Or: Guitars, Musikfest, David Cook, and Why I Have the Best DH EVER

Part I, or The Backstory
Man, where to start. My one and only DC concert was in March -- the Newburgh, NY concert. DH had attempted to surprise me, but kept leaving clues all over the place, and so of course I found out but was nice about it and tried not to let on. It was great, but, well -- I didn't expect another concert. I got one, and figured DH might think it was silly to go see the same artist a second time in the very same tour. And if I go, I want to go with him, and since we have young kids, that's not so easy for us to do. And so...

A few weeks ago my DH decided that it was due time we took a short vacation Away From the Kids, as it had been over a year, and I suspect I was looking like I needed one (I certainly felt that way). So he told me to pack for hot weather, and refused to tell me anything about where we were going. He did leave a window open on the computer for an amusement park in PA, though, and roller-coaster nut that I am, I got all excited -- not realizing that this was actually all part of the master plan to fool me.

My wonderful, wonderful MIL & SIL came on Sunday to watch the kids for the next couple of days, and off we went. Once we got out of NJ and started losing signals from the local radio stations, I started fiddling with the dial to find something we wanted to listen to in PA. All the stations kept mentioning Muskfest, which sounded vaguely familiar, but I didn't know why and didn't think too much about it. (I later found out that DH had his finger poised on the mute button every time, just in case the ads mentioned DC. Fortunately for him, they didn't as he wasn't on that night.)

We drove into Bethlehem, and the Musikfest signs were EVERYWHERE. And still not knowing what DH had planned, I started thinking, forget the roller coasters, I want to go to THIS. And still he said nothing. So we got to the hotel, crashed, and I enjoyed myself sleeping in the next morning and not having to wake up at or before the crack of Mommy-I-Woke-Up. By then, DH said that although he had some things scheduled for the evening, daytime activities were up to me, so of course I said I wanted to go to Musikfest, and being the resourceful guy he is, he gave me a printed listing of all the acts lined up for the next couple of days -- coincidentally with the tops torn off, because that's where the headliners were listed.

Have I mentioned that I am oblivious? I am. He was counting on it.

We heard some good stuff -- some folk, a little jazz which reminded me why I could never get into jazz, and finally a few rock acts towards the end of the day. There was this local whiny emo band called Sandlot Heroes. They weren't bad, but their banter was so lame I really hope it was on purpose (seriously -- they were like, "This song is called History. It's about a relationship that's...history" and "This song is about life and death" -- and I don't think they were being ironic). But my 21yo SIL, who was watching our kids at home, is actually really into that kind of sound, so we spur-of-the-moment cellcasted it for her .

And then, DH said it was time to go to what he had planned for the evening. He said it was some kind of Cirque-du-Soleil type show that he thought would be kind of cool. So I said fine, and we headed to the bridge where the exit was, I thought. But there was this huge line there. So there I am, standing at the back of it, and DH looks all confused, and goes off to "check what's going on" and some woman behind me asks if this was the line for the David Cook concert, and I flip out.

So, finally, DH has succeeded in surprising me with a DC concert. And it was awesome.

(Actually, DH was kind of annoyed at that woman, because he wanted to see if he could get me past the merch stand and into the venue without me noticing until GRO came on. Honestly? He probably could have. )

Our seats were Row H in section 7, well past the VIPs, so we were pretty far back. Thank goodness for the jumbotron, and that the sound system was actually pretty good. We were far enough from the trains that we weren't affected by them. I felt bad for GRO, though, because although it seems that the front of the crowd was getting into them, based on the recaps I've read from people who were sitting further up than I was, I thought they were having trouble engaging people in the back. They're still a little, well, green. But they had some good songs, and I enjoyed myself.

And then.... the concert.

Part II, or The First Time I've Squeed Like A Fangirl in Front of DH in 11 Years

Before the concert, I mentioned that there were 3 songs I really wanted to hear. DH and I had this whole conversation where I was explaining that the setlists have been changing every night, well, almost, because of the new bass player, and there were some songs I was dying to hear live, and they've been changing some of the arrangements. So my wishlist, which I was not really expecting to get, was DIYA (come on, Dave, you had to play LL *that night*?), Souvenir (yes, even though I apparently only like the acoustic version, the audio on some of the later performances makes me think he *may* have been tweaking the arrangement, but then I thought I was just hearing things, so I wanted to actually hear it live to finally make up my mind), and Lie.

I'm also going to preface this by explaining that, for those of you who haven't gathered as much from my posts: I am a reserved person. I just don't do squee, at least in public. I may think it, believe me, or even type it -- but I don't like to call attention to myself. And sure, I'll clap, and stand up, and move around, and sing along, and wave for the woah-woahs. But I don't usually, say, scream because of something I see on stage. It's just not me.

