Figuring I had a snowball's chance in hell of actually going to a show, I looked up the show dates anyway. As it turned out, they would be playing in Boston in mid-July (though only BNL and Ben Folds, no Guster sadly). Ever hopeful, I started scheming possible ways I could still go...and luckily, the stars aligned. My in-laws (who'd been planning to visit around this time anyway) agreed to be here for the concert date and watch the kids, and my awesome buddy Jeremy agreed to come along with me. I was nearly jumping out of my skin with excitement as I bought our tickets.
As back-story: I don't remember when or how I first got into BNL, it feels like I've kinda loved them forever. I saw them twice in concert back in college, once with Zach my freshman year and another time a few years later with my BFF Danyelle. The shows were amazing, unique and funny and just so much fun. I love how their music covers everything from the utterly absurd to deeply touching musings. I haven't listened to them quite as much the past few years, but many of their songs will forever hold a very special spot in my heart and I'll probably always remember the words.
As for Ben Folds, I have my friend (and seriously talented singer/songwriter) Brian Hudson to thank for that musical introduction. One day sometime late in college, he and I were wandering around Waterloo Records in Austin. He pointed to The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner and asked if I had that album. I said I did not (I'd heard of Ben Folds but didn't know much about his music). He then insisted that my life would not be complete without owning this album. He gave me $2 (the only cash he had on him) to help me buy it, and instructed me to go home and listen to it right away. Of course, he was totally right. It quickly became one of my favorite CDs, and Ben Folds/Five joined my list of favorite musicians. Unfortunately, I'd never gotten a chance to see him play live.
Until now.
The show was Tuesday night. We left early that afternoon to drive into town, had a fun little adventure of trying to find the right parking lot and subway/bus route to get to the waterfront. I was grateful that Jeremy shares my appreciation for building in extra time for travel as all that took longer than expected, but we still got to the BofA Pavilion on the early side. Ben Folds Five played first, and as expected it was awesome and amazing. A lot of the people around us were talking and just not really paying attention which I must say really baffled me. But, whatever. Their loss (didn't disturb me much). Then Barenaked Ladies came on, and by then everyone was into it and standing and dancing and singing along and it was awesome and wonderful. I wish they could have each played a longer set, yet by the end of the show (11ish?) I was tired and hungry and might not have lasted that much longer anyway (is this what getting old feels like?).
Boats, and a glimpse of the rainbow, at the waterfront
Squee! Arriving at the pavilion
Me & J waiting for the show to start
Ben! Folds! Five!
Much crappier pic of Barenaked Ladies
We made our way back to the car and then to Jeremy's friend, Jen's house where we crashed for the night. It was late and she had to work the next day so she went to bed right away and we didn't get to chat with her much, but Jeremy and I stayed up for another couple hours talking about life and past loves and basically had ourselves a good old fashioned slumber party. We slept in late the next morning (a rare treat for us parents of young kids), walked to a nearby spot for brunch, and eventually made our way back on home. The whole thing was just a really great trip, ~24 hours of pure awesome.
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