What did you do last weekend?

Just an ordinary Friday....except not at all. 

Breakfast in Portland with classmate Steve and his visiting god-daughter Colleen, who tells me that her friends are going to some music event that night with an Australian DJ. I nearly spit out my coffee...

 

As an aside, Steve orders a pretty awesome breakfast

But I digress...the Australian DJ just happens to be the headliner at the BossaNova on Burnside tonite. And the opening act is.....my kid. 

Zoe has performed about 125 jobs in 2 years while finishing up at school. She became interested in the work of Max Byrne, aka 1 TBSP, straight outta Sydney, and she's developed a rapport with him. 

12 May, I'm asleep at midnite...in London. Phone rings, it's the kid, and she's hyperventilating. Once she stabilizes, she says, "I told you that Max is coming back to Portland, right? Well, THEY WANT ME ON THE TICKET!"

Of course they do. Kid has paid her dues in advance. 

She has an appointment with a tattoo artist....I have an appointment with an old fashioned artist...celebrating my kid's pending launch into the stratosphere. 

Game day beckons, and Zoe is an understandable nervous wreck...mostly because she'll be playing in front of the guy who really motivated her into music. And in front of 350 people, per published ticket sales......I tell my nervous kid it's gonna be 600....because I'm a helper. 

At the venue during sound check, I get my pass into the venue. 

That's profound...I have a wristband for an event in which MY KID IS PERFORMING. 

Jeezus, I need another drink. 

As Dad expected...the moment she walks in the door for sound checks, the nerves disappear. Having her BFF Devynn there is a huge help. 

Max shows up...good guy. Zoe thinks we could be related. 

We sure could be related...with slightly aggressive breeding, I could be this 29-year old's grandfather. 

Zoe presents a painting of him that he loves. 

Then she lights it up, and we're going to 11 right away. 

The light show is so cool...

Her high-tech special effects are on point, too. 

With 10 minutes left in her gig, I notice Max's green room door is open. I look inside, and this international DJ star is dancing...to Zoe's music. 

I barely hold it together. 

What an incredible weekend. She has worked her tail off for two years gaining proficiency, and when the opportunity arrived, she was ready. 

Who knows where this goes now? All I know is that she's pointed in the right direction. 

Well done, kid.