Temporary Insanity

It was either a mid-life crisis... or temporary insanity. I’m still not quite sure which.

Though I hadn’t attended a rock music concert in almost 25 years, I found myself sitting at the computer on a sunny May afternoon, avidly refreshing the screen until tickets for the Tool concert at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine went on sale. I scored a ticket. A coveted ’floor’ admission. Yesss...... Friday, July 13th (the day of the soon to be sold-out show) couldn’t come fast enough.

Anticipation
Though happily excited, I couldn’t help but be somewhat nervous about attending the first concert I’d seen in years- all by myself at a venue I’d never been to. I preserved my sanity by slipping into ’obsessive planning’ mode. I thought about the route I’d travel, the parking garage I’d use, what I‘d wear. I made a detailed mental list of ’things not to forget.’ On Friday the 13th I left home at a little after 1:00PM, having grown weary of planning the escapade, and anxious for it to get underway. The show didn’t start till 8:00PM, but I figured I’d take the afternoon to leisurely explore the picturesque Old Port section of Portland (in the midst of which, oddly enough, the Civic Center is located).

Prelude
I arrived in Portland a little before 3:00PM. My nervousness melted away, and, indeed, turned to delight as I took in the perfect summer weather and the fresh ocean breezes that bathed the Old Port. Exploring quaint shops... strolling along the wharf... dinner on the patio of a side-street restaurant... a dessert of frozen gelato eaten while relaxing on a bench at Monument Square, where a young (albeit somewhat intoxicated) man told me out of the blue that I was ‘stunningly beautiful.’ Yeah, I felt beautiful...

The Floor
A little after 6:00PM I noticed that people were lining up at the doors of the Civic Center, so I went to the parking garage to dump all but a few things into my waiting car, whereupon I joined the queue. When one of the ‘event staff’ announced that those lucky enough to have a ‘floor’ ticket must obtain a bracelet in order to be admitted to that sacred area, I quickly and happily obtained mine. I entered with the first wave of concert-goers, and went directly to join my fellow groundlings. Security (a dozen muscular men in yellow t-shirts standing directly on the ‘audience’ side of the barrier) commanded us to sit- which we did, cross-legged on the concrete. An hour remained before the show was to start, but time seemed to fly by as I intently studied the darkened stage and the intermittent preparations thereon, and ‘people watched.’ I noted that my fellow attendees were mostly male, of the late-teen, early twenties age demographic. I saw a few young women, and a handful of older men, but I soon concluded that I was (more than likely) the only middle-aged woman in the crowd...

Warm-Up
At long last, the security team hopped to the other side of the barrier and allowed the groundlings to rise and jump forward. I joined the rush, and found myself separated from said barrier by only a single layer of humanity, and situated a little left of center stage. As I deployed my ear plugs, I noticed that every member of the security team was doing the same. I was totally unfamiliar with the warm-up band (a three man ensemble named Big Business), but had heard them described by a couple of sources as ‘loud.’ Unfortunately, as it turned out, loudness was the only remarkable characteristic of Big Business. I found that I was not alone in my opinion of this trio, as applause for the group was light and scattered. When one of my nearby fellow groundlings sang out, “DON’T...QUIT YOUR...DAY JOB!” in response to the second or third mediocre tune, I had to laugh. A half- hour of the loud and mediocre... another half -hour of setting up/testing... and then...

The Crush
I stood entranced as Tool finally started their first tune (Jambi), accompanied by an artful light show and images displayed across half a dozen screens, but my delight soon turned to discomfort as the crowd surged forward. A handful miscreants were determined to displaced those who, by planning and patience, had secured a spot near the barrier. The pushees pushed back, and everyone else was crushed in the middle. As soon as I realized what was going on I made up my mind that I would not be squeezed out. I thrust my left hand through to the barrier, and used my arm as a brace- pushing back in order to stand my ground. I had the muscle not only to maintain my place in the second row (I don’t lift weights for nothing, folks), but also to protect the poor lad in front of me from being totally crushed against the barrier.
Within a few minutes security had singled out a couple of the worst instigators and hoisted them over the barrier. The intensity of The Crush waxed and waned throughout the concert, usually lessening when troublemakers were plucked from the mob by security and lead away. In moments when the sensation was less like a fight and more like a massive group hug I rather enjoyed The Crush.

The Music
Oh, yeah.... the music. I don’t have the makings of an avid Tool fan, I guess, because although I enjoy their music I only own one of their albums (the latest), and I could not tell you the name of the guitarist that performed within spitting distance of my place in The Crush, or the names of any of the other 3 members of the quartet, for that matter.... I think they performed for nearly 2 hours, ’cause by the time I got to the parking garage it was shortly after 11:00PM. They played quite a few tunes from their latest album, a few older songs that I was familiar with, and a couple I didn’t recognize. Best of all was at the end, when they treated us to ‘Vicarious.’ The kids in The Crush had tired of fighting, and were in ’group hug’ mode. We just swayed, sang, and listened. It was a great finish.

Home again
The exodus of the crowd made a late-night ‘rush hour’ on the streets of Portland- and the traffic lights weren’t even turned on at that hour. I white-knuckled it until I got out of the jam (I hate city driving) and breathed a sigh of relief when I hit the almost-empty toll road. I got home at 1:00AM, to the relief of my hubby who was waiting up for me. “I’m dying to take a shower to wash my body of all this sweat,” I told him laughingly, “Only a portion of which is mine!”
So, yeah... I’m sane again... but I smile when I think that I actually followed through with the Concert Escapade... and I laugh when I realize how much I enjoyed it.