There's something happening here, what it is aint exactly clear

Last night, a group of us walked over to the Presbyterian church near Tufts to see Audrey Ryan perform. I knew little of her, but a CD release party with beer, wine, and snacks would make it worth it even if she stunk. And, it was in a church! Always cool hearing music in a church.

Once there, we hung out before the performance in a cozy little room where the food and drink was laid out. The room filled up quickly, but it wasn't cramped. There were people of varying age ranges, but most were twenty somethings rocking the indie vibe. I was talking with Lisa and Kenny when I heard Foley, who was sitting to my right, say something in an excited tone about a woman who'd just entered the room. My curiosity piqued, I asked him what all the excitement was about. He leaned over, and in hushed tones said, "That girl in front of you, behind Lisa, is not wearing a bra and her nipples are pointing out through her shirt."

I looked at the woman in question. Based on Foley's excitement,I expected a large breasted temptress in a sexy outfit, or something along those lines, but what I saw was a thin, unassuming, woman in jeans and a blue sweater. She was talking with someone who appeared to be her boyfriend and if her nipples were on display, I couldn't tell. If Foley hadn't pointed her out, I would have thought he was talking about someone else.

"I've got to say something to her", he said.

A small red flag went up in my head. Oh, please don't ask her out in front of her boyfriend, I thought. I felt a pang of embarrassment, but shook it off. Foley is Foley and I've been friends with him for years. He is a true and loyal friend and because he is, we all put up with his outspokenness, however uncomfortable it may be. Still, you've got to do your due diligence and try to talk him out of being outspoken when it will most likely be to his detriment.

"Are you going to hit on her based on her nipples?", I asked incredulously. "You and Jennifer just broke up".

"No, I''m not going to ask her out, I just want to commend her for not wearing a bra."

Now another red flag went up in my head, this one much larger than the first. Oh, this was bad. He must be kidding; as unedited as he can be, he wouldn't go this far. I looked up at the woman -- she was soft spoken and appeared to be a sweet, kind person. For that matter, so did her boyfriend.

"I don't know if you need to commend her on her nipples showing", I said.

Foley grinned. "Yes, I think I do."

"Actually, no you don't. This isn't the type of thing you commend."

"I think it is", he said. "I've got to do this!"

"Please don't", I said weakly, but I knew his mind was made up and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

He leaned forward, extended the arm that held his beer toward the woman and said, " I want to give you a toast."

She obliged, albeit a little cautiously, and clanked her bottle to his.

"I think it's awesome that you're rocking the no bra", he said as I tried to fold in on myself.

"W-what?"

"I think it's great that you're willing to show off your breasts like that, you know, not wearing a bra."

Her expression darkened. "Actually, I am wearing a bra, if you must know."

She said something else, but I couldn't hear it, which was strange, because most of the room had gone silent at that point. I looked up at Kenny and Lisa and they wore the same expression of mute horror that I must have been wearing. I peered over at Travis and Aaron; they too sat with mouths agape, shocked at what they just heard.

Once the dust settled, Foley leaned over to me and asked me if what he did was wrong.

"Yes", I said.

"Did I embarrass her?"

"Yes. And the boyfriend. But, listen, I know you weren't trying to be cruel. You were just following the muse, so to speak. Still..."

He smiled. "Yeah, I embarrassed her. I had to say something, though."

"Let me ask you something. Were you impressed at the no bra because it turned you on or because you saw it as symbol of liberation?"

"Oh, it was all about the liberation. I always love seeing women express themselves."

I believed him, but there was no doubt there was a sexual component to the matter.

" I guess I should have kept my mouth shut", he said, though I could tell he didn't really believe it.

"You've got to pick your spots, my friend."

After the nipple incident, someone came in the room and announced that Audrey was about to perform. We finished our beverages and flocked into the church proper. The lights were dimmed and there were yellow lights strung like vines about the room.

Audrey sounded great. She played electric guitar, accordion, tom and kick drum. With the aid of digital looping, she was able to play multiple parts at once. There were times when she had so much going, you would have thought she was playing with a full band and choir. There was something transcendent about the performance, due in part because of its location, but also because of the nature of the songs themselves. I was very impressed.

After she played, she showed a film about The Loft, a place in Somerville where musicians congregate from all over and play DIY shows. We didn't stay for the whole film. As we were leaving, Aaron remarked how bad he felt for the nipple girl. "Every time I've seen her tonight, she's had her arms crossed."

"No kidding", I said.

"Look, she's doing it now."

There she was, standing a few feet back from the pews, arms crossed tightly, like an Egyptian mummy. "Christ!", I said. "You're right. And in a dark room."

Aaron shook his head." I don't know why he couldn't keep his mouth shut."

On the walk home, Foley and Kenny were carrying trash bags filled with empty cans and bottles across their backs. We were all caught up in the nipple incident to inquire as to why they were doing this, but when we were several blocks away from the church, and the clanking sound of the bottles became too much, Lisa asked them why they were carrying the bags.

"The pastor asked us to", Foley said.

Aaron started cracking up. "He asked you to take the bags with you on your way out. He meant for you to leave them on the curb, not take them home with you!"

"Well, what should we do with them?", Foley asked amidst the laughter.

"Just leave them here on the curb", Lisa said. "The trash pickers will love you for it."

So they did, and we commenced razzing Foley, who took his medicine like a champ and laughed along with us, about the nipple incident.

Good times.
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It's a lousy day. I have plans with Mara later, and until I see her, I will probably read voraciously from Nick Bryant's The Franklin Scandal, which I had trouble separating myself from yesterday because it was so riveting. In a future post, I plan on elaborating on the book and its topic. This is one of those books everyone who has an ounce of humanity should read. It's terrifying, all this evil afoot, but for it to be conquered it must be faced.