Oh Storyworth, this writing prompt brought back some amazing memories! I have 2 live shows to share. The first is the last concert I attended before COVID. Of course, I had no idea it was going to be my last concert, but man it was a great one.
My friend Rob and I love Kacey Musgraves. Her Album of the Year Golden Hour was a favorite as we hung out on his boat on Jordan Lake. My only request was not to play the song Mother because it was super triggering for me. So, it was not surprising when he told me that he and Jonathan had front row tickets to her show in Raleigh…. And there were 2 additional seats next to them still available. The tickets were pricey, but not super pricey, and I knew after the Album of the Year win she would never play in that type of venue again. So, I justified the cost by saying it was a birthday gift for both me and the husband.
It was fall of 2019, so still super hot still for North Carolina. We sat waiting for the show to start sweating, and sweating some more. I made friends with the stranger sitting next to me, which always baffles my husband. We chatted about back yard chickens, old school Kacey songs, weight lifting (he was a big guy). I have these random splinter skills where I have a hard time in some social situations but talking to strangers is easy peasy.
The show finally started, and I sang and danced along with each and every song. I even took a picture of the finale song because it was well after 11pm, which is way past my normal bedtime. Jonathan got the set list when it was tossed out to the crowd (another perk of being front row). My first, and probably only, front row concert.
Now for one of my first concerts. My high school friends and I LOVED the Indigo Girls. We would sing along as we rode around aimlessly in small town North Carolina. My friend Melanie and I, in particular, really loved the Indigo Girls. I sang Emily, she sang Amy. So it was no surprise that the week after Mel got her driver’s license she drove me and Shelley to their show….. in Charlotte. We did not tell our parents this plan because they would have said no even in the more relaxed parenting days of the 1980s, so we did what all bad teens did… we said we were spending the night at the other person’s house betting that the parents wouldn’t check to make sure we were where we were supposed to be.
The concert was AMAZING. We held hands and sang so loudly that our voices were hoarse the next day. It was also our first experience in seeing same sex couples openly expressing affection. We did not care that it was new to us, we just wanted to hear the music.
Shocker, we did get caught in our web of lies. I remember walking into the kitchen and seeing my mom banging her cigarette hard on the ashtray. And, me being Kristan, when she said I was grounded for a week, I said “that’s ok because it was the best concert I will ever see.” That got me an additional week. I always had to have the last word. Sigh.
I hope we get back to a world where sitting super close to people singing at the top of our lungs feels safe again. For now, I will cherish these live concert memories.