Sunday night, I took my entire family and a bunch of our friends to see Jonathan Coulton with Paul and Storm at Largo.
A special evening (it was the first time Anne and the kids saw them perform live) was made extra-special for me because I got to open the whole show.
Earlier this year, Paul and Storm ran this thing called Geek Madness, which was a bracket competition designed to choose Obama's Secretary of Geek Affairs. Somehow, against all odds and a final round matchup against Joss Whedon, I emerged with the most votes. I think I can thank GeekDad and Fark for making sure that my platform ("a d20 in every dice bag and a slide rule in every pocket")* was heard.
Paul and I talked about a week ago, and decided that it would be fun to do something together at the show, and ultimately decided that it could be awesome if I wrote and issued some kind of proclamation in my official capacity as the Secretary of Geek Affairs.
I did some research on the wording of these things, grabbed a list of some of my favorite JoCo songs, and came up with this:
DEPARTMENT OF GEEK AFFAIRS OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION
On behalf of the Department of Geek Affairs, I hereby make this special salute to Jonathan Coulton and hereby officially proclaim that Jonathan Coulton is the 2009 recipient of the Presidential d20 of Geekdom, in honor of his many contributions to Geek Culture. Jonathan Coulton, like Tom Lehrer and Al Yankovic before him has and will continue to inspire geeks, dweebs, dorks, nerds, spazzes, dorkwads, and neo-maxi-zoom-dweebies forever with his unique musical talents.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton reminds us that it will be the future, soon.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton makes us feel fantastic.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton is not unreasonable, and will not eat our eyes.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton singlehandedly preserves the rich historic legacy of Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton keeps trying, until he runs out of cake.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton risked his life to deliver greetings from Chiron Beta Prime.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton uses passive voice to show how gentle he will be.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton brought the lonely plight of the giant squid out of the depths of the ocean and into our hearts.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton likes Fritos, Tab, and Mountain Dew.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton makes the first of May extra special.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton wears the fanciest of pants.
WHEREAS Jonathan Coulton is a Rorschach test on fire, and changed the world in a tiny way.
NOW, THEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS BY JONATHAN COULTON TO THE WORLD IN GENERAL, AND TO GEEK AND MUSICAL CULTURE SPECIFICALLY, IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF GEEK AFFAIRS THAT
JONATHAN COULTON IS THE 2009 RECIPIENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL d20 OF GEEKDOM
So say we all.
I read this in front of the sold-out Coronet theater, doing my best not to tremble with excitement, and the audience seemed to really dig it. When I was done, I presented the Presidential d20 of Geekdom (a giant d20 I bought at Orccon last year) to Paul and Storm, who accepted it on behalf of Jonathan (who they joked, "couldn't be here tonight,") as they took the stage to start the show.
The show was awesome. Paul and Storm were fantastic, and Jonathan was as wonderful as ever. They were joined by their friend Molly, who plays the hell out of the ukulele, for a few songs, and she was incredible. They all did a song together where they stepped in front of their mics and played 100% acoustically to a theater that was filled to capacity and utterly silent, hanging on every note that was played. It was delightful.
After the show, a few of us got together for this crappy cellphone picture, which makes me squeal with nerdy nerdosity, even though it's a crappy cellphone picture.
Also, there was an earthquake about 5 minutes after I walked off the stage. Coincidence? YOU DECIDE!
*not actually my platform. I made this up just now because it made me laugh. Have I mentioned that I'm easily amused?
