WARNING: I'm a writer so this is long and winding.
Hard to believe it’s been a week since my first David Cook concert experience. I was wearing my t-shirt yesterday because I’d done a late workout and had to dress quickly to run out and pick up my youngest at school and there it was. It’s the official grey one with the dates where I can pick out Memphis and say to myself, ‘that’s my show!’ I forgot I had to return books to the library and well, I’m a little shy about proclaiming my obsession in public. So I ran in quickly ‘self conscious to a fault’ and as I’m getting back into my car there’s a young woman in the passenger side of a big black pick-up smiling and gesturing and saying something to me only I can’t hear because I can’t get the keys in and the window down fast enough. Kind of a WTF moment but then I realized it had to be the shirt. She probably was saying, “I love David Cook too!!!” But I digress.
Like so many others, I have pondered long and hard why I’m so freaking invested in an emerging rock star. Why I want him to succeed as much as if he were my own son. Like others, I’m half ashamed and half amazed to find myself wildly attracted in every way to a man half my age, having thought this sort of thing was in the distant past, like the rest of the things of my youth. Wondering why I have this compulsion to see him in person. And come to the conclusion that there is just something about this man, his voice, his music, his articulateness, his convictions and his life story that draws you in and resistance is futile.
I wanted to see David in a smaller setting, to have that intimate experience of him and the band. I’d made a bargain with my family that I would try for tickets to the Kansas City show because it was, at the time, closest but if not, I would wait for him to come out northwest and take a road trip. I was not lucky with Kansas City and I’d waited what I thought was very patiently for any announcements of dates in the West but they just weren’t coming.
Then excitement on DCO started building around the release of not one, but two new singles and an accompanying video for one. In my mind, by the time summer came the buzz on David would be so large that he’d be playing much larger venues and festivals with again, larger numbers of attendees. That all peaked for me one night and I told my husband why I really wanted to do this and found a ticket online and a decent airfare and sat there with my finger over the enter key and looked at him and said I’m going to do this and he didn’t say anything so I did. After, he was looking mad and admitted he was upset that I was doing something without him but that he would get over it. But he’s not a David Cook supporter and I didn’t want to go all that way and have to hide how much I love this beautiful musician.
So that’s how I found myself on an Easter weekend flying away from my family on my first ever solo trip. This excursion had become about more than just David Cook. I needed very badly to show myself that I was capable of doing things on my own after 20 years in a relationship and raising my daughters. You can read about all that in the Backstory blog below this.
I’d connected with a couple off people from DCO and arranged to meet Julie for breakfast/lunch before we went to wait in line for the general admission show. I got into Memphis Friday night, earlier than I’d expected, problem free and thought about calling Julie and seeing if we should hit Beale Street for drinks and music but thought better of it and ended up experiencing my first taste of southern barbecue at a little divey place down the street from my hotel which was fairly near the venue. After a long, cold winter it felt great to walk down dry streets, to see azaleas in bloom and leaves on some of the trees. I’m a landscape designer by trade so I’m always intensely interested in an area’s flora. It was actually cool for Memphis but felt great to this northern gal, though Alberta was experiencing the same temperatures that particular Easter weekend. When I got back to the hotel, Julie called and we arranged for me to meet her at her hotel which was on Beale St the next morning at 9 a.m. We’d have our breakfast and then share a cab over to the venue. She told me what she looked like and I told her she wouldn’t be able to miss my hair given that it was silver on top and dark underneath.
At 8:30 Julie called and said she’d had a text that there were already 20 people in line. We quickly agreed that we would grab some breakfast at our respective hotels and meet in line. I ate my breakfast walking to the venue, enjoying the warm sun, and the fresh air though I noted as soon as I left the medical area I wasn’t in a very good area of town and I’d be catching a cab home after the show. This was confirmed after I’d been greeted by a couple of ‘down on their luck’ kind of guys. “Hey baby where you headin?” I briefly wondered if I’d put on too much makeup and perhaps looked like a woman of the night heading home. A block or so later I got to admire some time worn but still beautiful homes always with an eye to how the landscape and note some of the interesting groundcovers used this far south.
Rounding the corner off Madison Ave. indeed there were about 20 people in line and just as I walked up a cab arrived and Julie popped out and said “Hi Kate” as if she’d known me forever but, like I said, my hair is pretty unmistakeable. We took our places on the concrete disabled ramp, me with my face to the sun, she facing me and commenced what would be a nine and a half hour wait.
It started with me agreeing to listen to another down on his luck guy with a horribly disabling stutter who had found our line. I must have a very approachable face because perfect strangers ask for my help all the time. I figured what the heck, I’ve got nothing better to do for the next few hours but after a few minutes I couldn’t help but reach into my purse, give him a few dollars and after both agreeing to pray for each other, sent him on his way. And I have thought of him since and prayed for him. I don’t care if he used the money for booze or drugs. I felt that if I could afford to fly to Memphis, stay at a hotel, eat out, take a cab and pay three times the price of a ticket to an online scalper just to see David Cook, I could afford to give this man something. My line mates were impressed saying they wouldn’t be able to let someone approach them that way. Maybe its just my Canadian niceness or because of my experience with disability, I know what it means not to have the same chances in the world as others. I’ve pretty much memorized the Desiderata and take to heart the line, “listen to the dull and ignorant, for they too have their story.” And the only thing that’s stayed with me from my Roman Catholic upbringing is, when faced with a situation, I will ask myself, what would Jesus do?
