Aren’t emotions the weirdest things? They can make you feel so good or bad depending on the situation. If you read my scribbling last week, you might remember that my two sons were going to take me out for a night on the town starting with the George Thorogood concert at the Golden State Theater. That thought brings back that warm feeling you get when you hear your kids tell you that it was one of the best nights they ever had and they were happy to spend the money on the guy they love. Even a few days later, I still get a warm feeling in my stomach thinking about how much fun it was to go out with my kids and have them take care of all the drinks and food.
I can tell you that it was one of my most memorable evenings of fun and music, and it was probably the last time we will see George Thorogood and the Destroyers in our neck of the woods. In case my memory gets a little clouded, I’ll wear one of the three T-shirts they bought for me. That was their entire fault. The shirts were being sold just inside the venue and there were no other customers when Reed and I stepped in.
If you have ever been to a concert, you know that the vendors’ clothing booth is usually the most crowded point. I had no one competing for the clothing, so I started at one end of the table and took one of each shirt offered. I was kidding my sons because they said they were buying. I actually paid for a couple of them because I also had to have a hat and a bandana. This was before the drinks were started.
Austin had bought the tickets, and although we didn’t know exactly where our seats were, we knew because of the price they were in a good location. So we looked at the seating chart and headed for the first row. When we asked the security lady where we were to sit, she told us we were in the right spot. Our seats were right at the edge of the stage. We looked around and decided that these were not, as advertised, the best seats but they were pretty cool. Then this fellow and his mate came near us discussing their seats. Austin heard them saying they thought we were sitting in their seats, so he quickly changed seats with them as their seats were a row back and they were simply the best seats in the house. You could see everything on the stage.
They had an opening act that consisted of a three-piece band that played some great music, but we were getting antsy because we wanted George to come out and start the show. The opening act walked off stage and we could see that they were setting up for the star. So we talked about how exciting it was and how happy we were to all be together to see my favorite rock and roll singer.
Just as we were getting ready to make another run to the concession stand, George snuck out on the stage. Just as we spotted him, he started strumming his guitar. The place exploded! Then he turned and walked over to us and stood right in front of us as the beat came on. That is one of the best parts of George and his group. The beat was tickling our feat, but it didn’t matter because we were jumping up and down and screaming.
As he was standing only a few feet from us, he took off his sunglasses and they fell to the floor. He kept playing and we were singing along with him, as we knew every word to his songs. Then Austin jumped up and grabbed the fallen glasses and gave them to me. “George Thorogood’s glasses, Dad!” Reed took the glasses and put them into the bag of T-shirts we had. Then we sort of forgot them. I had congratulated Austin for being so quick, as he jumped up and got them off the floor. He said, “I got them for you, Dad. You have a pair of George Thorogood’s glasses. You have a great souvenir of the concert.” He was right. I was pretty stoked on getting them.
The three of us continued to sing with the star and dance. As I mentioned, the bass was one of the best things about the show, and I noticed the lights kept coming on and off. I thought to myself that it was a mini light show and just kept dancing. George came over and stood right in front of us, keeping the beat strong. The rest of the show was just wonderful and the music was fantastic. I didn’t sit in my seat more than a moment or two before George walked off stage, so we could all scream for him to come back out for the encore — which we did!
Austin had left to make sure we were hydrated and this guy came over and said he had to get the sunglasses back. I, of course, knew nothing about what he was talking about and asked who he was. He told me he was the band’s manager and that if he couldn’t get the glasses back, we would have to leave. We pretty much cracked up at that and told him to hurry and get reinforcements to make sure we left. Then he went to a security guard and that guy told him to pack sand, so he said he would wait outside with a cop to get them back.
This lady who was behind us whispered over to Austin and told him to make sure he kept the glasses. She said she knew George Thorogood pretty well and was sure he would have wanted us to have them. That pretty much closed the conversation. So, we kept the glasses, which by the way were the cheapest sunglasses any of us had ever seen. One guy said to have George come out and ask us for the glasses and that ended the conversation with the “manager.”
I must tell you of the real hero of the evening. It is my beautiful bride who, when she had heard we were going to Uber back to Gonzales, said that we were not going to spend that money and that she would not only take us over to the theater but would come and get us too. She doesn’t share my adoration of George Thorogood, so she had already told us that she didn’t want to go to the concert but would be our designated driver. That is simply one reason why I love her so much. She has given me these two wonderful boys and taught my daughter how to be a mother. I can’t even think of what I would be doing or where I would be without her.
God Bless.
