May 24, 2023 -- I'm Finally 52 and Ridiculously Excited to go to Fresno!

Save Mart Center
Fresno, CA

 

It's January 2020 and Matchbox Twenty announces their summer tour. I take a look at the schedule and they're playing in Las Vegas on September 27 -- just a couple of days before Ana Marie's birthday and a week before mine. Show is on a Sunday -- let's do a birthday trip to Vegas! I grab a pair of VIP tickets for us and we plan to have a fun girls trip for our 52nd birthdays.

It's March 2020 and COVID has taken over the world. Stay at home orders and restrictions on large gatherings are rolling out. The SF Bay Area starts with a six-week shelter in place order, and I start working from home. Events I have tickets for in May and June are canceled. Still, September is six months away. Sure, I don't expect the shelter in place to actually lift in six weeks, but surely it won't last six months.

It's May 2020 and things seem to be getting worse instead of better. Matchbox Twenty announces that their tour will be postponed. Stay tuned for the rescheduled dates.

It's June 2020 and Matchbox Twenty announces the rescheduled tour dates and tour is pushed to the second half of 2021, but there is no Las Vegas date on the new schedule, so our tickets are refunded. Sigh, OK what are the NorCal dates? They're playing at Shoreline in Mountain View and there are three VIP seats available, but stupid Ticketmaster won't allow a purchase of 2 tickets. OK, we're still a year away let's wait and try again closer to tour time.

It's March 2021 and Ana Marie and I look for tickets again. We still can't get two decent seats for a Saturday night show at Shoreline, so all right, let's do Fresno. It'll be a three and a half hour drive for each of us from different directions, but we are able to snag second row VIP tickets. Bonus the show is once again on a Sunday before our birthdays.

It's April 2021 and Matchbox Twenty announces that the tour will be postponed to 2022. The show at Shoreline is dropped from the schedule, so we're pleased we decided to opt for Fresno. Of course now the show is on a Tuesday in May rather than a Sunday in September. 

It's February 2022 and things have finally started trending towards "normal." I have tickets to see an almost 80-year old Paul McCartney in Oakland in May, and I'm looking forward to baseball season. Finally, I'm getting to do things I love and haven't been able to do for nearly two years. Alas, the 50-something year old members of Matchbox Twenty again decide to postpone their tour and now my random Tuesday in May becomes a random Wednesday in May -- a full year later. Sigh.

It's December 2022 and I see a tweet from Matchbox Twenty -- Rob Thomas is on a talk show for Christmas and announces that Matchbox Twenty has finished recording a new album. Well hot damn, maybe that means the tour really will actually happen this time! It's been three years, I don't think I could take another postponement.

It's March 2023 and Matchbox Twenty releases the first single from their new album. Wow. This might really be happening! And they've added a couple of shows -- Concord on the Sunday before our scheduled Fresno show, Vegas on the Saturday after. Alas, I can't do the Concord show due to work obligations the following day and Ana can't go to Vegas. OK, we'll have our mid-week Fresno show. 

So you can see why when Wednesday finally rolled around Ana and I were excited to go to Fresno! No one is ever excited to go to Fresno! But three loooooooooong years of waiting does create a build up of anticipation. Still, in the back of my head I remembered the previous time Ana Marie and I had seen Matchbox Twenty -- our Friday night show got pushed to a Tuesday due to a sinkhole at Shoreline that prevented them from unloading their equipment. Please don't let us get this close and have another sinkhole-like issue! (Later that tour another show had the start delayed due to bees! No bees either please!)

I hit the road for the nearly 200 mile drive about 8:30. That should put me in Fresno around noon where I'd meet Ana at the hotel. I set up Apple Car Play in my new car -- Google Maps for directions, Apple Music to play my MB20/Rob Thomas playlist. Everything is going well until I hit Pacheco Pass and Car Play crashes. Great. I knew how to get to Pacheco Pass... it's from there on I needed help! I pulled over at one of the many fruit stands to get everything reset and grab a snack. Back on the road with only one more pit stop and I arrive at the hotel about 12:30, just a few minutes after Ana. We get checked in and fortunately our room is ready, so we can drop off our stuff and get changed before going to grab some lunch and pick up our tickets at will call. Yep -- real actual paper tickets! I can't remember the last time I had a real ticket to a show.

