Whatever moves you

I did something on Sunday that I never imagined me doing. This rock and roll girl went to a country music concert! Best Friend asked me and another friend to join her in seeing Kenny Chesney perform. Even though I do not dislike Kenny’s music, I just did not consider myself a fan, having been exposed to his songs only through Best Friend or by chance as I flip though the radio. I didn’t hesitate in choosing to go along, however, because to her, his music is inspiring and motivating , and I wanted to be a part of that. I would imagine those feelings stirred inside of her are somewhat the same as the ones writing stories stirs within me.

Anyway, also along on the tour with Kenny Chesney were Gary Allan (whose music I was not familiar with), Leann Rimes (who I really didn’t care to ever see perform until she got up on stage and poured her heart out singing the blues and changed my opinion of her), Brooks & Dunn (whose music I actually did know because I had a brief stint in the early 90’s where I listened to country music and I loved Brooks & Dunn), but the one person I was actually excited to see was….Sammy Hagar! Typical me…take me to a country concert and the guy I am most excited about is the Red Rocker! It seemed weird to me that the former lead singer of Van Halen was on a country musician’s tour, but I later learned that he and Kenny had become really good friends after hanging out in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where Sammy has his famous Cabo Wabo Cantina.

There is something I can boast on with every performer that night and I can honestly say that I enjoyed each one of their shows. They were all very energetic and real troopers despite our less than perfect weather. But I have to say that Sammy was my favorite. He ROCKED!!!! Not only that, but he was my inspiration. I am serious!

Here’s how Sammy became my hero of sorts: Until I went to that concert, I have been in somewhat of a depression. As of late, I have been having some pretty serious migraines that have not only left me sleepless at night, but lethargic and sickly during the day. Instead of hitting some hiking trails, swimming, camping out, fishing, or hitting the road, I have spent most of my summer piled up on the sofa watching TV. That is enough to knock someone like me for a big loop-de-loop. I have been bored beyond words. Not only that, but this summer has been filled with a couple of huge letdowns for me. I am not sure if the headaches were dragging me down or if the headaches have been a symptom of this depression. Either way, I have felt pretty miserable and all of my motivation was drained and my spirits were down. I really didn’t feel like going to the concert that day (especially in the stormy weather) but I forced myself to go and at least escape some of the boredom.

So here we are at the concert, and I am definitely not bored with all the people watching. Everyone from the Kenny Chesney wanna-be’s wearing the same hat and clothes as Kenny to the drunk hoochies with boots and short skirts making out with each other and other drunk shenanigans, kept thoroughly entertained. I was being pleasantly surprised by the great shows these country artists were putting on (them country folk can rock, too!) and then Hagar came out to kick some ass! Not only did he kick it with awesome classics such as “I Can’t Drive 55”, his high energy, his entertaining hats and props, and his hilarious stories, but he also gave quite a motivational speech that I felt was made just for me. As he readied himself to sing “Dreams” he talked about how important it is for us to all have dreams to work toward, how life is nothing without dreaming and believing you can make your dreams a reality.

“I don’t care if your dream is to grow a tomato garden or if it is to fall in love and settle down with someone special and have a family, or anything in between the two, you need to have a dream and know you can do it, whatever it is,” he said. And then he added, “And when you have that dream come true, hold on to it. Appreciate all you did to get there and just be enjoy. Think of how happy you will be once you achieve your dream. I know. I have been smiling for thirty years.”

And then he broke into the verses of “Dreams”.

It may not have been MLK’s “I Have a Dream" speech equivalent. His words may not be memorialized like the “Gettysburg Address”. And his words may have been spoken of a simple concept that most of us already know, but as for me, I had forgotten. I had forgotten that hope always supersedes the storm and it was just what I needed to remember.

Then feeling as great as I did, I danced with and sang along some Kenny Chesney with a cute, twenty-something, drunk guy who was sitting next to us.

Rock on Red Rocker!!!!
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The concert was at Turner Field. This is a view from our nosebleeds on the tip-top row before the show began. When it began to rain again and we were sitting underneath the shelter and everyone else was drowing, our $20 seats didn't seem so stupid!





Plus we got a pretty nice view of Atlanta's skyline.









Here is Brooks & Dunn (I think) on stage.









This Kenny Chesney with all his fancy lights.









Just for fun, I am including a pic taken just last weekend at Turner Field when I went to see the Braves lose. These seats are just a bit closer to action. (Only about a couple hundred rows closer, though.)




And this is a picture of my married boyfriend, Mark Teixeira on the screen when he came up to bat. Notice how much bigger the screen is from this level. The better to see them lose, I suppose!