Dear Friends,
I’m getting used to the idea that writing a daily blog is often a daunting task. Some days I feel like I don’t have anything to say, but I am now conditioned to feel like that is just a bunch of bullshit. We all have a ton to say on a daily basis. Most of it just stays in our heads.
I’ve been giving this statistic to students for a few years now: on average, people have about 70,000 thoughts per day. That’s a metric shit ton of thoughts. Our brains have a running dialogue going all the time, so how hard is it to write down a few of them? Hard, easy, difficult, breezy…those are just more words and more thoughts.
I spent a fair amount of yesterday reveling in the beauty that was the Cure show on Thursday night. It was cool to see people that I am connected to on social media share their own pictures and thoughts about the show, as well as get comments from people who have had similar experiences but couldn’t be there on Thursday for one reason or another.
I was so tired yesterday that I didn’t really get into the meat and potatoes of the show.
Previously, I had never gone out of my way to see the Cure. I think the first chance I had in 87, I didn’t have the disposable cash to pull it off, so I just went out to Mesa Amphitheater and sat outside. I don’t have much of a recollection of that evening other than being there for a while and also thinking it was super mellow.
Other times they have been a possibility, I just didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did last night. I admit wholeheartedly now that I was wrong. If they come around again, I will definitely do my best to get to see them. The show was worth every penny and thanks to Robert Smith, those pennies weren’t too huge in number.
Teresa and I found a place to park in the neighborhood just east of the venue and it was a fairly short walk to get to the place. We met a nice mom/daughter combo who were walking, too, and we chatted about our expectations and such. They were pleasant and friendly, and it was a good indication that it was going to be a nice night. In fact, the mood of the crowd and in the building as a whole was superb. The kind of vibe you can recharge your faith in humanity a bit with on a rainy May night.
The lines for merch were ridiculous, though, so we went inside and found our seats. Again, I was stoked on what we ended up with for a view of the stage. We were just in time to catch the opening song from The Twilight Sad.
I was familiar with the band’s name and had read a few comments in the days prior to the show that were very positive about The Twilight Sad, so I was excited to see and hear them. Unfortunately, there was no “seeing” the band. The lighting was done in such a way that we could not really see them at all from our vantage point, which was straight back from the sound board.
Sonically, the band was good and had a lot of interesting moments. I did struggle a bit with the singer’s voice and Teresa and I agreed that he was not our cup of tea. There is a certain tone that some of the UK-based singers get that I just don’t care for and the guy from The Twilight Sad had that tone. He reminded me a bit of the guy from Pet Shop Boys and I strongly dislike them.
The anticipation in the room was palpable for the half hour between sets, but when the Cure came on, the place went nuts. The first set was killer and I was beyond stoked to hear (and see) “Three Imaginary Boys” and “A Forest,” for sure, but they also played three new songs that were great amid about 15 tracks of one great song after another.
There was zero lag time in the 29 songs they played. Every song entertained me and the 2:45 concert seemed like a blink of an eye. This is not just hyperbole, either. They were that good. It’s so fun to see great music played so well. Yesterday, I listened to some later Cure I was not as familiar with and kind of kicked myself in the ass a bit for not paying more attention over the last 20 years or more.
*****
We had field day yesterday and my students had a blast. I had a great day, too. It was fun having fun with them, too. I did not plan very well, though, and spent the majority of the day drying out. The kids got me very wet and a few of the parents who came and volunteered were egging them on in getting me soaked. I threatened to pay everyone back with a lower grade, but those threats fell on deaf ears.
It was a fitting way to launch the end of the year and we had a great day. I got to end it, as well, by meeting with my assistant principal to go over my evaluation and that was super positive. I was appreciative of her feedback and have enjoyed working with her a lot. I shared with her how nice it is to work in a drama free environment and I think she almost cried. This is what a good boss strives for, I think.
*****
It’s creeping in more and more, too, about how much sports talk radio was driving my sports angst. I’m not sure, after a week, if I will ever go back to listening to it. I can get all the sports news on the phone by reading about what is going on and not hearing people talk incessantly about who is going to do what and all that other noise.
Now it is time to be taxi dad and run a few errands before a jam session this afternoon with our parlor punk project.
See you tomorrow.
It was prettier to my naked eyes...this was between the first set and first encore.
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