We killed some time before heading back to the Save Mart Center at 4 for our soundcheck/Q&A/photo opportunity. When we got to the arena, the crowd outside was pretty small -- maybe 60 or so people. Well this is going to be a treat. We checked in and got our VIP badges and mingled for a bit until our host Maggie called everyone together to go over the protocols. While explaining that the photo would be socially distanced (not surprising at all) she made the comment that "the guys are a bit older" which got a good laugh from the similarly aged crowd. We headed in and settled into seats in the second row -- just about where we'd be sitting for the show.

photo courtesy
Ana Marie Sotuela

Almost as soon everyone was sitting down, out comes Rob Thomas, Kyle Cook, and Paul Doucette. I've been to soundchecks before, so I'm immediately surprised when Rob starts talking to the collected crowd and let's us know that bassist Brian Yale is sick and won't be performing (oh no! Sinkhole! Bees!) but they were able to call up a replacement from LA (whew!) and the show will go on. He then let's us know they won't be doing a usual soundcheck, but hey we'll play a few songs. Paul disappeared back stage, but Kyle grabbed an acoustic guitar and he and Rob play two songs for us -- "Unwell" and "If You're Gone." Well AWESOME!

Paul returned to the stage and there was a brief Q&A and there are clearly some die hard fans in the group as Rob knew a couple of the people asking questions. It reminded both Ana and me of so many different Journey moments. Next up was the photo op. The guys sat down at the edge of the stage and small groups of fans would get their opportunity to go up to the stage, while remaining behind the barricade, for a brief chat and a photo. Ana and I chatted with fellow fans in line and it was fun as always. It's amazing how sharing a common love for music leads to these encounters.

Soon enough it was our turn, and we let the guys know that we are now officially 52 and Rob joked about being in a time machine. Ana and Kyle had a quick chat about his fedora. We could see Maggie creeping up on our side, so it was time to turn towards the photographer and get our picture taken. (Still waiting for it to be posted at the time of this writing.)

Our pre-show experience was over quickly, but a great treat. We still had a while to wait until show time, but we didn't have to leave the arena, so we hung around until the swag booth opened and waited to purchase some souvenirs for ourselves. We'd both already pre-ordered the show recording, so it was a couple of new t-shirts. While in line, the woman in front of us turned around to Ana and made a face thinking it was her friend behind her. This resulted in great laughs and chatting again with our fellow fans. We ran into them again a short time later after we grabbed some food and drinks and shared a table while we noshed.

We headed inside and grabbed our second row seats. I haven't had seats that good for a big show in a very long time. We chatted some more with people we'd met earlier while we waited for the opener, Matt Nathanson, to come out and perform. I knew of him and liked the couple of songs I'd heard so I was looking forward to what his set would be like. 

Matt came out and put on a hugely entertaining set. Between the catchy tunes of his own, he was extremely gregarious and amusing. It was a really fun set. One highlight came when he picked up a 12-string guitar and made a comment along the lines of "it's hard to hold a 12-string guitar and not think of Poison" which got a laugh and he strummed the opening of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Suddenly it turns into a sing along of the first verse. Yeah, this was a crowd of 80s kids! He also threw in bits of Tina Turner songs ("What's Love Got to Do With It" and "Private Dancer") in the middle of his songs as a tribute to the legend who'd passed away earlier in the day. 

After a brief intermission to change over sets, it was time for Matchbox Twenty to hit the stage. Lights down and the stage backdrop lights up. The band takes the stage and open with a new track "Friends" which while not totally surprising meant it took me a moment to process and I couldn't form much of an opinion as I listened. (The new album was released today and I'm listening to it as I write this, and the more I hear "Friends" the more I like it.) That was quickly followed by "How Far We've Come" and got the crowd really going.

