The Concert to End all Concerts ~ The Eagles ~

I am never going to another concert. 

 

The reason?

There will never EVER be another concert that could possibly live up to what I saw and heard last night at the Eagles concert. 

I am ruined. 

I was extremely excited for this concert since it was first announced. I remember my gasp at the radio when it was broadcast. Hubby thought something horrible had happened. Then I proclaimed that we were getting tickets even if it killed us. When tickets went on sale on Ticketmaster I went online....6 minutes in line scored me nose bleed section tickets but I didn't care. The two concert dates sold out in 11 minutes. Later on a 3^rd date was added. Never in the history has the Eagles played 3 consecutive dates in the same city. Never mind, little Saskatoon Saskatchewan, population 225,927+.

The Eagles are special to us. My friend and piano teacher Karen Berard's husband had bought Hell Freezes Over. He didn't like it so she gave it to me. Hubby and I played it on all of our road trips. It wasn't a road trip without the Eagles. When I got my Oldsmobile and the cassette player died the road trips were not the same. Last spring, when we were planning our Oregon-buy-a-new-car trip we bought Long Road Out of Eden at Walmart and saved it for the Honda drive home. It did not disappoint. Traveling with the Eagles is what we do.

I had heard that driving to Credit Union Centre was not recommended. It's got terrible parking. I've done it before. At the Elton John concert it took us over an hour just to get out of the parking lot. I am not good driving in crowded places. For a toonie [$2 coin for you south of me] we could hop on the bus 4 blocks from home and be delivered to the concert via bus. We opted for that. It turned out to be the best and fastest and most convenient way to travel. I'd sure do that again.

Our seats were in section 19 row 18 numbers 1 and 2. So we were 1 row from the ceiling! We luckily had isle seats because it was hot up there! The stage was to our left. The Eagles were about 2 inches tall when they appeared on stage. It doesn't matter.....I was THERE.

The concert was to start at 8pm but like most, didn't start on time. The opening song was How Long from the Out of Eden CD and one of my favorites from that album. Glen Fry called themselves the "assisted living tour" and commented that they are the band that wouldn't die. He is such a funny guy! There was a short intermission after an hour and a half. They wore black suits and ties for the whole concert only taking off the jackets towards the end. Joe Walsh came out in a Roughrider cap with a camera on it and took shots of the crowd. 

I can't even comment on who performed the best. How can you choose a favorite? How many people can play drums and sing at the same time? How many people have the falsetto of Timothy B. Schmit? How many people can play guitar like Joe Walsh? Every song was incredible. I've never heard such tight harmony at a live performance. I've never heard any live act with such amazing clear and crisp sound. I've never heard anything like this.

I've seen lot's of live acts. Last November we saw Elton John. Sir Elton couldn't hold a candle to the Eagles. This concert was 100 times better. Hubby saw George Strait 2 years ago. The Eagles were better he said. They didn't dangle over the crowd like I saw Jon Bon Jovi do in 1990. The acoustics weren't loud like Bryan Adams in 1991. They didn't jump off a piano like Elton did in 2008.

It was just freakin' amazing.

I'm still trying to get my mind around the whole experience. Its hard to even fathom that I was there. Was it worth the $150 a ticket....hell yeah! Knowing what I know now....I would have gladly paid $300+ a ticket. The experience was priceless. 

Today it is back to reality. Back into my teaching world. Forever changed. I was welcomed into the Hotel California.....and, well, you know, you can never leave!

Life is Like a Jelly Donut

"The way I see it, life is like a jelly doughnut. You don't really know what it's about until you bite into it. And then, just when you decide it's good, you drop a big glob of jelly on your best T-shirt."

~Stephanie Plum~

 

Doesn't that just about sum it all up? It has for me this week anyhow. There you are going happily along and WHOOMF it's all messed up. Stephanie Plum has lots of these days. Stephanie Plum is a character in a series of Janet Evanovich novels. I am a big fan of mystery books and who-dun-it crime shows on TV, but this one takes the cake...er..um, doughnut.

I am addicted. It happened innocently enough. It was recommended to me that I read Visions of Sugar Plums. I did. I was hooked. Captivated.

Stephanie is a bounty hunter, although, as she admits, not a very good one. In her previous life she was a lingerie buyer for a department store. She's newly divorced and has a pet hamster, Rex, for a roommate. The new men in her life are Joe Morelli [a cop] and fellow bounty hunter Ranger. So there's this fascinating love triangle thing that goes on.

Stephanie has a problem with cars. In every single book her car is destroyed somehow. Blown up. Set on fire. Spray painted. Smashed and shot at. It is so much fun to see how it's going to happen in the next book. 

Stephanie Plum always manages to find herself in trouble. Or trouble finds her. Her apartment is always being broken into. She's always forgotten her gun at home in her cookie jar when she needs it. And just to top things off, her family is about the craziest one out there. 

I have been reading this series since January. Stephanie has become a friend. Confidant. There are thirteen books and I am on the tenth, Ten Big Ones. I've read the eleventh one, but just because it was only $6 at Costco! Don't hate me for reading them out of order! The realisation has set in that soon I will be at the end. What will I do without my nightly reading of Stephanie's capers? I will have Stephanie Plum withdrawl. I will have to join Stephanie Plum Anonymous. 

Don't worry, friends, I will persevere. No doubt, while I wait for the next novel to be crafted, I will find yet another author who I will become hopelessly obsessed with. In the meantime, send all your jelly donuts this way and keep writing all those fascinating Blogs.