"In vacant or in pensive mood..." I am: Bekah; 24; Law Student / Favorite Things: Carbs (so there!), Johnny Damon, Smiling at babies, Grilled cheese, Comfortable silence / Favorite Supreme Court Justice: Brennan / Favorite Wilson: Owen by an inch / Today's Special: Song: Elliott Smith, "Bled White"; Quote: "You know, there's like a butt-load of gangs at this school. This one gang kept wanting me to join because I'm pretty good with a bowstaff." Please love me: mmbekah@yahoo.com


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Concert Consternation

On Saturday night, J and I went to a show at the venue above the House of Blues. Well, to be completely honest, we went to see the show on Friday night, bought the tickets, tried to get in, became thoroughly confused after being rebuffed by the doorman, asked at the ticket office whether Beulah was playing upstairs or what, and ultimately cringed as the doorman replied with a brutally sardonic "Yes, they are. Tomorrow." Oh yeah, Mr. Smart Doorman? Mr. "I spend my life selling Nickelback tickets to teenagers and Doctor John tickets to belligerent tourists from Skokie"? Well, we're in law school. And stuff. Yeah...it was dumb.

So like I said, on Saturday night, J and I actually went to the show. The opening band was great (and by great I mean that the lead singer was ridiculously good looking), and the place wasn't too smoky. I was feeling good. But then, disaster struck. As the tides of the crowd shifted, J and I found ourselves positioned directly behind a small cluster of frat-tastic high schoolers. At first I thought that the group would merely serve as an amusing addition to the night's people-watching activities; I noted the soccer shoes and Birkenstocks, the front-tucked T-shirts with the fashionably frayed khaki shorts and ribbon belts, the poofy hair sprouting out beneath baseball hats with the predictably emblazoned state school insignias heralding their wearers' future dreams and aspirations. The music started, and, in unison, as if on cue, they started doing that dance. You know, the one where the eyes are closed and the feet don't move, but the torso jerks forward systematically while the head bobs just enough to ever so gently rustle the curls of the frat-fro? The one where you can almost smell the pot and hear Redemption Song?

That's how it started. But then one boy started adding some new, more invasive movements. He began thrashing spasmodically, twisting and jerking his arms in a perverse jogging motion. The other boys, taking signals from the leader, began adding a few of the new moves into their regularly scheduled jerk and bob, but none of them was as adventurous as this one kid: the one standing directly in front of me. He was so close that his elbow once came close to poking my eye out. I looked at J in disbelief. He just laughed and tried to ignore it, focusing on the music. But I became fascinated. I watched the boy's movements at first with wonder, but then with concern. There were some crazy strobe lights in the show...could this be an epileptic fit? Once this kid in my youth group had a seizure at the bowling alley from playing video games. These things happen. But despite the arguable validity of my concern, it quickly gave way to supreme irritation. I suddenly grabbed J's arm and pulled him to the other side of the room, where the view was much better, in that it was a view of the stage rather than the gyrating wonder. The rest of the concert was very enjoyable, once I got my seething under control.

On the way home, I started to regret my annoyance a little bit. So the kid was a little overzealous with the dancing. At least he liked the music and was enjoying himself. At least he wasn't booing the band or puking on my shoes. But despite this second-guessing, I still feel that what that kid was doing deserves my scorn. You can't go to a public concert and act in a way that prevents other people from enjoying themselves. If you want to dance with the butterflies and twirl like a princess, go to an empty area in the room. This kid stepped on my feet about 5 times and wasn't fazed. It was rude and insulting! The hoodlum's behavior was unacceptable! And I am clearly getting old.

posted by Bekah at 8:46 AM :: |