First concert in over a year

We worked our first concert in over a year this past Friday night. It was quite the event - on so many levels!

The wife and I usually take 'Gold Circle' tickets (VIP seating) at C2G Music Hall (now the Baker Street Centre). That means we scan tickets, put on wrist bands, and sometimes escort people to the designated area. In other words, we rub shoulders (literally) with a lot of people. We did again on this night.

We wondered beforehand how they would handle things. It's been a crazy year, and the CDC just came out and said vaccinated people don't need masks. Still...

I was not prepared for NO SOCIAL DISTANCING OR MASK GUIDELINES AT ALL! There were about 80 Gold Circle, plus over 200 General Admission tickets sold. So 300 people packed into an indoor concert venue, and most of us feeling like teenagers on our first Spring Break! Oof. I was so far outside my comfort zone I was almost lost! But... I survived (at least so far). I just tried not to think about it.

I actually started out wearing my mask, even though only one other staff person was. Eventually it got too hectic, and just seemed pointless, so even I went free and clear.

Anyway, someone said it had been 15 months since the last concert, though none of us could remember who it was. And I would say everyone was pretty darn excited to be out and about again! Sometimes it almost felt like we were doing something we weren't supposed to do. And maybe we were.

It was also good to see friends we hadn't seen in over a year. A couple of people had lost spouses in that time. We have probably all changed in various ways and degrees. But it was a slice of normalcy, and hopefully won't be the last. Plus, the band was fantastic!!

Pink Droyd is a local band, and as you may have guessed, a Pink Floyd tribute band. We've seen them several times. On this night they played the Animals album in its entirety, plus another hour or so more. I think they were as happy to be playing live again as the rest of us were to be listening again! They have a great light show, and sound pretty darn close to the original. I even heard the bass player (?) flew in from California just for this show!

So, I'm trying to not think about "super spreader" possibilities and such. We were all adults, hopefully most of us have been fully vaccinated, and it was a fun night. It didn't hurt that it was also our 38th wedding anniversary!

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"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him..." - Nahum 1:7