What a disaster trying to get to the show! Started out at 5:10. Trip should have been 30-40 minutes. Nice weather, horrendous traffic! Not moving, not moving, inching, not moving. An hour to go 10 miles. Looking for restroom
. First gas station, will buy gas - no restroom. Second gas station, restroom locked, no key. BP - no place to pp. Fourth gas station - no restroom. Where do these employees go? Chinese restaurant (if you want to call it that), restrooms for customers only. Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now (ahh, the joys of getting older). Purchase egg rolls to go. Use restroom(?) - no sink to wash hands. That's okay, have sani-wipes. Why did we even wait to get the egg rolls? Inedible. On the road again. Not moving. Starting to inch. Moving 20 mph on the highway. Not moving again. Finally moving. Got to move faster! Horror of horrors - we might be late for an LC concert - inexcusable! Signs for Merriweather Post. Getting closer. Starts to rain. Take correct entrance (2nd one). Drop us (my sister, Sybil, and myself) off. Already 7:05. Almost 2 hours to get there! I hurry to stand in line for will-call. Searching through my LC tote, where is my ID? Did I leave it back at the house? Oh no, oh no, oh no. Will buy a ticket if I have to! Found it. Waiting, waiting. Third one in line. What is taking the first person so long. Someone comes by. "Where is will-call line?", he asks. Can't believe it - have been waiting in the wrong (sales) line! Belong in the line with over 20 people waiting. George (my husband) joins me in line. 7:20 - parked in last row by the woods. Waiting. Getting closer. Eureka! Got our tickets - 7:32! Through the gate. 7:35 - the show has started. We're late! Pouring down rain. Able to walk down on the side of the venue. Don't block anyone's view. Into seats - disturbing 6 people
. Feet soaked (open toed shoes - it was nice when we left
) and oh so cold. Intermission. Find hot coffee. Loooooong line. Wait, wait. Get up front - ran out of coffee. More in 15 minutes. Back to seat. Freezing. George leaves, comes back with coffee. What a wonderful husband. What to do with coffee - drink it or pour it on my feet
. Slip out of shoes, put coffee cup against the bottom of my feet. The feeling comes back. Drink coffee - all is well. Too much information, sorry
and I'm complaining when all those people were out there on the lawn - double sorry.
The concert was phenomenal! Off to a somewhat shaky start, LC's voice an octave lower than usual at the beginning of 'Dance Me To The End Of Love', making the ladies adjust. As a result, their vocals, from where we were sitting in the right floor section, were somewhat muffled. This was very quickly rectified. Aside from this, everything was spot on! What an enthusiastic crowd! One of the standing ovations just increasing in intensity and would have gone on forever if LC hadn't asked everyone to please sit down. It was a cold and miserable night to attend a concert but his music warmed my heart and entire being.
My sister and Sybil mentioned seeing Tom Daschle at the concert. They both have worked for years in the federal government and apparently, in the DC area, a Leonard Cohen concert had become 'cutting edge' and 'the' concert to attend. Both their bosses prided themselves on 'scoring' tickets to this show, only to be shot down when informed by my sister and Sybil that they already have had tickets for over two months. They both attend the theater and many shows. Sybil was already a fan. My sister, not that familiar with his music. To them, this was undoubtedly the best concert they have ever attended.
ubik333(Jerry) - I listened closely, and I could have sworn LC sang 'careless' sex.
bigdee -The soundcheck would have been heaven - to have heard them do 'Heart With No Companion', 'That Don't Make It Junk', and 'Lullaby' , which were not included in the concert. You were indeed fortunate.
All that time, trying to get to the venue, thinking we were missing out on meeting up with some of the entourage was miserable. Now I read that there had been no 'meet and greet'. Since this was an outdoor venue, there did not seem to be any place that would have been amenable to this type of activity. I hope this is not a precursor of things to come in Red Rocks
. Reading all the posts about the pre-concert meet ups has spoiled me
. I guess it's just a way of getting closer to the man himself.
The set list looks like it has been changing somewhat since Columbia, so I am so grateful to have heard LC do 'The Gypsy's Wife' and 'The Partisan' again. LC and his entourage do pay attention to the reviews and posts, so perhaps by the time Red Rocks comes around, we will be priviledged to hear songs not performed before or in new sequence. Whatever they decide - these concerts are always so sublime
and exciting! They can do no wrong in my book - concert after concert proves it.
Best regards,
Mary
Your description brought me back to the few years I lived in the DC area. Having grown up in rural Montana, we judged travel time by this equation: 1 mile equals 1 minute, literally! You need to drive 10 miles, plan for 10 minutes!!! Wow, was DC a new experience for me. )
