U2 ROAD TRIP

Where we started the evening - row 71

On Sunday, Mindy and I drove up to Norman for the U2 concert at the University of Oklahoma football stadium. It was my third U2 concert and Mindy's first. Benjamin was supposed to go with me, but had to miss it because he got a paper accepted at a conference - work advancement comes over pleasure, unfortunately.

Where we ended the evening - row 15

The day was perfect for a drive, sunny and warm, but not too hot. We had Pirate's Booty, licorice, grapes, apple slices, and carrot sticks - Mindy had her customary Red Bull, and I had my tea and water - and a full tank of gas.

The concert was scheduled to start at 7, with the Black-Eyed Peas as the opening act. We arrived at our hotel in Oklahoma City (all the hotels in Norman were booked up solid - I was lucky to find the one we got) around 4, changed, and headed to Norman in search of dinner. I had gotten several recommendations for restaurants from former Normanites, but the crowd were so large around the campus that we ended up at Freebirds (a favorite from our Austin days) instead of any of those. Ah well, no complaints about a good burrito.

The crowd was an interesting mix of college kids, 30-40 year-olds, parents with children, and even people my parents' age (sorry Mom and Dad, but you are certainly older than most of the people I would expect to see at that sort of concert). I have never been to a college football game, but Mindy commented that the crowd really felt like that sort of crowd.

Eventually, we made our way to the stadium and climbed up to our seats in the nosebleed section (hey- what can I say - I am cheap when it comes to tickets). Actually, it wasn't truly the nosebleed section of the stadium - there was another level above us, but it wasn't in use for the concert. We had fun talking with the people around us, and speculating about how full the floor would get, once U2 started.

The only problem was the wind. Oklahoma is a pretty windy place, and according to one of the people seated near us, the wind that day was some of the strongest in quite awhile. We were near the top of the stadium, so the wind whipped around up there, bringing a cold edge with it. I began to regret leaving my extra sweatshirt and hat in the car.


But all such problems were quickly forgotten when, after the BEPs finished, a woman carrying a large wad of tickets came through our area and exchanged our nosebleed seats for ones only 15 rows away from the floor. We were still a ways from the stage, but the people actually looked like people, and not ants. Everyone in that section had been moved from up higher - I think they moved the original inhabitants to the floor or something - so we were all really excited. Everyone around us had to call someone else and exclaim "We just got moved down to row 15 (or 16 or 14...)!!!" Mindy quickly updated her Facebook status to do the same.


And then, U2 came on. It was awesome. The crowd stood up as soon as Larry Mullen Jr. appeared in the entrance, and didn't sit down until Bono directed us to, about 1.5 hours later. In all, they played for 2 hours - songs from the new album, songs from older albums, and songs from in-between. Mindy was spellbound throughout. I was too (apart from a couple of times drunk fans nearby tried to drown out Bono - not a wise thing to do). I am sad that Benjamin couldn't be there with me, but I had a really good time with Mindy. Thanks for the pictures Mindy!

Episode 309, in which we go to a saxophone concert

Last night, we had the pleasure of going to hear the Washington Saxophone Quartet in concert at UCA. They were artists in residence this week, giving lessons, a master class (which I would have liked to go to, had I not been working), attending classes, and giving the concert. It was quite a good concert, with music from Bach, Pat Metheny, Paquito d'Rivera, and Aaron Copeland, among others. My favorites were the Concerto by Allessandro Marcello - originally written for oboe and orchestra - that they played with the addition of the UCA saxophone professor, Jackie Lamar, the "New York Suite" by Paquito d'Rivera, and the one movement they played from "Songs for Tony," by Michael Nyman. I used to play the alto sax all the time - took classical and jazz lessons, played in band and jazz band - until I got to college and only had time for one instrument, and I used to absolutely love the alto. Now that I have been playing the bassoon for so long, I found myself more drawn to the sound of the tenor and of the baritone. Interesting. The size of the audience was a little disappointing, given that the concert was free, but not too surprising. I think it would have been better had the concert been in a smaller auditorium, so the crowd wouldn't have been so spread out. Oh well, we had fun.