Post Train Concert Blues

Yes, I've been feeling sorry for myself. Well, not really, but kind of. (I know, don't you love how I never make sense but yet I do?) The Train concert was such a thrill - it couldn't have been a better show! Well, it could have, if it was in the summer and the weather was hotter and the two little B's were there with us to experience it all, and I got to come on stage and have them sing Superman to me or some other awesome song. But other than THAT, it was perfect! Brady and I had the time time of our lives and enjoyed every single second. So what is there to be blue about, you wonder?
Well, for one thing, I think it is like Christmas or anything else you've been looking forward to - you wait and wait and wait and have so much anticipation and excitement, and then it is over, and you're left with the aftermath. You're left with "the end," which is always a little bittersweet. It's like the end of a book you can't put down because it is so good. Or like a listening to a new CD for the first time, and you make through all the songs and then you feel this slight sadness because there aren't any new ones and you know you'll have to wait another couple of years for more. Or the end of a great movie, or an awesome football season. You see what I'm saying? The "letdown" of an experience I waited for for years, truth be told.
I actually had FRONT ROW tickets to see Train a couple of years ago in Seattle with my Nicoley. We were so excited! But the timing wasn't good, and it just didn't feel right, and as the time for the concert got closer, I realized I needed to sell my tickets, which Nicoley graciously agreed with. It was heartbreaking to let go of such an important opportunity, but as soon as I did, my anxiety about it went away. I promised myself I would see them someday...
Fast forward to last week, September 2012, and I was able to realize one of my dreams. And it was worth the wait in so many ways! One, the fact that Brady was there with me was incredibly special. It was the first Date Night we've had in over a year. Two, it was in our own town, Eugene, and the Cuthbert was an amazing stage and venue. Three, our little B's were so happy for us to go, and didn't display even an ounce of jealousy over the fact that they didn't get to see Train. Four, we met some really nice people in the VIP Meet and Greet area, which not only helped to pass the time waiting, but helped to pass the time pleasantly.
The fly in the ointment (a phrase I steal from my mother-in-law) was the Meet and Greet itself. After standing and waiting at the gate for over two hours, we were led in and then told Pat Monahan wasn't feeling well. And let me tell you, when he walked out with Scott and Jimmy, it was obvious he really wasn't himself. He looked worn out and absolutely beat. And Brady and I felt sorry for him, because there he was, still trying to "be there" for his fans. Like Brady said, "I can relate with how he is feeling." Before Brady became Mr. Montana, he was wore out all the time. So there was this sort of sadness in the atmosphere at the Meet and Greet, which led to a slight feeling of disappointment, and then shame at feeling disappointed.
More than feeling bad for Pat for feeling bad and still having to be "on," though, I realize I am disappointed because meeting a celebrity can never live up to your expectations, whether they are happy and healthy or not. Train has meant so much to me, and I've related and depended on their music so much, I wanted them to understand my gratitude towards them. That's the funny thing about celebrities, though, isn't it? When they touch you, you want to touch them back and matter to them as much as they matter to you. Not only is that not realistic, it's ridiculous and selfish and pompous of me. Still, I believe it is human nature to want to matter in this world. And maybe it is human nature to want to matter to people you are touched by.
In a perfect setting, I would sit down with Train and Brady and Brailey and Britt and ask them about life on the road and do they know how cool it is when we are at a rodeo or a PBR and one of their songs is played, how it sounds a hundred times better than the radio or home stereo and it is almost like they are RIGHT THERE singing it? I would share with them that I always thought I would make a good rock star wife (were Brady a rock star!), because I know how it is to travel from town to town and to get there and do your thing and move on to the next rodeo and do it all over again and isn't it cool how there are so many similarities between the life of a rodeo cowboy/girl and a musician on tour? I would talk to them about religion and spirituality and how do they think of those lyrics and riffs and what's it like to never have privacy in today's world of the Internet and paparazzi? And I would brag on Brady and my little B's and how our family is made up of B's, which makes me the Queen B and when we hear that line about bee throne in their song, we always smile. And after meeting us and spending a little bit of time with us, we would matter to them and they would think, "That's a cool bunch of B's."
You didn't know I was such a dreamer, did you? Don't ever (unless you want to) get me started on what I would say to Steven Tyler. Aerosmith is my next favorite band, under Train, and I just know Steven Tyler would love Brady and I and we could have the best conversation in the world!
So now life goes on, just like it always does, whatever the circumstance. And I'm so happy to have met Train, if you can call it that, and to at least have a picture of them with Brady and I. It is a memory I will always cherish! Once I get over these post concert blues, that is.