Concerts and Comedy Shows
I highly doubt it counts for anyone else, but my first concert was in fifth or sixth grade, and it was High School Musical with my grandparents. I don’t know if you can blame a middle school girl for crushing hard over Zac Efron, and the sad part is that he wasn’t even at the concert…but we had the glow sticks and I got the tour T-shirt and I felt so cool when I came to school and another girl was wearing the same shirt and said she went to the same show I did.
Aside from local church programs and small town variety shows, I didn’t go to another concert until I went to see Celtic Thunder, again with my grandparents, in Shreveport, Louisiana. And before you say anything to that, just know they’re the male equivalent to Celtic Woman and if you’ve ever caught an LPB special of either of them you’d understand why I love them. Of course I also had a crush on half the guys in the group too, but I also genuinely loved the music and it’s still something I can bond with my grandparents over to this day. And Keith Harkin literally walked by me on the sidewalk before the show, and at the time that was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. Look him up and listen to him sing. You probably wouldn’t regret it.
My first mainstream and biggest concert I’ve ever been to is Coldplay on their Head Full of Dreams tour. And I don’t need to tell you that it was an experience for the books. I typically consider this one to be my first real one, and I sang to every song and had the best twenty first birthday a girl could ask for, after my first legal and gigantic strawberry margarita to boot. Caleb and I had a blast, and AT&T stadium was packed. The lights and the music were incredible, and they even dropped balloons on the crowd during the “Yellow” song.
From there I hopped around to various small venue concerts and comedy shows during my time in Dallas. Caleb and I got to see Bill Burr on a cold night at a small outdoor venue, one of our favorite comedians. Despite not being able to feel my toes, I remember laughing so hard and having such a great time, in disbelief that I was actually that close to a comedic celebrity. It was incredible. Anyone else think Bill looks like the head coach of the Bills football team? Or is it just me?
For another unforgettable birthday, Caleb and I got to see NEEDTOBREATHE and OneRepublic at the Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas. We got the club seats and all the good drinks and I scream-sang all the songs and nearly lost my voice at that one. NEEDTOBREATHE was one of those bands that Caleb always knew and that he introduced me to when we got together, and our wedding dance was actually to one of their songs off of The Reckoning album, “A Place Only You Can Go.” And this was right around the time Top Gun: Maverick came out, so “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic was out and was my current on-repeat-jam at the time, and Tom Cruise was even there. Not really; but he did a little recorded video to introduce the song and to promote his movie and that was still pretty good for me.
I learned pretty quickly that you can’t be fooled by a small venue when Caleb and I went to see The Band of Horses and The Black Keys, also at Dos Equis. When I tell you that this was the greatest show of my life, I mean it (sorry Coldplay. I still love you. And I still love you Keith Harkin. And Zac Efron. And NEEDTOBREATHE and OneRepublic. I swear). They were both electric, and they played all the songs and I also scream-sang to all those that I knew the words to and got videos of all the rest. At the end of the show, I just had this feeling that it wasn’t over, and sure enough there was an acoustic encore that was literally the perfect end to the perfect concert. That was also the night I literally saw a drunk person trip and do a full on feet-in-the-air cartwheel down the stairs as they left the show. I hope they weren’t driving home.
Sadly there was an end times calibur flood in Dallas the night we were going to see Chris Stapleton, and I’m still so sad about missing that show. But something just didn’t feel right about sitting on a grassy lawn in the middle of a torrential downpour in the back where the awning was non-existent, meanwhile clutching an umbrella, which might as well have been just a plain old lightning rod. So we sat that one out even though somehow that show still went on. Sigh. Next time I’m splurging for the front row seats for sure.
Since we’ve been in Colorado, we have gotten to see a new favorite comedian in person at Paramount Theatre: Shane Gillis. His Trump impression is so scary and spot on it’s too hilarious, and I just love everything about his cadence and delivery as he talks about being a history buff and how his girlfriend’s ex was a Navy SEAL. I love the coziness of the intimate theaters that comedians perform at; it feels like no matter where you are you’re close to the action, but also removed enough to not become a part of their new special when they inevitably do their crowd work.
My dream now - and Caleb’s - is to see Sturgill Simpson somewhere in the world during our lifetimes because if you haven’t heard of that guy then I’m here to tell you he may just be the best musician of his time, or even all time. I’d kill to see James Bay, too. I could get lost daydreaming about all the people I want to see but I’ll spare you for now.
I do look forward to seeing the live Avatar: The Last Airbender orchestra concert in September, followed by another favorite comedian, Tom Segura, at Ball Arena after that. Maybe one day I’ll also catch that Stardew Valley concert and I’ll get to see Theo Von and/or Trevor Wallace. I guess time will tell.