Also, this was not my first concert. My first was at Newburgh, and I had a great time, and sang along with every song (except Anodyne, 'cause it was new then). But I did not squee. The last time I can remember doing that was, sad to say, before going to see Kenneth Branagh's full-length Hamlet when it came out, and I was in college and dating DH. At the time, he (DH) thought it was kind of funny. (And now I've outed myself as a total geek. )

That said, keep it in mind as I recount to you my concert experience.

KOTN started, and everyone was on their feet. And it was awesome. And then he threw in HC and, well, I screamed.

I was NOT expecting that. And, seriously, cool as it is -- YT does not do it justice. It was amazing, and unexpected, and it just *worked*. And I flipped out, and DH laughed at me.

Mr. S. is also something I liked even better the 2nd time around. Another song I just can't get behind on the recording, or even the YT videos, although they're definitely an improvement, but live -- they've gotten really tight, and it's fantastic.

Then Honest came on, and I was like, "make that four songs I wanted to hear." I just flove that song. And believe it or not, with all my music-nerdiness -- it's because of the lyrics. The bridge is just poetic perfection, and that high note is unreal. And I think I can forgive not hearing Souvenir since I got to hear that.

Heroes was great, as usual, and I think the crowd got into it, too -- there was a lot of singing along that I could hear, although not in my immediate vicinity.

I think this is the point where he mentioned the Idol cover, and had the guitar issues. I got all excited, speculating what it could be, because he's rarely mentioned TWIK in reference to Idol -- usually it's at the beginning of setlists, where there's no banter -- and he *has* played BJ & ABMB recently enough that they were possible, although unlikely. But, oh well, we had to wait.

Lie -- I'm going to wait until the end to write about it. It's that special. So sorry, you're going to have to keep reading this extremely long recap or just skip to the end.

BBS was great, as usual. As was SA. I actually noticed that they have been playing with that song a little -- they go up a third in part of the intro and it's a little different than the recording. Cool stuff.

LL was also fun, but, well, there went my hope of hearing DIYA. Darn it. Declaration was great, and the crowd really really got into it, (RCA, are you listening? *cough*nextsingleplease*cough*) CBTM was also great, and the crowd cheered and recognized it and sang along in parts.

And then, the break before the encore. DH was wondering if this was the intermission, and I had to sadly inform him that the concert was almost done, and we could probably expect 2 or rather 3 more songs -- if DC honored his Idol cover promise -- and that's it. Seriously, it went by so fast.

TWIK came on, and I think I screamed. Again. And this is how DH was able to determine that I was probably the only die-hard fan in our section of the audience, because he said I got excited upon hearing the first notes of the song, and everyone else started cheering only after he started singing. (lol) And seriously, I just love that song even more every time I hear it. It's just so, so beautiful.

Then came LO, and the crowd all sang along. And, of course, ditto for ADAM, and this was the second time tonight (you'll see what the first was shortly) where I was actually really happy about having seats so far back. Because seeing the crowd waving their arms in front of me like that was absolutely incredible.

Anyway -- the audience loved him. Start to finish, it was a great concert, the energy was high throughout, and everyone left happy. It was so heartening to hear that, at least in the front seats, there were a lot of guys. I think the ratio has in fact improved since the last concert I attended, but where I was, it was mostly families and women who looked like they were in their 40s or 50s. So I kind of felt young, given that I'm just a month shy of my 32nd birthday (for which this concert was apparently a present, I was told later). I really hope that one day I will actually be the average age of a DC-concert-goer, and that the crowd will balance out between 20- and 40-year-olds, but it sounds like things are heading that way, at least in the more expensive seats.

After the concert, we headed out, picked up a GRO CD, and had no expectation of either seeing or meeting DC. I've never thought DH was one who'd want to wait out by the buses to see if he'd come out, but apparently he keeps surprising me. (And he made a point that we did, in fact, actually do that one time after a concert, for someone else, and that was also a surprise at the time. You'd think I'd learn by now.) But.... the buses were parked on the other side of the fence from the way out. And people were gathering already. So I asked if we could stick around and see if he'd come out. "Why?" "I don't know, to get an autograph?" "What do you want with an autograph?" "To say thanks for a great show, then." "I think he's figured out that people liked the show already." "Please?" "The security guards are saying he's not coming out." "They've been known to lie." But.... DH was sweet, and didn't mind staying, since it really wasn't that late. We
were probably about 5 rows back, and I don't think I actually saw any shoving, but it was this mass force of people -- well, women -- that was making the fence wobble so much I was afraid it was going to come down. Still, DC came out, walked Dublin, and waved. And then security tried again to get us to disperse, and after DC did not emerge from the buses after 2 minutes, we went. What's nice, though, is knowing that DH is not averse to ever sticking around again. Or going to another DC concert, after he saw how well the surprise worked and how happy I was. But he did say no to the Nokia in NY this week (I had to ask). Boo.

