I've been tardy in following up on the concert.
I'll just start by saying it was a mind-blowing show.
The band was WONDERFUL — first off, they ROCKED THE HOUSE for over TWO HOURS that night, and played
TONS of material — some of which I honestly never thought I'd hear them play live — including "Man in the Wilderness"
from their 1977 release, The Grand Illusion.
Kiddo got to hear all KINDS of music that she's heard me hack to death on my guitar in the basement; now
here we were, hearing it and watching it get played LIVE from 30 feet away — but thanks to some very special people,
she got to see part of it (like in the image above) from ONE FOOT AWAY.
We were seated in the second row. First row fans were able to go up to the stage, and nearly all did —
which basically left us front row seating and gorgeous unobstructed views of the band that captured my heart
when I was kiddo's age.
The best part wasn't even two hours of classic rock bliss.
We met a pair of ladies seated in front of us — they'd each seen the band play well over 100 times, and
have gotten to know the show and the crew fairly well. One of the pair took a real shine to kiddo, and
our brief liaison was very richly rewarded. At the intermission, I was instructed to send kiddo up to them
at the encore.
Those beautuful people made certain my little girl was showered with guitar picks and even the
actual set list from the stage. PLUS, she got to meet the band at the front of the stage at the close of the
show and was given some VERY, VERY kind words from Tommy, Ricky, and JY. Ricky approached her and pulled her
ballcap up so he could see her face; Tommy told her that he saw her rocking out and they absolutely loved it.
I simply cannot recount all of the love the band and the "super fans" showed her.
And kiddo was completely overwhelmed by the entire experience — she was so quiet through the show, I was afraid something was wrong;
turned out she was just so blown away and so happy that she couldn't quite process it all! Here I am writing about it a month and a half later and I STILL have tears in my eyes.
Apart from the enormous generosity to kiddo, my favorite part of the evening was Tommy hearing me sing
"Man in the Wilderness" from 30 feet away. And I know he heard it, because Tommy told kiddo that he had
at the close of the show.
Thank you, thank you, a million times thank you to the band for giving me so many more amazing memories
to enjoy as I listen — as we listen — to your timeless music!
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