Within a few minutes montanagirl and her two daughters, aged 8 and 13 had showed up and we got to talking with them and that pretty much became our group for the rest of the day. It was great to be with Julie who told me stories of several David Cook performances she’d been to or heard about and pointed out the people in the crowd I would know by their usernames on the website. montanagirl told war stories about the stampede at her show which got me and a few others concerned because the conditions here were similar. At one point when I was standing, I’m pretty sure I saw David take off running but didn’t say anything, just said to myself, I think that’s David and noted how sweet he looked! Another highlight was seeing that England flag and knowing that had to be Emma. I went over and introduced myself as one of her strongest admirers and gave her a big hug. I’d been encouraging her online to make video editing a career.
Four hours later I was already pretty stiff and sore and while the sun was certainly more pleasant than what they’d experienced in Knoxville the day before, against a brick wall it was getting pretty intense and several of us were getting rather pink. Luckily some plucky gal talked to the venue staff and they agreed to let us come in and wait. It felt great to get inside but once again we were on a concrete floor and for the first time in my life I almost wished I had more padding on my ass. Julie and I had spelled montanagirl and her girls off for lunch while we were still outside so after an hour we headed off for a very welcome lunch break.
When I tell people back home about what I went through to see David Cook, young and old say they couldn’t have done it. Or is that wouldn’t? I was surprised when young people told me that, figuring that this was their thing, just hard on an elder like me. But there is a community spirit about people coming together for a common purpose. You knew you could manage to sit there for another one, or two, or three hours because everyone else there was doing it too. And the prize was you got to see David Cook live! I had brought a book and my MP3 and writing materials, but I barely touched them. I’m fairly amazed how it is that women especially? can sit for hours and not really do much of anything. Of course I did a lot of people watching and we shared bits and pieces of our lives. But even with all that I have to admit there were times during the day when I asked myself if even he was worth it. (Wait before you start throwing things).
It was probably about this time that some of the tension rose. People were tired and sore and a little grumpy and started noticing people not seen all day filling in the spaces around us and how the numbers of those ahead of us seemed to be growing. There was a nice break when Alexis Grace walked in and people went over to have their picture taken with her. I recognized her immediately and had been so disappointed when she was cut early from AI8. It was sad watching some women send their children to worm their way ahead in line because no one would say anything to children and the hard looks on the faces of those children.
It was also about this time I started to make some realizations about my support of David Cook. I knew then that I was a huge supporter of him as an artist but that I probably wouldn’t stand (or sit) in a line like this again. I liked Julie and montanagirl because I’d forged a personal bond with them and felt a connection to Emma from UK because of her videos and my response and encouragement of them. If we were to be at another concert together or even if we were just in the same vicinity, I would definitely want to see them again. It was interesting to put faces to names I’d seen on DCO and actually recognized several of them from their profile pics or id on video or photo sites but I didn’t feel a need to connect with them and, as I’m actually rather shy, when I did meet some of them, I didn’t have a lot to say. I realized I am a supporter of David Cook but don’t need to share that so much with others. I don’t need to belong to a group. Guess I’ve always kind of been that way. There are people on DCO, especially some of those on the Proverbial Box thread that I think I would like to meet because I’m pretty sure we would have lots to talk about besides David Cook. I guess I realized I’m not the fan girl type.
So finally we get into the venue and there is no stampede and I’m third row back and almost directly in front of Neal Tiemann’s mic stand and I’m very excited but as the hour goes on and montanagirl and her daughters are desperately trying to keep enough space for themselves against the rising tide of infiltrating fangirls, I’m hoping David ‘will be enough’ to make this lesser display of humanity worth it. A young woman behind me finally voices it, saying to her friend, “maybe I’m a different kind of fan because this just isn’t fun” or words to that effect and if I could have moved, I would have turned to her and said, “I agree.”
Then Ryan Star comes on and it’s all okay. He and his band give us a half hour set full of incredible energy and several really great songs. I resolve to buy his CD.
Then another half hour and then, it is time! I fish the bandana I brought with the maple leaf and word Canada on it and my camera out of my bag and clutch them. The roar of the crowd and there is David and he’s opening with TWIK which I so wanted and I am lost. He is only about 15 feet from me and he is completely mesmerizing to watch. The inevitable tears form in my eyes and my heart is so full it feels like it could burst. Then he launches into Mr. Sensitive and there is Neal in all his magnificence and I’m kind of ping ponging between them and Julie hits my arm and says “Now!” because partway through David comes to our side of the stage. I whip out the bandana and proudly hold it up and you can clearly see him acknowledge it at 2:30 in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7GOn7_Fm64. (Sorry I really don't know how to put in links - it's the 3rd video on the set list on the concert thread) That is my moment with David. At least I got one.