Part III, or DC Really Does = 42
The next day, we went over to the Martin Guitar factory, and it was very, very cool. I walked through the museum and drooled over the pretty guitars, and did the factory tour, which would have been more interesting if I actually played guitar and understood more about how they're built, but it was still fun. And truthfully, what I liked the best was that, in the back of the lobby, they have a bunch of instruments that anyone can just sit & play. As I said, I don't really know how, but I know that the lowest & highest strings are E's and have enough of an ear that I could figure out how to play a chord after 10 minutes of mental math. So I figured out the G chord, and the C -- and that's when I realized that I could totally play the opening riff to Billie Jean. Which was just kind of awesome (and surprisingly easy). I also figured out the opening riff to Lie, as it was stuck in my head (you'll see why, soon, I promise), and was going to try to figure out an F chord, so I could actually play something, but then it was time for the tour, and then we had to go. But it was fun. And now I wish I could afford one of those gorgeous $4000 guitars. *grumbles*

Anyway, the rest of the day was spent at Musikfest again, where we heard a Talking Heads cover band and then -- surprise -- headed over to hear Matt Nathanson & Third Eye Blind. Everything you've heard about MN is true -- he's fantastic, and hilarious, and a total flirt and then some. DH and I really had fun watching him, and were totally cracking up at his banter. There were a lot of college-age girls in the audience who were clearly big fans, singing along with every song. I really think he's good enough to headline at this point, once he gets enough fans to fill a largish venue.

Third Eye Blind was interesting, because while the band was tight, I don't think the front man was that fantastic, especially in comparison with DC & MN. And their material was really uneven -- some of it was really really hard rock, some was the upbeat stuff we're all familiar with from a few years ago that the crowd ate up, and some was new material that wasn't that great. The crowd actually booed at one point when it was announced they were going to sing a new song. But here's why I'm bringing this up. DC is, I believe, a better performer. He's got better stage presence, he's more personable, and his setlist is just constant high-energy, even with the ballads. There's no unevenness to it, even when he has guitar problems and has to cover. And his band is on its way to being as tight as TEB, no question. But here I was, sitting at the MN/TEB concert, and I felt old. Half the audience was guys, half girls, and mostly none over the age of 25, although obviously there were a few exceptions. An it really, really hit me what DC had been trying to achieve with the college tour. It was this. And while I don't begrudge him the fans he has, I truly hope that he manages to double his audience soon, and get all the people who were at the TEB concert to come to his shows as well. (And btw, for those who were curious -- TEB's set was also only about 75 minutes.)

Anyway, rant aside, we had fun, went to hear another local band, Parkwright, to close Muskfest (for us, at least), got their CD, too, since they were also pretty good, and went back to the hotel. And thus ends the trip. Except for....

Part IV, or Holy Crap
OK. I left out Lie on purpose, because that performance is, beyond everything else that I've done for the last 2 days, the absolute highlight of the trip.

I knew, going in, that he would probably sing it.
I knew about the a cappella.
I've seen & heard the latest YT videos.

So, although I was looking forward to it, what I witnessed in those 5 minutes was something I've never seen, heard, nor felt at any concert before.

YT does not do this man justice. MP3's don't do him justice. Nothing does him, or this song, justice other than sitting in an audience and watching it performed live.

DC talks about things being ethereal, and we laugh about his malapropisms. But that performance was ethereal. His voice just floated over the crowd. He sang the song a cappella in two places, the first time away from the mic, the second not. And after that first time, all that I, truly another word nerd, could say, was:
"Holy crap."

As much as I'd love to be closer to the stage next time, and not have to depend on the Jumbotron -- I'm actually glad I was so far back. Hearing that voice resonate so well over such a large distance was just beyond belief. And it was. just. perfect.

I've written my little blurb here about why I'm a fan, but really -- this performance, of Lie -- that's really why. Because I may think I know what to expect from this man. But then he comes out with something so brilliant, whose sheer audacity leaves me floored, and speechless, and just flabbergasted. And it's been 2 days, and I still can't quite find the words to describe what that performance was like for me. But it was perfect, and beautiful, and I hope I remember it forever.

And that's why I'm a fan. Because he can do THAT.

The End. (For real )