To have been at McCaw Hall Friday night, is to have been truly blessed. It was a night filled with smiles, laughter and bottomless admiration – not only for the performers, but also for the people behind the scenes for whom this night was meant to benefit. It was a night which, at one point, brought a couple tears to our eyes. But we’re sensitive like that.

People Talking & Singing it was called, and that’s what it was. People talking and people singing, to benefit 826 Seattle, a “nonprofit writing center that helps students, ages six to 18, develop their creative and expository skills.” The evening promised readings and performances by John Hodgman, Jonathan Coulton, Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, Daniel Handler (Lemony Snickett), Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields, Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, Smoosh, and another “very special guest,” who we’ll get to a little later.

The evening began with one of our favorite talkers, John Hodgman, gracing the stage in a white suit and trademark black-rimmed glasses. In famous deadpan tone he introduced his co-host and “rustic companion,” Jonathan Coulton, who throughout the night, accompanied Hodgman’s dialogue with the rhythmic strumming of his guitar, as well as provided “theme music” for the introductions of the performers. Coulton also sang a song about zombies – a song about two friends really – one who is now a zombie and one who is not. The two friends carry on a dialogue from either side of a door, each trying to convince the other to come around to his way of thinking. The chorus proclaiming, “All we want to do is eat your brains. We’re not unreasonable, I mean, we’re not going to eat your eyes.”

Before turning the stage over to the first performers, Hodgman shamelessly plugged his book, The Areas of My Expertise, noting that it is the paperback edition and perfect for Seattleites, as it can be “easily rolled up into a hash pipe.”

The first music performer to take the stage (not counting the zombie song of course) was Smoosh. We hadn’t heard this pair of golden-locked 14 year-olds yet, so we had no idea what to expect. Truth be told, we were stunned. Not only were they great in their own right, but Chloe’s boisterous, booming drum work and Asya’s mind-boggling vocal and keyboard skills prompted the self-effacing question, What were we doing at age 14?

Next up was Daniel Handler’s expertly crafted and absolutely self-centered “three act play,” starring Sarah Vowell in the roles of Jessica Biel, Condoleeza Rice and his unfortunate ex-girlfriend. Colin Meloy played various buddies and schoolyard chums, always there to make Handler look better, and for the role of Handler himself: our very special guest, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service. The short play, narrated by Handler (it’s his life story after all) was hilarious beyond description. At one point, as the voice of God was to make an appearance, Handler says to Gibbard, “Ben, I forgot to mention, you’ll be playing the part of God as well. Just use the same voice you’ve been using for Daniel Handler.” As the play unfolded, Handler also noted, “There’s something about the transformative power of art.”

Following a reading by the always witty and enlightening Sarah Vowell, an 826 Seattle presentation by Dave Eggars and performances by Zach Rogue and Stephin Merritt, the true highlight of the evening came in the forms of Colin Meloy and Ben Gibbard.

We sat transfixed, as Meloy with his crystalline voice, previewed a few new songs from the upcoming album, The Crane Wife (October 3rd will be a fine day).

Before Gibbard held the stage for his own beautiful, if not heartbreaking solo piano set, the evening came to its heavenly climax as Gibbard and Meloy performed a duet version of Blur’s “End of a Century.” We really couldn’t believe our eyes and ears. Couldn’t believe we were actually here and they were actually there, the two of them, at the same time, singing -- two of our favorite singers and they were beautiful and we were smiling and the water came to our eyes a bit and we blinked so we knew it was real and we blinked so we could see them better. Like we said, we're sensitive like that.

At the close of the evening, everyone returned to the stage and Dave Eggars made the announcement: Including twenty dollars and change in Canadian currency, the night had yielded more money for the kids of 826 Seattle than any other 826 benefit in any other city.