Beauty + Talent = Brooke Fraser. In concert.

Brooke Fraser is the kind of girl other girls love to hate...but can't.

She's model tall and thin (5'11"). She's got a singing voice that's crystal clear and effortless. She's got a cool New Zealander (is that even how you say it?) accent. And she's smart--with an uncanny ability to write music and lyrics. She genuinely loves people. She's the girl who makes even super-cool rocker guys (who happen to know who she is) get a little googley-eyed, sigh and say, "She's beautiful."

[Sidenote for guys: "Beautiful" beats "cute" or "hot" any day. And "You are beautiful" beats "You look beautiful." Just thought I'd help you out a bit by decoding the secret world of what women--your girlfriend, wife, daughter or even your Mom--want to hear. But do NOT repeat this powerful phrase to girls you are not romantically interested in (unless you're related to them).]

Anyway, I had the opportunity to see Brooke in concert Sunday and thought I'd tell you about my experience, since I know some of you wanted to know. Brooke didn't disappoint.

But instead of a giving you pure concert review, you'll get a little bit of my personal play-by-play narrative rolled in to this post. So here goes...

Who is Brooke Fraser?

I first learned of Brooke Fraser about four years ago from a good friend of mine from New Zealand who described her as something like, "The Norah Jones of our country...but cooler."

[Interestingly enough, at the same time, my New Zealander friend was asking about the independent artist playing in my car--Dave Barnes--who has since collaborated together with Brooke on his new album. Randomly weird coincidence...if only I could get them to tour together...]

Anyway, since then, Brooke has also written and sung a lot of songs with Hillsong United ("None But Jesus", "Hosanna") that many of you are probably familiar with.

The scene...

So I went to the Brooke Fraser concert with a cool date. That's right--my sister--another big Brooke fan. :) (Yes, we're kinda gung-ho nerdy and bought our tix the first day they were available.) The Sunday night concert was held at this place called Chop Suey in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle.

I think Chop Suey may have a little bit of an identify crisis. For the most part, it's definitely Asian-themed--hence the name, paper lanterns and gigantic paper mache dragon stretched across the ceiling. But it also had this weird contrasting Western theme going on with pictures of the Wild West and cartoony cowboys. It kind of reminded me of my college days driving through Lynden, Washington (Dutch-themed town) and spotting a fine establishment named something like Mr. Wu's Mexican Restaurant. :)

And what is it with the crack-shack bathrooms at Seattle establishments featuring indie artists?!? Seriously! The restrooms at Chop Suey were especially odd due to the fact that the main doors to both the women's and men's restrooms were kept open. This meant that as I walked to the ladies' room, I saw some guy wash his hands in the mens' room. It's either completely creepy--or some ingenious scheme to promote sanitary health. I would prefer to believe the latter, but the conditions of the restroom inside told me this was not the main goal of the place. [Okay, TMI--I'm moving on...]

The venue was small. About 150 people were there (including my Starbucks barista from downtown T-town!). We actually found some stools to sit on about 15 feet from the stage in an area of the room slightly higher than the ground level. Awesome.

[Note to readers: I could have some stinkin' amazing pictures...but realized a little too late that I pretty much have the world's worst digital camera. It's really sad, actually. I took a few pics that somehow manage to turn the beautiful Brooke into this green haze that could just as well be the Loch Ness monster. Maybe I could make some money selling them to the tabloids...oh well.]

The opening act...

The opening act was a guy named William Fitzsimmons. He took the stage and for a second, I wondered, "Did some homeless guy wander in off the streets and decide to perform for us?"

But then he opened his mouth and he had a voice that...dare I say it?...was actually pretty. And I mean that in a complimentary way. William's voice was soothing. Comfortable, coffee shop kind of groove. I don't think I'd necessarily buy his CD (a lot of the songs sounded pretty similar to me), but it was pleasant music and his humor was entertaining.

...and then there was Brooke

Then Brooke took the stage with a guy named Ben (drummer/keyboard player) and an Irish chick (keyboard player/violinist). And, of course, she was awesome. My googley-eyed guy friends probably would have fallen more in love with her if they could have heard her hilarious stories including some about bodily functions, clumsiness and a gory story about her husband (who managed to injure himself on an airplane by zipping his sweatshirt-turned pillow into his eye--really). And as much as I tried to resist it, at concerts I turn into dorky-sing-along girl who sings or mouths the words to my favorites. But if Oprah can do it (on video no less), why can't I? :)

The most memorable moment

The most memorable thing? Brooke told the powerful story of her latest album's title track "Albertine" (check it out on the link above). I'll try to re-cap the best I can...but won't do it justice.

Several years ago, Brooke took a trip with World Vision to Rwanda--a country devastated by the effects of genocide in the 90s. She was there for awhile and formed a bond with her guide/interpreter--a native Rwandan man. Throughout her trip (I think it was several weeks long), Brooke did not ask about his personal experience during the genocide.

But on the last day, he said, "I want you to meet someone." He took her to a school. And in a classroom, Brooke met a young girl and simultaneously experienced a life-altering moment.

"I know what your next song will be called," said the guide. "Albertine." He introduced Brooke to the girl and began to tell his story. Brooke's guide had been a member of the tribe responsible for the deaths of many in Rwanda (from a different tribe)--including Albertine's family members. But he could not sit in silence and allow his tribe members to kill an innocent little girl.

"I could not save everyone," he told Brooke. "But I could save one--Albertine."

And so a song was born--with a challenge. "All of us have an Albertine," said the beautiful Brooke. "What will you do to make a difference for the Albertine in your world?"