one of "those" fans

i never understood the sort of music fans who were so impassioned by artists that they would go to any length just to see them in concert. when i worked at the bar i had a friend who legitimately worked just so that he could increase his dave matthews band concert fund. i'm not joking. this friend would spend hundreds - no - thousands of dollars every summer to concert hop his way across america following the lingering clouds of dave matthews magic dragon tour. don't get me wrong, i totally dig dmb - i'm fortunate enough to have seen 2 incredible shows, one in alpine valley and the other in san diego. crazy, say goodbye, and grey-blue eyes are some of my all time favorite tunes; but thousands of dollars just to see him jam?

this morning at 9:50 sharp i logged into the david gray website. beginning at 10:00 am pre-sale tickets for his upcoming show at the orpheum were made available and i wanted to make absolute certain that i would be one of his adoring fans drinking the sweat that falls from his face as he pounds the ivories and hypnotizes the audience with his insanely poetic lyrics. at 9:58 my stomach began turning and my fingers were well prepped to click hard and fast the "add to cart button". 2 more minutes and i would be faced with the opportunity to see my favorite artist of all time perform at one minnesota's gnarliest venues. needless to say i was on the edge of my seat, nearly wetting my pants with anticipation. just when i thought i couldn't wait anymore, the website flipped from "pre-sale starting at 10:00" to the gloriously illuminated posting "buy tickets now". i felt like i was a horse at the kentucky derby. 

i raced fast to the electronic check out line with my invisible electronic cart in desperate attempt to be one of the lucky few to get tickets. my fingers were a blur and with the first try i received a warning that the requested sections were reserved. so i went back, clicked the section again and typed a hopeful '2' in the quantity box and resumed my position in the check out line. like a rain cloud over my head the killjoy notification of "section reserved" flashed it's malicious smile at me. panic began to set in. for the next 27 or so minutes i repeated the aforementioned steps of filling my cart and sprinting to the check out line. all with no luck. hope began to dwindle when the vacancy sign for the pit level section blinked "no". not long after this, a second "no vacancy" light went on. 2 out of 3 sections were sold-out and i never even made it through the check out line. faster and faster i typed. "section 1 & 2... quantity 2... proceed to check-out". only to keel over with a round-house kick of disappointment. i hate to admit this next part, i really do; but tears began welling up in my unblinking eyes. i could taste the bitter possibility that i might not get tickets. i fought the good fight and ran the race all the way to the end. soon the website warned that there were only 2 tickets left in the last remaining section. determined to get seats for my friend and i, i vehemently typed over and over again. in no time at all there was only 1 ticket remaining and my cart was still empty. and just like that the looming rain cloud over my head ripped open and the drops of misfortune wrapped their cold, wet hands around my once hopeful daydreams. pre-sale tickets were all sold out and my cart was empty.

i may not spend thousands of dollars like my friend did. but i can certainly resonate with his passion. this is my blog and i will never write false words about myself. and so i have to admit that i have officially transformed into one of "those" fans. i was willing to give anything for tickets to the show. and if i said those welling teardrops never actually fell from my frowning cheeks i would be lying. pathetic right? i know, you don't have to tell me. but this is david gray. one of music's most talented writers - his lyrics inspire me to pick up my pen and journal and scribble stanzas of rhythmic poetry. tickets for the general public go on sale in august. i will have to medicate the inflicted wounds of hopelessness and prepare for another vigorous mission to get a pair of tickets