The Avenue at White Marsh

Last night, The Band played at an outdoor venue in White Marsh, MD known as The Avenue. I heart The Avenue. It's got a Chili's, a Don Pablos, an Old Navy, a Barnes & Noble, a Pier 1, a Payless, and will soon have a Coldstone Creamery. All they need to do is put in Kohl's and I would never leave. I used to go there all the time when we lived in Hamilton, but since we're farther northwest, I don't make the trip too often.

The weather last night was perfect. It was warm but not icky hot and certainly not humid. There was a light breeze blowing so that just added the perfect touch. I couldn't ask for a better night for an outdoor gig. Plus they started playing at 7 so it only got better as the night came and cooled it off even more.

The crowd at this place is great, too. There are usually a few dancers (I know you're going to ask so I'll just get it out of the way now- no, the Crazy Dancers did not make an appearance) but most of the crowd just brings their chairs and sits around in a big circle. Usually little kids take center stage in front of the band and dance on their own accord, and the crowd is conducive to this. There are some outdoor gigs where I will not let SB out to dance and go crazy because the "dance floor" area is too jam-packed with people dancing, kids running around, etc. But this place has a really laid-back atmosphere with nice people who aren't drunk or too absorbed in their own worlds to be conscious of others.

And the best part of the whole thing (besides the amazing band that was playing there) is that the concerts occur in a little paved area between some of the stores, across from the movie theater, behind a large water fountain. They turn the fountain off during the concerts for some reason, but it was great to keep little ones entertained. SB and her little pals spent a lot of time running back and forth to peek into the fountain. And when they turned it back on after the concert was over, it was lit up with yellow lights and, against the dark night, looked pretty darn nifty, even I must admit.

I met up with my friend Bucky and we got carryout at Chili's where SB stopped to feed the fake ducks. Apparently she was not the first to try to feed them, because each duck (which would include the Mama Duck and about 4 or 5 ducklings tagging along behind her) had a little pile of yellow leaves in front of it. It was pretty cute. And please- this is the second photo I have posted of SB on this blog, and it just so happens she's wearing the same dress in both of them. We do have more than one outfit for our child. I promise. I just really love this dress.

The band starts playing and people really seem to be enjoying the music. SB finds a girl about her age who is there with what I would assume is her mother. Both are dressed in the same dress. I wonder if I should start dressing like SB. Honestly, it's never occurred to me to find matching outfits for my two-year old and myself. I wouldn't mind wearing some of the stuff she wears- it looks pretty comfy. But I don't think they make onesies in my size. At least I hope they don't!

Anyway apparently this whole dressing alike thing was appealing to SB because she completely forgot about me and spent all her time with this new pair. At first the little girl didn't know what to make of SB. SB tried to dance with her, tried to copy what she was doing. The little girl finally decided she didn't like this and was obviously trying to avoid my daughter. SB was following her around like a little puppy and trying to be her friend and the mother was acting nice enough to SB but the little girl wanted nothing to do with her and would blatantly turn her back to SB to keep her out of their little circle. Bitch. It was heartbreaking.

What's worse is that SB either didn't understand or didn't care because she was persistent. She followed them both back to where they were sitting. She put her hand on the mother's thigh, trying to get her attention when she turned away. I tried to help her retain some dignity and get her to come back to us but she kept returning to her new, much snappier dressing family. Little Bitch was getting more and more obvious about her dislike for SB tagging along so I decided to bring out the Big Guns. Little Bitch was going to like my daughter. I pulled out the bubbles.

Almost like magic, the tables turned. SB pulled out the little wand and blew a few bubbles and Little Bitch was following her around like a puppy. I was satisfied. So what if I have to buy SB friends? Don't judge me. I was a little disappointed when SB held out the wand for Little Bitch to blow some bubbles. I kind of wanted her to make her sweat, maybe beg a little. But I guess SB is a bigger person than I.

So the new family's table finally was ready and they left. Yes, SB did try to walk with them to the restaurant. Yes, I did have to chase her down a couple of times to bring her back and tell her she can't go with them. But after a few minutes she was over it and back to favoring her own mommy.

All in all, with the exception of my daughter wanting to abandon me for another family, the gig was a good one. No drama with the band. The drummer (a sub) was one who I adore, he plays the congas and the drums at the same time. Yeah, he's pretty awesome. The best part was that The Band can now consider themselves Rock Stars, thanks to the sign below. Wow, they're really moving up in the world!