Ok, I think I’ve recovered enough from the concert last night to capture my thoughts on paper. I got to bed last night at 12:30 AM. I think I got maybe five hours sleep last night because of the storms that swept through after we got home. Plastic deck chairs + high winds = loud crashing on the porch at 4 AM. For a moment, I thought someone was trying to break into the house before I realized the wind threw the chairs against the house. The chairs would bounce off the house and the next gust of wind would repeat the process. Thankfully the chairs were hitting the house and not the windows or that could have been bad news. Enough about the weather.
Seeing Toad in concert last night was one of the few things that I’ve always wanted to do. They came through Houston once when I was living there but I didn’t know anyone who liked them since I had just moved there so I didn’t go. I have been kicking myself since. Then, Glen Phillips, the lead singer came through San Antonio to do a solo show on Lisa’s birthday one year. I don’t remember what happened, but we ended up not making it to that show either. I thought I was destined to never see them in concert. I’ve been to maybe 20 concerts in my life, and this was by far my favorite. The venue was small with a great sound system and cool atmosphere. Initially we sat at a table in the back, but still maybe 25 feet away from the stage so we could see well. As the show progressed, I moved up close with a friend while Lisa stayed at the tables in the back with his wife. Everyone there seemed to be a big fan so the crowd was engaged with the music. No side conversations or activities that drew your attention away from the band. Toad played at least 15 songs for the set and they were tight. They said they’ve been together for 25 years now and it shows. Never had an instance during the night where you shuddered because someone missed a note or the band drifted from the beat. Overall, it went beyond my expectations of them.
After the concert Glen (lead singer) and Dean (bassist) signed my CD. They were both very personable and affirmed my feeling that they were good people. I didn’t get to say much because there was a line of people waiting to get autographs. Given the chance though, I would have loved to talk to Glen to get to know him. He always intrigued me. He’s very simple on the outside (played the concert in a t-shirt and shorts without shoes). He has a unique way of looking at things that you get a glimpse of through not only the song lyrics, but his blog posts and even comments on his photos. The thing that draws me to technology is how you can get a glimpse into a life of someone you don’t know through reading on the internet. You read about their daily life, read links they post, and then share experiences like Glen cutting his arm open thanks to falling through a glass table. Then you kick yourself for the one time you see them in person, you can’t even as much as ask them how their arm is doing. I was star struck and didn’t want to pull a Champ Kind talking to Ron Burgundy in Anchorman (go here and search for the word “musk”) and freak Glen out as I tell him about how we could be friends. No one wants to hear that from a stranger.
Overall, the night ended with Lisa and I walking back to our car and we passed a bar that was still open. A Toad poster advertising the concert was taped in the window and Lisa pointed it out to me telling me to go get it. Normally I would ask if I could have the poster. If you know me, you’ll know that I’ve been to a bar all of once and it was only to meet up with friends, so I’m not fluent in bar etiquette. I saw the poster and knew I wanted it so I just took it. Didn’t ask for permission. Didn’t look back to make sure it was ok, just walked up, untaped it, walked out, and then got in the car and drove away. Not at all characteristic of me, but I didn’t care. I wanted that poster. Incredible end to an incredible evening. Click on the picture below for the gallery from the show.
