Jonesing for a concert

I am in severe need of a concert.  There are not many places I'd rather be than in the middle of a large venue, or better still, a small, intimate one, surrounded by rabid fans like myself, experiencing the magic of live music.  It transports me to a place like no other--free from worries, schedules, commitments.

Some people don't *get* the live music experience, my husband being one of them.  But I appreciate the relative intimacy of being in the same room with the very people that bring me the music that is the soundtrack of my day, as I jam out in my car, around the house with the stereo, or around the yard with my iPod.  The very people whose minds dreamt up the lyrics, the chords, the melodies, now stand before me creating their art.  It's a beautiful thing.

I still remember my first concert, in October 1987.  I was a freshman in high school, and my best friend invited me to go with her and 2 of her friends, and all parents were reassured that one parent would be accompanying us.  We were taken to the Rosemont Horizon (which has now been changed to the Allstate Arena, like all the other venues that have changed monikers to reflect Big Corporation) to see...Def Leppard.  Yes, it's true we did not witness history the way those who were fortunate enough to experience Woodstock or The Beatles, but it was my first taste of the live music experience, and I was so sold.

I went on to see an eclectic number of concerts: Aerosmith, Duran Duran (twice), Live, Genesis, U2, Sarah McLachlan and Lilith Fair, Ringo Starr and the All-Star Band, John Mayer, Counting Crows, Barenaked Ladies, Howie Day(three times), Maroon 5, Nelson, Michael Bolton (seriously!), The Monkees, minus Michael Nesmith, The Judds, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Clint Black, Keiko Matsui, Extreme with Warrant and David Lee Roth, Van Halen with Sammy Hagar, Jimmy Buffett (at least 5 times), Alanis Morissette, The Beach Boys (with maybe 1 original member), Scorpions with Dio & Deep Purple, Run DMC,  Joss Stone, Toby Lightman, Gavin DeGraw, Weird Al Yankovic, Ramsey Lewis, and then 1999 marked the beginning of my love affair with the Dave Matthews Band, when a friend invited me to see them at Soldier Field.  I've gone on to see them 8 more times.

At a live show, you can feel the music resonate within you.  There is a sense of cameraderie among fans, a common thread that binds us all.  The music is experienced in a way that is not possible by merely listening to a CD or the radio.  The experience is fleeting and begs for more.

It's overdue--I need to feel the music!