Livin' the Dream

In a year oddly filled with dreams come true and goals fulfilled, yet another one of my long-imagined aspirations came to fruition last week. In the list of bands I have seen live in the last decade, my three long time favorite bands are sadly and conspicuously absent. Until March 22nd, 2008, I had never seen Dave Matthews Band, Better Than Ezra, or Collective Soul live. Who knows how long I'll have to wait for the two former, since Dave's concerts are infamously expensive, and BTE has stayed in their native New Orleans almost exclusively since Katrina. I'm still holding out hope for the opportunity to sit in the same room to witness these musical geniuses at work, but for now, I'm more than content to relive Ed Roland's near-perfect set list over and over. The only song missing was Needs, a ballad that takes the listener on a journey from "I don't need nobody, I don't need the weight of words to find a way to crash on through" to "I just need to learn the depth or doubt of faith to fall into" to "You're all I need when the water runs deep." The song is so moving it still chokes me up 9 years after first hearing it.



As I mentioned in a previous posting, I'm working on a more in-depth look into CS's plentiful religious metaphors, which only gains them more respect from someone like me. More on that later, but back to the concert. The opening acts, Green River Ordinance, and Josh Kelley, were stellar. Josh Kelley is much better known for his famous new wife (Grey's Anatomy's Katherine Heigl) than his music, but hopefully that will change, 'cause this kid's got more soul than any white boy I've seen in a long time, if ever. A pleasure to watch, and even better live than on CD. Here's a taste, although he doesn't have half the charisma in this video that he did live with his band:



Now I regret not going to meet Josh when he was signing CDs during the FORTY minute wait we had to endure before Ed, Will, Dean and the newest members of CS took the stage. When they finally did appear, however, the guys proved the wait worthwhile. New guitarist Joel Kosche was good enough to prevent me from feeling sad that I couldn't see the entire original lineup that graced the CD covers I owned as a teenager. I probably annoyed the crap out of those around me, especially my sister Heidi, because I simply could not help myself from headbanging, almost to the point of injury, especially during Gel, the quintessential 90s headbanging anthem. The concert was everything I could have hoped for (barring that performance of Needs with a full orchestra), and I have my sweet husband to thank for willingly hanging out at home with our daughters, even though he likes CS just as much as the next person, and also my sisters who accompanied me, especially Rachel, since she was lucky enough to be pregnant and therefore get us out the back way (accompanied by a chivalrous bouncer), straight past the Josh Kelley guitar players and the CS dressing room, and out through the lot where the fabled tour buses were parked. All in all, a truly memorable evening. Not surprising, since Ed and Elton John predicted it themselves when they sang "She'll just have another perfect day."

Reflections on a Familiar Life Revisited

I changed my outift several times in preparation for attending my first punk rock show since BC (Before Children, for all you non-breeders). I was going for sophisticated, yet edgy. Not sure I had achieved this, but surrendering to the choices available in my closet, the hubby and I embarked on an adventure 5 1/2 years in the making. As soon as we found ourselves in line outside the Crystal Ballroom, a slight self-consciousness set in. I suddenly felt flamingly preppy. When we got in, would people laugh, or worse, glare? I wanted to fit into this crowd I had once belonged to. Once inside and upstairs, however, the feeling slowly dissipated as a truth I had never considered was revealed. The usual suspects were present, yes. The mohawks, the tats, and the dreads were all at home. But as I searched for justification for my own decidedly un-edgy appearance, I found a surprisingly diverse group of attendees. The hawks and dreads mingled with the soccer-mom blondes, while the pinkheads danced right along with the yuppy-looking business casual college grads. Not one person even gave me a second look. They couldn't have cared less what I wore. Regardless of appearance, we were all there for a common purpose: the music of The Runaway Boys and Flogging Molly.

Having been absent from the punk scene for a while, I had forgotten what these shows are really like. Some things I've missed, others I definitely haven't. The decible level of the sound system could have been cut in half and still could have shattered eardrums. The musty odor of booze + B.O. with an occasional hint of dope is one I could have died without smelling again. However, witnessing and sharing in the energy and ecstasy of talented and passionate musicians while they display their carefully honed craft is an experience I can't live without.