Horvath Happenings: A Week of Music

This past weekend and week, we attended two separate concerts in two separate states with two separate couples (each equally awesome.) While its not unusual for Gabe and I to attend several Dave Matthews Band shows a year, it is unusual for us to attend 2 concerts in the same week. And these weren't just two DMB shows...our second venture was to see The Grateful Dead, touring for the first time since Jerry died. But, first things first.

Last Saturday, we packed up the jeep, dropped off the kid, and set south on 81. Destination: Charlottesville, VA...hometown to DMB and about 5 hours away. Fun part? Kellie was driving with us, making a pit stop in C-ville for the concert on her way to the Outer Banks for the rest of her rotations. There's something about roadtrips...driving fast, music, sunglasses...and of course beautiful weather and a great destination make it all the better.

We arrived to a beauteous and blooming Charlottesville, Virgina....full of pink and green trees and the first REALLY warm temps of the season. Shawn met us (coming from OBX) and we checked into our hotel--which I must say, is one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. As the day unfolded, several things should be noted...

* It was UNBELIEVABLY beautiful out. Sunny, 70's, very mild breeze...any warmer and it woud have been hot. It was just perfect. Our tickets were 3rd row, and we'd splurged $17 for reserved parking, which put us in the closest lot with ample grassy areas to set up tailgating. 3 portapotties were a stone's throw away...sweet.

* The lot experience was one of the best we've ever had. Easy in, easy out. No obnoxious cops. Plenty of room. Close to the venue (I've been places where its a half-hour walk just to get inside).

* Our neighbors were a mom and her 20-something daughters who were very cool. They were JMU graduates (as is Kel) and spend a lot of time in the OBX. By the end of the afternoon we knew all about both of her daughters, and she was well aware of the general specifics of our lives, including (but not limited to) the renovation of my parents' kitchen, Kellie's desire to have 5 children, and our mom's disdain for window air conditioning units.

* Its possible some people (*ahem* Kellie *ahem*) had too much to drink. Its hard to understand this, but for someone who's been a college student for the last 10 years, her tolerance level is like, negative. I won't go into all the details, but the quote of the night was "WHAT? Just because I want to lay in the grass on a warm summer's night doesn't mean I'm drunk!!"

* Back at the hotel, we "partied" some more (read: ate about 5 pounds of food a piece and polished off a few beers). Both hotel rooms had 2 double beds, and we joked that we each could sleep in our own bed. In actuality...Gabe and I totally slept in our own, soft, white, lovely hotel beds. Kellie and Shawn did not. (Guess who's the old married couple??)

All in all, it was a great weekend, one of the best I've had in a long time. Sure, the drive back sucked, and saying good-bye to Kellie for practically EVER sucked, but it was worth it.

Enjoying a beverage (or 20) before the show...

Now onto yesterday. Our friends Ray and Nancy made the trek north to our house, and we all piled into their kick ass mini-van to head to the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre...just a mere 20 miles from our house!! Excitement and anxiety was abound...there were warnings that "no tailgating" would be allowed...what did this mean?? We decided to forgo bringing a grill, but rationalized that there was no way they could enforce no tailgating. We arrived about a half hour before the lot opened, and it was already quite the spectacle. People, young and old (really...OLD) milling about the highway in tie-dyes and hippie dresses, walking dogs and strutting up and down the lanes of cars looking for "extras" (tickets for sale) or "miracles" (tickets for free.)

We were finally able to park, and once again the reserved parking got us a sweet spot. We set up our party area, cracked open the red bull and vodka (Woodchick hard apple cider for those of us who are gluten free!!) and began to celebrate. For Gabe, this was an epic night in a way...his first time seeing the Dead since Jerry died, reliving his youth, and hearing the music that is probably the most influential to him.

For me, as much as I don't really care for their music (its great...I'm just not over the moon about it) I'm definitly glad that I can say I have had the experience of attending a Grateful Dead concert. I generally love concerts and big events because of the energy that seems to pulsate through a group of people having fun and looking forward to an anticipated event. This was no exception...I'm not even really sure how to paint the picture but I'll try...

* The attendees could be classified into 3 groups. Group one is the old hippies (by old, I mean like, 65) dressed in tie-dyes with dread locks down to their knees and the hard look of a life of doing drugs and dreaming of Jerry in their faces. Group two is the new hippies...the people who were probably in diapers when Jerry died. Group three is the people like Gabe, who eventually acquired respectable jobs, cut their hair, bought a house and had 2.5 kids. You can tell they're excited to be there, but they aren't going to be dropping acid and huffing nitrous from balloons in their barefeet after the show...

* I/we talked to a LOT of people yesterday. I remember none of their names...just faces, some random dude who popped into our picture-taking extravaganza, some guy that borrowed our knife to cut his pan of brownies (no joke.) A guy who told me he lived in a "group" with all his friends and they all like, grooved all the time. I do remember asking him if they had jobs, and then, if they had dogs. Or, the older couple who was in line in front of us for the bathroom with their ancient dog just chilling next to them. The couple in front of us in the show...the guy was obviously ROCKING out and so excited...meanwhile his wife sat there with some pretty pissed body language. (I mean...why even come if you're just going to sit there pouting?) Or the 2 guys in front of us who continuously smoked pot all. night. long. I think its safe to say everyone with in a 4-person radius of him got a free buzz from all the second-hand smoke. Finally, the two guys behind us...both pretty young "hippies"...who were pretty much unconscious for the entire show. Of course, they were sitting, open-mouthed, facing forward...but asleep. I can only imagine they must have taken all their drugs too soon...

Overall assessment of the day/night...I'll give it an A. I didn't care for the show that much (sorry Gabe!!!)...but like I said, music is music, and I do like crowds, people, dancing, happiness. Ray and Nancy are spectacular companions, and we had a great time with them as well.