So I've neglected the blog for a couple of months, but this past week I had an experience that was awesome enough that I'm inspired to share.I saw the Foo Fighters live!!
I know. I know. You're thinking, "Big whoop, Kathy," or some approximation of that.
Except, I SAW THE FOO FIGHTERS LIVE!!
Concerts are outrageously expensive these days. Several times over the last couple of years, Bruce and I have talked about going to this concert or that, and then we saw the ticket prices. We weighed dropping a bundle of cash on tickets, parking, gas (the best shows are never close), food and drink, and of course, the requisite concert t-shirt. Every single time, we decided the show would probably be good, but we just weren't big enough fans to do it.
None of those bands were The Foo Fighters.
I've been a fan for a long time. Before Wasting Light was released in April, I already had more Foo Fighters' songs on my iPod than any other artist's. I haven't bought an artist's whole album since digital download happened, and I wasn't forced to buy the whole thing to get the songs I wanted. Consequently, I didn't have whole Foo Fighters albums, although I did have bits and pieces from every album they had ever released. I saw a documentary on the making of Wasting Light a week before it dropped and promptly bought it on April 12. I don't even remember the last whole album I bought before that.
I rediscovered why buying a whole album is awesome. Some of the best songs aren't the ones released on the radio. "Rope" was the first song released for radio and it's not close to my favorite on the album. I love "Bridge Burning," "Arlandria," "I Should Have Known" and my current favorite "Dear Rosemary."
But I digress...
After I fell head over heels in love with the album, I knew I HAD to see them live. The first tour dates released were big festivals and European dates, however, on Facebook, they kept promising more US dates. I checked back almost every day. (Yes, I'm obsessive when I like something.) Finally, FINALLY, they announced a series of dates in the Midwest that included Columbus, Ohio, only three hours away. Yeah, it was on a Thursday and in the middle of football season (I am a teacher married to a college football coach), but I didn't care.
I found one awesome friend who was willing to throw caution and responsibility to the wind and drive to Columbus with me on a school night. We drove the three hours to Columbus blaring Foo Fighters the whole way, and even fighting construction traffic in Cincinnati, it didn't feel like three hours. We got there early and hit the sports bar across the street for appetizers and drinks. Everyone in the place was going to the concert, and the bar was rockin. I was giddy, euphoric, a kid on Christmas.
Sometimes the anticipation of something is better than the thing itself.
Not this time. Oh hell, no. Not this time.
Holy cow...holy smoke...holy shit! They were everything I wanted them to be. From the first chords of "Bridge Burning" to the last dying chords of "Everlong" (yes, they closed with "Everlong"...goosebumps!), the music was Oh my freaking God AWESOME!
They played for three plus hours. They played every single song I wanted to hear, both old and new. Dave Grohl's voice was perfect in spite of being on tour for months already. The band rocked! The Foo Fighters are no record-company-studio-synthesized-Frankenstein's monster. They can PLAY!
I sang until I was hoarse. I danced like a crazy woman. The next day, I felt like I had been in a car wreck. I know I had a mild case of self-inflicted whiplash. I danced my credit card right out of my pocket and lost it. I danced with my friend. I danced with total strangers...except in that moment, they weren't strangers. They were kindred spirits riding a rock and roll high with me.
That high has lasted. It carried us through the wrong turn that took us to Dayton at 1:30 in the morning instead of south to Cincinnati. It sustained me through the annoyance of cancelling my credit card, apparently right before some moron tried to pay his cell phone bill with it. It gave me the strength to teach my classes the next day on three hours sleep. Yeah, I went to work. I'm badass like that...lol.
For one glorious evening, I let every worry and responsibility go and rocked. I'm including a video I took of "Times Like These." There are better ones on YouTube, but this is mine. Dave starts out acoustically at the back of the arena and then runs back to the main stage. At that point, I kinda forgot I was recording and started dancing again, so I apologize for the camera work. It doesn't really matter though...all that matters is the music.
Rock on!
I've been a fan for a long time. Before Wasting Light was released in April, I already had more Foo Fighters' songs on my iPod than any other artist's. I haven't bought an artist's whole album since digital download happened, and I wasn't forced to buy the whole thing to get the songs I wanted. Consequently, I didn't have whole Foo Fighters albums, although I did have bits and pieces from every album they had ever released. I saw a documentary on the making of Wasting Light a week before it dropped and promptly bought it on April 12. I don't even remember the last whole album I bought before that.
I rediscovered why buying a whole album is awesome. Some of the best songs aren't the ones released on the radio. "Rope" was the first song released for radio and it's not close to my favorite on the album. I love "Bridge Burning," "Arlandria," "I Should Have Known" and my current favorite "Dear Rosemary."
But I digress...
After I fell head over heels in love with the album, I knew I HAD to see them live. The first tour dates released were big festivals and European dates, however, on Facebook, they kept promising more US dates. I checked back almost every day. (Yes, I'm obsessive when I like something.) Finally, FINALLY, they announced a series of dates in the Midwest that included Columbus, Ohio, only three hours away. Yeah, it was on a Thursday and in the middle of football season (I am a teacher married to a college football coach), but I didn't care.
I found one awesome friend who was willing to throw caution and responsibility to the wind and drive to Columbus with me on a school night. We drove the three hours to Columbus blaring Foo Fighters the whole way, and even fighting construction traffic in Cincinnati, it didn't feel like three hours. We got there early and hit the sports bar across the street for appetizers and drinks. Everyone in the place was going to the concert, and the bar was rockin. I was giddy, euphoric, a kid on Christmas.
Sometimes the anticipation of something is better than the thing itself.
Not this time. Oh hell, no. Not this time.
Holy cow...holy smoke...holy shit! They were everything I wanted them to be. From the first chords of "Bridge Burning" to the last dying chords of "Everlong" (yes, they closed with "Everlong"...goosebumps!), the music was Oh my freaking God AWESOME!
They played for three plus hours. They played every single song I wanted to hear, both old and new. Dave Grohl's voice was perfect in spite of being on tour for months already. The band rocked! The Foo Fighters are no record-company-studio-synthesized-Frankenstein's monster. They can PLAY!
I sang until I was hoarse. I danced like a crazy woman. The next day, I felt like I had been in a car wreck. I know I had a mild case of self-inflicted whiplash. I danced my credit card right out of my pocket and lost it. I danced with my friend. I danced with total strangers...except in that moment, they weren't strangers. They were kindred spirits riding a rock and roll high with me.
That high has lasted. It carried us through the wrong turn that took us to Dayton at 1:30 in the morning instead of south to Cincinnati. It sustained me through the annoyance of cancelling my credit card, apparently right before some moron tried to pay his cell phone bill with it. It gave me the strength to teach my classes the next day on three hours sleep. Yeah, I went to work. I'm badass like that...lol.
For one glorious evening, I let every worry and responsibility go and rocked. I'm including a video I took of "Times Like These." There are better ones on YouTube, but this is mine. Dave starts out acoustically at the back of the arena and then runs back to the main stage. At that point, I kinda forgot I was recording and started dancing again, so I apologize for the camera work. It doesn't really matter though...all that matters is the music.
Rock on!
