Birthday Present

So I got the last part of my birthday present from my husband last night. We had tickets to see Mike Birbiglia in Newport, RI. So we made the 2 hour drive over from Manchester to Newport and spent the afternoon walking around downtown. I thought that there were supposed to be mansions everywhere, but apparently not where we were, because we didn't see any. But we did have a really amazing dinner. I had lobster mac and cheese, which had penne pasta and asiago cheese and soooooooooooo much lobster. It was insanely good and totally worth breaking my diet for. I've decided it was okay because we walked for like three hours yesterday. And then we got to the show, which was in a tent.

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So, yeah, this was at the Newport Yachting Center, and whenever I think "yacht" I naturally think rich people, swanky place. Instead, we find a tent. Which Mike Birbiglia made so much fun of, appropriately so. The show was so hilarious. It was a great mix of stuff that I've heard before, and stuff that was new (at least to me). This was the first stop on his new tour, so if you think you might be interested in him, check him out. He's been on NPR's This American Life several times. For anyone who already loves him, get tickets if you don't have them already, it's a great show!! And also, I'm the hulk, I'm the hulk, I'm the hulk. :) Dan and I got to meet him after the show, and we got a CD signed, which was awesome. I got all tongue tied and stupid, as usual. What I should have said was that we also have an unpronounceable Italian name (Tagliarina). What I actually said was some sort of babbling about how great he is (which is true), and how much I loved him on TAL and The Moth.

The surprise of the evening was MC Mr. Napkins, the opening act. He was funny enough to be the main act of a show (although not funnier than birbigs, because, let's face it, there are few things funnier in this world than Mike Birbiglia). However, he was significantly funnier than the comedian headlining at a major comedy club in Cleveland I saw at a bachelorette party who seemed drunk or high and mostly made jokes about Michael Jackson (I wonder if he's changed his act). Mr. Napkins is a jewish guy with super curly hair who raps (not too badly actually, and he was pretty good on the CD). His lyrics are hilarious though, full of lots of word play, which I love. Dan and I also got to meet Mr. Napkins after the show, and I was able to behave like a more reasonable human being and hold an actual conversation. But yeah, he's really hilarous, and we got his CD, so if you want to listen, let me know.

All in all, it was a pretty awesome birthday present!