| GBS in DC 2006 |
| April 28, 2006
Well, Columbine had arrived on Thursday night but didn’t want to share the joy of my 5th graders, so Vic actually put her to work! Can you believe it??? He had to teach an all-day class for the Coast Guard on Saturday and couldn’t go to the Lisner Auditorium in DC on the George Washington University campus. Columbine was a good sport and pitched in, making/copying data discs so the students would have the proper materials. Vic said afterwards, that the students really appreciated the discs. Thanks, Columbine! I hightailed it out of school as soon as the dismissal bell sounded. That is unusual for me, as my normal time to depart for home is closer to 5:00 -5:30 PM. My principal stopped me as I went past the office. “Wow! You’re rushing out of here! Must be for Great Big Sea! Where are you off to?” LOL! Well, what can I say? Every one in school knows of my band obsession, and has since 1997. I make no apologies. I’ve been able to use GBS songs in Language arts, Music, Art and Social Studies classes, so no one should complain. Originally, I wasn’t going to DC. I don’t enjoy General Admission shows there because of two really nasty experiences with Canadian fans who pushed, stomped and told me and my family that we had no business being in front because we weren’t Canadians. They said only Canadians deserved to be in the front. The last time I was at a GA show for GBS in DC, I felt like my life was in danger as the crowd behind us pushed, shoved and crushed the people in front. I was in danger of losing my footing and became concerned that I would fall and be trampled. So I pushed my way out of the crowd, over to the edge of the room stage Darrell and watched the show from there. A friend joined me for the same reason about 30 minutes later. And when I got home, I found two emails from friends who had been up in the balcony and got concerned when the crowd pushed forward en masse. I vowed never to go to another GA show in DC. But once I was assured that there were assigned seats, I was stoked! Guess what? I forgot about the sale day for the GBS fans on the GBS site. By the time I remembered, they were completely sold out. SO I waited for Ticketmaster to put them on sale and didn’t do too badly. I was all the way over stage Bob in the FRONT ROW!!!!!!!!!! Of course this is right in front of the speakers…When I found out Columbine wanted to go, I managed to score another ticket in the center area about halfway back. Not too shabby. I was THIS close! |
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| I met Vic and Columbine off an exit of I-95 and off we went! The map program said, 2 hours 41 minutes. Yeah right! I know better! I was concerned that we were going to make it on time. Every other time, I’d been to DC it’s taken a MINIMUM of 3 hours. This was a Friday night, historically the worst driving night. I crossed my fingers, said my prayers and drove like heck.
Several traffic jams and hours later, we arrived in DC without incident. Columbine was a good navigator, even thru the extremely confusing streets of DC, which change names and locations at the drop of a hat. I got parking a couple blocks away and we made it to the venue with about 15 minutes to spare. Whew! Kestrel and Colleen’s friend met us outside. I was dismayed to hear that Jane in Virginia didn’t contact Colleen about the tickets. I had spoken with her on the phone about them the previous weekend. I hope Colleen wasn’t too pissed off at me. I really tried to give all the info I could to Jane. Turns out, Kes had bought her Dad a late ticket and ended up a couple rows back from me. No one searched my pocketbook for the camera going in and I was excited to be able to take photos. In NYC, even though I was in the second row, it was way too close for me to think about photos. I didn’t feel that way tonight. Perhaps the allure was Bob – he was only about 6 feet in front of me. I found my seat and the theatre went dark, very dark. Strains of Great Big Sea Hove in Long Beach startled me even though I expected it – the speakers were, um, loud. But I didn’t let it bother me as the b’ys strolled out, Alan in the lead. Kris came over, tapped Bob on the shoulder and shook his hand as if introducing himself. Captain Kidd exploded thru the speakers and one of the best GBS shows I have seen began. As Alan pounded the guitar, smoke POURED out of the machines, making a surreal scene. Sean ended up with a great bodhran solo. It must have been something as I made a big note of it in my little book! |
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| Donkey Riding was as fun as it always is, causing the center and Bob side of the audience to jump to its collective feet. The people on the Murray side sat blithely in their seats. I think I saw Lynda over there, but I guess the people behind her didn’t want to stand up, cause I didn’t see her bouncing around with the rest of us. |
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