Rob welcomed the crowd to the show and let everyone know (again for those of us in the VIP group) that Brian Yale was sick and that they called up a session player from LA -- Joe Ayoub -- who had learned their set list with about 4-hours notice. This led to a spontaneous chant of "Joe! Joe! Joe!" in the crowd which amused the band and became a recurring bit during the show.

My first highlight in the set was "If You're Gone" -- again a bit stripped down with just Rob and Kyle, though this time with an electric guitar. It's one of my favorites and it was great to hear it live twice in one day! The next highlight was "These Hard Times." It's a song that's taken on a new meaning over the past three years and I got a bit teary eyed.

We got a nice treat towards the end of the set when Kyle took over on lead for "The Way" which is one of my favorite tunes from their album North. I think it's the first time I've seen Kyle sing lead in a Matchbox set, so the fact our seats were right in front of his microphone made this an extra special treat.

In addition to opening with a new tune, there were three other new songs in the set: "Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)" which has been out for a bit as their first single and is quite catchy; "Don't Get Me Wrong" (no, not a cover of the Pretenders tune); and "Rebels" which was the last song of the main set and I liked immediately. It may be my favorite from the new album so far.

The band headed off stage after "Rebels" and I turned to Ana and we ran down the list of songs they'd yet to play. Pretty much the biggest hits. And soon enough they were back on stage for the encore of "3 A.M.", "Unwell", "Push", and "Bright Lights." I will never ever tire of hearing "Bright Lights" and they nailed it again.

Leading up to this week, I'd been listening to my Matchbox Twenty/Rob Thomas playlist which includes several live shows from over the years and what amazed me as I listened was how consistent Rob's voice has been. It was the same on Wednesday night and as good as it ever was.

After a three year plus wait for this show, it's hard to believe it's done, but boy was this show worth the wait!

Set List (courtesy of setlist.fm)

Friends*
How Far We've Come
Real World
Disease
Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)*
She's So Mean
All I Need
If You're Gone
Mad Season
Don’t Get Me Wrong*
These Hard Times
The Way (Kyle Cook lead vocal)
Parade
Bent
Back 2 Good
Long Day
Rebels*

Encore:

3 A.M.
Unwell
Push
Bright Lights

*new song from Where the Light Goes

2020: The Year Without Concerts

October 19, 2019. That's the date of the last concert I attended. Ana Marie and I flew down to Vegas to see Journey during their residency at Caesar's Palace. It was a fun quick trip and an enjoyable show. I didn't expect I wouldn't be attending another concert for over a year.

I went to my first concert in September 1985 and this blog notes concerts I've attended since 1998. While some years between 1998 and now have had fewer concerts than others, there was always at least one or two. I imagine sometime in that 1985-1998 time frame there was a year or two I didn't go to a concert -- I was in my late teens and twenties then, I didn't always have money for concerts or someone to go to a show with (something I wasn't really comfortable with until my late 20s/early 30s.) Still, that's a long time ago now, half my lifetime. I've spent most of my adult life attending a couple of concerts a year -- it's one of my primary leisure expenses and something I'm willing to budget in other areas to afford when needed.

No concerts in over a year. 

At the start of 2020, I had tickets already lined up for three shows -- Journey and Bon Jovi here in the Bay Area and Matchbox 20 in Vegas. I actually had tickets to TWO Journey shows in the Bay Area having mistakenly purchased tickets for their scheduled show at the Concord Pavilion. I was trying to sell those tickets as I don't go to shows in Concord any longer unless it's the only choice I have (and I've traveled to LA and Vegas on a weekend rather than drive to Concord on a weeknight to see a show I want to see.) That's about the only good thing that's come out of having everything canceled due to a global pandemic -- I got that show refunded.

Hell, I got all my shows refunded. The Journey & Bon Jovi shows were scheduled for May and June, and when the shelter in place orders took effect here in the Bay Area in mid-March, I expected they'd likely be postponed at the least. Since the Journey shows were at outdoor venues, I gave them a higher chance of being canceled since postponing for say six months would mean having to find a different venue. When the shows were canceled, I wasn't surprised, but at least I still had the Matchbox 20 show to look forward to in September. Surely by September things would be back to normal.

