No Failure Here, Sweetheart

Hello again. I'm finally caught up on sleep from the three day trip to see U2 in Auburn Hills. No, it didn't really take 3 days, just 26 hours because I went with Ian and Marty, aka, Diehard U2 Fans. We were also joined by two of Marty's sisters, Connie and Angela. So it was a family affair. We slept in the parking lot of the Post Bar across the street (Opdyke?). I once went to the Post with Nate and Xander to see a band play. Around this time of year, I think. Anyway, the Marty/Ian clan couldn't sleep in the parkinglot of the Palace because the security there was pretty stiff. We drove around for about 4 hours looking for U2 fans and then finally found them at about 1am. There was one girl organizing the line. We gave her several names, including, our ring leader, "Good Stuff", Numero Uno, One, etc. She was even more diehard because she saw the vertigo tour about seven times or something and last time she was pulled up on stage with Bono, so that somehow gave her seniority. Good Stuff. (we gave her that name because Marty said something to her, and that was her response.)

Angela has a son and couldn't find a babysitter (her mom stood her up or something) so she kept going back and forth to Novi, once she appeared with her child, and then finally she went and picked up the youngest Shea sister from school to babysit. It was crazy but kind of amusing. Marty did not stop scheming the whole time. He came up with about seventy five master plans for this and that. I can't remember any of these.

Well, we had about 70 or so people in the parkinglot when we all ventured over to the Palace around 2pm. There were 15 people already standing in line to get in, so Good Stuff ended up being more like 16 instead of one. We couldn't get those in front of us to join our numbering system because the Palace announced on the radio that the numbering starts at the door or something. But the rest of us kept our number system.

When we finally got in the place, all five of us won the lottery to stand in teh "elipse" of the Vertigo stage, which meant that we were five of the 300 that could stand nearest to the main stage. Ian, Marty, Connie, and I stood so we leaned on the stage. We were close enough for Bono to spit on us. Whether he did or not, I can't remember.

Gavin Rossdale's new band opened. They are called Institution. He is a good-lookin' man. Had no idea.

My favorite part of the concert was when I heard Bono sing,

There's no failure here sweetheart,
Only when you quit."

That sounded like the Kingdom of God to me. It blew me away because I've been dipping in doubts lately. The line took me by surprise. I have listened to the new album alot, but those are lyrics from the Miracle Drug song and I don't really like it very much; I usually skip it. But I did like it live. Other highlights were Where the Streets Have No Name, with bright heaven lights. I also enjoyed that he closed with Forty. And he played Walk On, which, those who know me know that that song is pretty significant to me. The disappointing thing to me was that he didn't play Original of the Species. Which would have been fun because, A) I'm in Inherit the Wind so I would have enjoyed the Darwiny reference, and B) because that song would have been good live. My favorite U2 song right now is "One Step Closer" off of the new album. It is so simple but it rips me up every time. I guess my favorite U2 songs, One Step Closer, When You Look at the World, Playboy Mansion, these are all Album songs, rather than show songs.

Well, that's it about U2 for now. Looking forward to seeing them on their next tour.

Next time: I need to update you all on how my Grandma and I both got Mugged at gunpoint when I took her to the doctor. Maybe I Can just tell you right now. I was stupid and talking to my dad on the cellphone while I climbed in the car, and when I looked up to close the door (after I hung up the phone) there was a gun in my face. I had about 10 dollars in my pocket from babysitting earlier that day. I gave him that. My grandma didn't know he had a gun and was yelling at him.SHe siad "We just came from the doctor! How do you expect us to have money on us?" I started to close the door on him and he went away. the spookiest part was that he was about 15 or 16 years old.. Later on, I talked to my grandma about it and she said she wished she hadn't yelled at him. I told her, "No Grandma, that's the best part of the story," and she laughed. I feel pretty bad-ass because people move out of the city for things like that. I'm not going anywhere. Yet.

a small dabble to keep the blog moving

I just realized that it's been weeks since I added to this thing. Part of this is due to the fact that I don't get to the internet much anymore. The JET show is done and now I spend most of my time in rehearal for Inherit the Wind or The Wizard of Oz at the Ant.

I sang last night at a benefit concert for the Convenant Community Care, which is a health center that treats people without insurance. I sang back up for Chris Martin's band--my uncle Paul and Aunt Donna and Frank Oakley. It was a good time. It made me want to get back into my own music, which I'm a little annoyed that I don't have much time for.

I seem to be seeing a lot of music lately. I don't know how I have time for it. I saw Blanche at the Magic Stick a couple weeks ago. Tomorrow night I'll have had the U2 experience. On the 8th I'm going to see Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) in Ann Arbor. And on the 2nd I'll get to see Over the Rhine at the Ark in Ann Arbor.

I have 6 mins before I have to get to rehearsal. I have stories to tell, I guess they will have to wait.