

Haha!!!

Beth can’t speak a lick of Japanese, but the diction classes took, and she can sing it phonetically.  And she has almost no accent when singing.  No idea how she pulled that off, but it’s amazing.

But they also did a few of Crystal’s unique songs, and girl’s been busy.  She wrote a song called “If I had a Time Machine”, and…  I gotta say, it’s sad.  I mean, really sad.  And when Beth sings it, you can hear the sorrow and rage and…  a little hope, too.  Beth’s had a privileged life, but she told me afterwards that she just thinks about Crystal’s life when she sings it, and it just kind of comes out.

But she wrote another song called “My sisters saved me”, and it’s kind of the opposite.  It’s a love song.  Whoever said love songs have to be romantic?  It’s a full fledged love song – but it’s to her sisters, like me.

Aww.

Beth is really good, too.  She’s got that clear, sultry voice that just runs over you like butter, and it’s even more jarring when she’s singing hard, angry metal.

There was an after party, and I asked the band members what they thought of Crystal’s music.  They said she’s amazing.  I think they’re right, she really is.  They’re happy playing their instruments and letting Crystal take the lead, because apparently, even though there’s been a few missteps and a little drama, she’s actually a decent leader.  She listens when they tell her she’s out of line, though, so it’s all good.

Maybe she found her calling.

I think I mentioned that Beth stayed in Crystal’s band?  I think I did.  Well, she did.  When we all left, she decided she wanted to keep singing, and it’s good experience for her.  She’s not sure she wants to do that after she starts college, but she’s not sure she doesn’t either.  I’m sure she’ll figure it out.

I hope someday she plays HEB Park or an even bigger place.  I’ll be there.

Anyway, otherwise, it’s been a pretty quiet weekend.  That tropical storm is supposed to track east but there might be a few walking trash bins tomorrow.   It’s supposed to move pretty quickly though so it’ll be out of here by tomorrow night.  the after party ran late so everyone slept in this morning.  We didn’t even go to church.  That’s fine, everyone needs a break sometimes.  I have it on good authority that the Boss doesn’t mind.

I think he’s far more concerned that we do his work than where we do it.

Speaking of which, for the after party last night, it was around midmorning in Japan, so the food stalls were open.  I got us a pile of Japanese food.  I didn’t mind, I’m not making a habit of that kind of thing but it was a special occasion.  I think the proprietor was confused when I kept coming back every ten or twenty minutes for another armload of food.  haha!!!

But as long as I handed over the yen, it was “irasshaimase!” and “arigatou gozaimasu!”  It’s rude to tip in Japan, but I was tempted, that was a lot of food.  It ended up being like one of those anime spreads with fish heads and everything.

Crystal’s bandmates were confused but she said “don’t ask questions, just enjoy the food.”

And, well, they did.

That’s two things I’ve noticed.  People won’t believe their eyes, and if you feed them, that covers a whole lot of questions.

Haha!!!

Anyway…. gotta go.  Got an early morning appointment with Miki and her choreographer again.  Her choreographer is a bit confused but apparently it’s a whole lot easier to get Japanese people to not ask questions.  Though you can tell she’s just burning with curiosity…

Okay!! Bye!!!

Love you all!!! ❤️