There is a part of me that wishes I would have just stood there rapt drinking it all in, not taking my eyes off David all night but watching the tour videos I couldn’t help but notice how this is a band now, with an incredibly charismatic lead singer but Neal Tiemann is a raging force to be reckoned with and when he’s standing right in front of you, he is NOT to be ignored. And can I just say how much I like Andy Skib? Have from the beginning. Held my breath hoping he would decide to stay with David and it seems with how comfortable he is now, rocking it out with the best of them that is the case. I love the hair, I love how he dresses. And Joey was looking mighty fine with his manly scruff and as usual, a bundle of energy. Sadly I really couldn’t see sweet Kyle from my angle as he was up on a dias and his drum kit and the intense lighting array hid him from me.
And a live performance? Just try to keep me from moving, especially if the band is tight and this is a tight band. Hell I have a tough enough time sitting still at home listening to music. And David is bossy and likes the noise and how can you not sing along knowing what high praise he thinks it is. But there were moments when I just had to stay quiet and watch him sing. And it’s true it seems he is looking at you directly. My heart would beat faster every time his eyes slid over in my direction. I don’t think I’ll ever forget those looks.
Too soon it was over. I was surprised an hour had gone by. Oh and standing or sitting for 14 hours for a one hour show? Totally worth it!!!!!! I don’t know if I could say that if I were in the back of the room but I did the time and got the prize of experiencing David Cook and his band at close range and it is something I will be able to hold in my heart and mind for the rest of my days.
I was pretty euphoric heading off to the merch tables, something else I normally would avoid, and on the way ended up walking with Alexis Grace and spontaneously put my arm around her while we walked like we were bff’s and told her I was sorry she hadn’t gone farther in Idol because she was a favorite of mine. WTF!! I don’t DO things like that, but it felt totally natural.
So then bought Ryan’s CD and my DC t-shirt. Hey, went to the show and got the t-shirt to prove it, right? Waited with Julie to get Ryan to sign her CD and took a picture for her but decided I didn’t need mine signed or pics cuz the internal jury is still out on him for me and I’m not a celebrity seeker kind of gal.
So finally out to the bus lines which are packed by now and another hour of standing and finally David comes out and all I can see is his adorable backwards blue KC Royals (is that right?) baseball cap and some scruff. I didn’t have high hopes and did not get to meet him (certainly would have got that pic and that signature!!!) but wasn’t the least disappointed because that was never a goal for me. I was ecstatic to learn later that Emma had been able to chat with him and give him the DVD’s she’s made and even have another encounter the next day at Gibson Guitar Factory.
There had been talk of drinks on Beale St. following the show because if anyone needed drinks after the endurance test we went through, it was us, but as it was now after 11 p.m. utter exhaustion set in and our little group said goodbye to each other and set off for our respective hotels.
Next day, I slept in, took a nice shower and had planned to visit the botanical gardens but both numbers were out of service. Believing the universe gives us signs if we’re only open to see them, and given that it had started raining and my feet and ass were incredibly sore I decided to just take this Easter Sunday for me and headed down to the hotel lobby and using the guest computer put a brief recap up on the concert thread, checked my email, then sat down in a comfy chair by a window with a pleasant view and proceeded to write about my impressions and experience, then read a good book while sipping free coffee. Soon enough it was time to head to the airport and I ended up with a wonderful cab driver named Sam who had been a Memphis tour guide and because there was an accident on the most direct route, took me through downtown and along the Mississippi - is it Front St. allowing me to see more of the city than I had hoped for and filling me in on what I was seeing and events. He and I had a really good talk about the economy, politics, Obama and of course the difference in climate between here and Canada. I really think I’d like to go back to that part of the United States. I found the people really open and genuinely friendly.
On my flights home, I found myself at times feeling a little emotional, I guess that it was over, but I’d close my eyes and replay scenes in my mind and took out my digital camera and scrolled through my pictures, glad now that I had taken some and that they were all mine and would forever show that I had had this experience.
Would I go to another show? Absolutely, but the next one will have a seat assigned. That’s easy for me to say now that I’ve seen him from 3 rows back. LOL And I don’t feel a huge pressure to get to another as soon as I can but if he does come to the Pacific/Northwest, I will probably still take that roadtrip because he and that band are that damn good. I am intensely interested to see what their next album will be like. Somehow I think I’m gonna love it because it’s going to rock that much harder and say that much more.
And I think maybe I am a different kind of fan. Now that I’ve seen him win AI, bought the album (several times), watched his progress on YouTube and analyzed every move on DCO, donated to his favorite charities (several times) and culminating in seeing him perform live, I can let it go a little. I do not feel the need to go to many multiple concerts, or not until he has new material anyway. I do not need personal recognition from him, though it would be wonderful to meet him just to say thanks for bringing the music back to my life, but I guess I could just hold up a sign with that on it couldn’t I? (snerk LOL)
I think David Cook is well and truly launched and from here on will be a force to be reckoned with. I can get back to making my own life as rich and rewarding as his is and he will always be a part of it.