Well, it's official. I wussed out when it came to seeking out the manager of the Avalon Nightclub and asking for special treatment for the Y&T concert. I like to believe that I would have asked if I had seen him, but faced with the prospect of not being sure what his name was (I am horrible with names) and not wanting to embarrass myself in front of my friends, I didn't try. In the end, it didn't make the evening any less fun. It was great to see my old buddies Amir and Dave again. I need to do a better job of staying in touch with people. That's another weak spot for me.
In the days leading up to the show, I dusted off my Y&T CD "Contagious" (I must concede it has been out of my regular rotation since I bought it which was shortly after I first found out CDs existed). I had completely forgotten how much I like a lot of their music. As I listened to the songs over and over, I must say it was one of the few CDs from the era that didn't have any filler. What a waste to have forgotten about it! Anyway, at least I found it now and it helped me get pretty psyched for the show and to ensure that I wouldn't end up vaguely mouthing something instead of being able to sing along.
I met Dave and Amir at Britannia Arms (The one on Homestead and NOT the one on De Anza where I thought we were meeting) and apologized for my mistake. For those who don't have Britannia Arms where you live, it is a faux pub with a decent set-up. This one, however, is on the last place that you would expect to find it. Suffice it to say that the Bay Area is very diverse with ethnic enclaves and this reminded me of the old Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is not quite the same..." As I ponder it, one of my favorite pubs is the Pig and Whistle in Taiwan so maybe it does make sense in that context. Dave and Amir hadn't changed much as far as I could tell.
"So what kind of music does Y&T do?" asked Amir. That's what I have always loved about Amir - he is game for anything. I have known Amir for probably about 5 or 6 years now and he is one of the most interesting characters I have ever run across. I could probably fill the next 10 pages with various episodes and "Amir-isms", but that wouldn't be fair. Suffice it to say that I love having the guy around. I have never been too good at describing or categorizing music so I am sure I made some vague references to their hair or something and that was enough for him. Keep in mind, this is the same Amir who showed up to a GWAR concert wearing slacks and a button down shirt. If you have never heard of GWAR, you are a better person than I, but you have to check them out in order for my last Amir reference to make any sense (GWAR.net). Well , enough about Amir.
Once we finally got into the club the opening band started up pretty much immediately. My timing is always horrible so it must have been Dave's influence. I have no idea who they were and couldn't name any of their songs, but other than that "They Rocked". I suspect this is a hobby for them and not their life's calling, but I think that just makes me respect them even more. Touché.
Y&T came on around 10-ish and I think they sounded great. The position behind the sound board definitely provides a better sound than that from the lip of the stage which worked out great since the place was pretty packed. Old-school heavy metal concerts are always fun for me since you can still feel young again. The band is still older than you and you can make believe that you have aged much better than your counterparts, especially in the "hair department". While it doesn't serve as much of a deterrent for me, it is always a little weird to go to a show where the band members and audience are notably younger than you are (i.e.Vans Warped). I am not much of a set-list memorizer, a fact which is only compounded by the fact that they only played one song off "Contagious", the aptly named single "Contagious", so I cannot give too many more details other than to say a good time was had by all.
More than an evening of music, it was a reminder that I do have friends out there. It is easy to forget this in today's hustle-bustle environment. These friendships are things to be tended to and cultivated, and I need to do a better job of doing so. While it is morbid, I do find the funeral analogy to be a good measure of one's impact. I would like to think that when my time comes, there will be more than a couple people (Hopefully my wife included) who show up to say goodbye. If I want that to happen, I need to do a better job of sustaining the friendships I have and looking for more. This is also healthy while I am alive since it is sad to traverse life without people to share it with. The next time something good happens in my life (Like maybe actually publishing my "book"), I want to have plenty of people to share it with.
