Friday night lights & sounds--ESPECIALLY the sounds!

We were supposed to have gone on October 4th, but they postponed it. May 23rd seemed a ways off back then. I thought about it off and on as time went by, even telling my cousin she might have to go with me if Peter couldn't because he was going to be out of town for work. (Sorry you didn't get to go, Ali...well, I'm not sorry I got to go with Peter, but you know what I mean--hopefully.) :) Anyway, as the date got closer, I actually forgot about it. Don't know why I didn't have it written on my calendar. And these days, anything not written down on my 'list' or my calendar seems to slip from my remembrance. (SO FRUSTRATING.) Peter reminded me about it a couple of weeks ago though, and I once again began anticipating. (Don't they say that anticipation is half the fun???) I didn't have much time for that, however; this month has been such a full one for me. I did ask my sister Jeanine in advance if she could watch our kids/have them sleep over, but otherwise I hardly thought about it, let alone...say, listen to their music in preparation. :)

Peter was in Atlanta, so I was crazy-busy doing the single-mom thing. Peter would mention it on the phone or in a text--mostly because his attendance depended solely on whether or not Delta would let him change his flight to an earlier one--and I'd be like, "OHHH...that's right!" I tried to take a nap Friday afternoon since I knew it was going to be a late night and I'd had a late night the night before AND by the end of a week w/o Peter, I'm pooped out...but it wasn't very restful. Think the anticipation was rising. I must've actually dozed off because next thing I knew, it was time to rush around and get the kids and myself ready. Off we went up the road, extremely grateful that the insane traffic was heading the opposite direction. I dropped off the kids and then again headed up the road. Though I was driving along in a haze of hunger, I noticed there was amazing 'cloud work' in the sky...and unfortunately, there were the typical "idiot drivers" you find here. One of THE WORST of them came unbelievably close to side-swiping Peter's beloved FJ...freaked me out; good thing I was able to safely swerve into the next lane, though I had to swerve so hard I burned rubber. My heart was still racing about 5 miles later when I arrived at the airport. But alas, my utter distaste for the general driving habits here in this state will perhaps have to be expounded upon in another post. :) I'm here now to tell you about The Cure.

...Peter's flight was late and I thought I was going to pass out I was so hungry. Finally, he arrived & jumped into the FJ as I only braked for a second or two. At that point, I don't know if I was more excited to eat or to have the concert begin. Wait a minute, I do know...eat, definitely. :) I wanted to go to a restaurant, but Peter didn't think we had time, so we headed on over to the concert hall :)...again, encountering idiots as we pulled into the parking lot. We began an intriguing session of people-watching as we went inside. (Examples, you ask? Hmmm...a guy with the biggest gauges in his ears, a woman with full-on "goth" make-up and attire--including the black & white striped tights :), a baby about 3 months old in a Cure onesie and the oldest woman we've ever seen at a concert with a bag of popcorn in tow, no less...) After deliberating over my food choices (and practically fainting in the process), I decided on a burrito that was lukewarm (thus onset the rage; I want my food hot!) on a plate that Peter had to hold, acting as my table. I wasn't ready to go in yet--the opening band (instrumental; their name is 65 Days of Static) was SO LOUD (though quite enjoyable) and I figured I wanted to "save up" for the loudness of The Cure. After I ate (Peter had eaten on the plane since he was upgraded to 1st class), we wandered around before finding our seats. And might I just interject here...to the 48-ish old woman: know when to say when, K? Maybe Robert Smith can pull off the goth-like look at 50, but you cannot, I'm afraid.

...Anyway, we had seats on the floor (my first time) and finally, after waiting for what felt like ages, the concert began! YAY!!! All I can say is...AWESOME. Goosebumps, grinning from ear to ear, yelling for joy...after being a fan of the band for so many years, I was finally in their audience. (Peter saw them before 16 years ago.) It was SO, SO, SO, SO COOL!! They played for 3 HOURS. They came back on stage three times. There was an interesting "rock" edge to the way they played; an enjoyable twist. And Robert Smith played guitar. Did I already say cool? (Peter's never seen him play before, and though I knew no different, it was still amazing talent.) It was such a rush! And though I left with tired feet (we stood almost the entire time, on my tippy-toes here and there) and a sore neck (I had to crane my neck this way and that way to keep my clear view of Robert Smith & company, dodging the dancing girl in front of me and the taller ones in the many rows in front of us), I left content. What a blast, and I got to share it with Peter who's been a major Cure fan for 23 years. WOW. Awesome......!!

Here's a poor-quality picture I took with my cell phone. If you look closely, you can see Robert Smith in the middle, Porl Thompson on the left and Simon Gallup on the right with their new drummer just behind and slightly to the left of Robert.

Peter took this one with his phone...