As the months progressed it became clear that things would not be back to normal by September and that tour was rescheduled, this time with out the Vegas date, so there went the last show I had on the calendar. I don't know when I'll get to go to another one. There have been some smaller open-air venues that have had shows, and there have been "drive-in" concerts where you can go see live music in a parking lot in your car. I've not done any of those for several reasons, but the primary one being I don't feel safe doing so. I'm relatively healthy and would hopefully be OK should I catch COVID-19, but I don't want to risk exposing my parents who I try to see once a month these days. They're older and more vulnerable. I'm also on the list of employees who can go into my office. In my case, it's largely to escape an apartment that is too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. I have co-workers who can only do their work in their labs, and having the building shut down because of a potential exposure would be harmful to their work and deadlines. So I continue to limit where I go and what I do and who I see in hopes that someday soon we can get back to a more familiar routine of work and social lives.

It's mid-November now and the pandemic is still raging with cases spiking not just in the US, but world wide. Shows that have been pushed from 2020 into 2021 are still on the calendar, but I'm doubtful many will happen before about June. There are signs a vaccine may be ready soon, which is really amazing and a tribute to the scientists working on them, but realistically getting the vaccine widely distributed is going to take time. It's going to take longer for people to get fully inoculated, and that's if everyone actually does get vaccinated. With all of the politicization that has gone on around this public health issue there will be people who will refuse to get the vaccine -- either they are part of the anti-vaccine crowd or they are distrustful of the vaccine because of their political beliefs. It makes everyone less safe, and it will just make it that much longer before there is protection from this deadly virus. Even if everything goes well with the vaccine and it's distributed wider and faster than expected, I still suspect venues will limit their capacity or have their capacity limited by local public health officials. That will make tickets harder to come by.

So, will I go? That's the next question. When will I go to a show? What is my comfort level? Right now, I don't know. I doubt I will travel outside of the Bay Area for a show anytime soon. We've had some of the strictest health orders in the country which has so far kept the virus somewhat under control and as cases start rising again the heath orders are quickly tightening up again. While it's extremely frustrating that after eight months we're still having such restrictions in place, I also find that I feel safer knowing that our local public health officials and political leaders are willing to make the tough and sometimes unpopular choices to try to protect the lives of our communities. So if local restrictions are loosened enough to allow large events by next summer, I will probably try to find an opportunity to get to a local show. I feel less confident about other areas of the country, including other parts of California. I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be getting on a plane either, so any travels would be limited to where I could get easily by car. Still, the future is uncertain and unclear, so perhaps I won't be as hesitant as I am now.

But I miss concerts.

Long time readers will note that I rarely say I didn't enjoy a show, and that's because I rarely have. Sure some concerts are better than others, but for the most part what I get out of seeing live performances is more than just the show. When I'm at a show I will often close my eyes while I'm listening to the music. This seems a bit odd I'm sure since aren't I there to SEE my favorite performers a in person?  Well, yes, but it's more than that. I'm also there to FEEL the music, to feel the beat of the drums, the roar of the guitars, the energy of the crowd, to let all of that wash over me and take me to another place. There's a passion and emotion in live music that even the best recordings can't quite capture.

Back in June or so, as I was getting more and more stir-crazy from staying home for so long, I started thinking about the shows I'd like to see once they were allowed again. The fist thing that popped into my head was "God, I need a Springsteen show." More than anyone else I've ever seen, Bruce Springsteen shows are a celebration of life. Not long afterwards, he announced that he had a new album coming out in October. I've picked it up, and while it's themes are mostly about death and loss, it's also about celebrating life. Hopefully by this time next year he and the rest of the E Street Band will be back out on the road and feeding that energy they have to thousands of people. If so, I will be there -- I'll definitely need that feeling of "god it's great to be alive" I get whenever I see one of his shows.

Until then however, we wait. We wait for the spread to slow. We wait for a vaccine to become available and approved. We wait for it to be widely distributed. We wait for health orders to be loosened and lifted. We wait for venues to reopen. We wait for the joy, the camaraderie, the energy we find in live music.