Rock Ramblings: Concerts make memories

By Medicine Hat News on October 12, 2017.

I’ve been to a lot of shows in my life. I’ve actually been very fortunate to have (for the most part) been able to find good deals on most of the tickets to those shows. But everyone has that one concert that sticks in their cranium forever, whether that’s a good thing or not. The story you’re about to hear is mostly a good one. Mostly.

For years, I have adored City and Colour. There’s something about Dallas Green’s music that affects me in a way that nothing else does. So when I found out that I was going to be in the same city on the same night that he was, I nearly fainted. “Fan-girling” is putting it lightly.

I got the tickets for myself and my boyfriend, only cost us about $30 so extremely reasonable. When we got there, it came to our attention the scheduled opening act was being replaced with another solo artist. And honestly, this opener was one of the most unreal vocalists I have ever seen. His voice was smooth as honey and his stage presence was excellent so we really didn’t mind. In fact, it was a good thing.

One important thing to note — it was an evening outdoor concert. There were about 1,000 people watching and no one really giving this guy the credit that was due for him. But I stood there in the evening breeze and watched. Every note he strummed made my heart beat faster, I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage. So much to the point that I didn’t realize the opener had played for two hours.

Remember how I said it was an outdoor concert? Well that night, a thunderstorm was in the forecast. Keep that in the back of your brain.

So eventually, Dallas Green hits the stage. I almost cried I was so happy. His set was mind-blowing. He even performed one song completely on his own, as in he was sitting on a chair with like 15 instruments strapped to him, playing them all and singing at the same time. This guy is a legend.

Back to the thunderstorm warning. As we stood there, we could feel a few drops of rain, but nothing too concerning when about 20 minutes into his set, the heavens opened up! It was the heaviest rain I’ve ever been caught in. Now, I was standing at the top of a grassy, steep hill. In sandals.

Everyone is running to get out of the rain, pushing and shoving like it was lava falling from the sky. One person pushed me so hard, I literally slid down the hill and fell ON TOP of a man still sitting down enjoying what was left of the show. This guy was pretty mad at me soÉ I walked away fast.

Everyone has experiences that although didn’t go down as planned, still ended up being the best memories of their life. Although I got shoved down a hill, a monsoon of a storm opened up above us and Dallas Green didn’t play for as long as we would have liked, I still regard it as the best show I’ve ever been to. It comes down to the memories you make there, and really, that’s what concerts are all about.

Melissa Thomas is a producer at 105.3 ROCK. She is on the air Sunday mornings and Monday evenings at 1053rock.ca and 105.3 FM on your radio dial.