Blues, Beer, Brothers

 (note: i know that travel blogs can be quite boring, but I HAD to write down the details of this night so I wouldn't forget.  feel free to skip this if you are so inclined)

 (cell phone quality)

We just returned from our 4 day vacation to San Diego.  It was lovely.  So lovely in fact, that I have a major case of the "just-got-home-from-a-too-short-vacation-don't-want-to-do-regular-life" blues.  Sigh.  But, what better way to relive the awesomeness than to blog about it?  I will start with an account of our eventful first night in San Diego and the INFAMOUS Avett Brothers concert.

After checking in to our hotel, getting some lunch, and walking along the bay for a little bit we decided to head out to the concert early.  Not only did we have to drive downtown during rush hour, but we had general admission tickets, which means our spots on the floor were going to be first come first serve.  And I was having serious panic attacks about being stuck in the back.  I'm short, ya know?  Plus, I LOVE ME SOME AVETT BROTHERS.  As if I had to tell you that.

Plus, we had no idea where we were going.  This was the only bad part of our entire vacation.  Despite Matt's fancy phone with the GPS, we got lost EVERYWHERE we went.  But I digress.

We finally got downtown around 7:00 pm, but parking was a joke.  We drove around forever looking for a free meter spot (meters are free after 6:00pm) but we don't find anything.  And apparently downtown San Diego is a hoppin' place on a Thursday night.  So we finally pay to park in a lot that is a few blocks away from The House of Blues.  At this point I should also mention that it is an unseasonably cool and windy day and I am wearing a t-shirt because I know I will get hot during the concert.

So we start walking to the venue, and Matt realizes he still has his sunglasses on his head and doesn't want them to break in his pocket during the concert.  So we walk back to the car and put them in there.  We head back to the venue.  We get all the way to the door before we realize that we left the tickets in the car.  So we walk all the way back to the car again to get the tickets.  I am freezing, and getting anxious about not getting a good spot.  We get back to the venue, wait in line, get to the door and the bouncer asks for my I.D. because it is a bar.  Problem is that I left my purse...you guessed it...IN THE CAR.  So we have to go back to the car, again and get my I.D. because there is no way they're letting me in without it.  We finally get there, show our I.D., give them our tickets, and then a bouncer stops us and says that cameras are not allowed in The House of Blues.  I put up a stink about this because "I came all the way from Utah to see this band, and you're not even going to let me take pictures?!"  I was pissed, but the bouncer didn't care.  We either had to take it back to the car or pay $3 to check it.  I was not about to walk to the car for a FOURTH time...so we checked the damn camera.

 So by this time, I am freezing, and a little grumpy...but decide it doesn't matter because we are at the concert.  Once we get over the initial shock of being in a club like this (i.e. a bar where everyone and their momma is drinking) we start to relax and realize the everyone is so busy getting sloshed that they aren't really worried about where they are standing.  So we plant ourselves as close to the front of the stage as we can, determined not to move for ANYTHING.  My determination on this is almost sick.  There is no one and nothing that is going to move me from this prime spot, and Matt knows it.  He is also so determined to make this an awesome experience for me, that he becomes my own personal bouncer at one point.  LOVE that man.

The opening band (Truth and Salvage Company) starts and they are pretty good.  The crowd is getting into it.  We're having fun.  All of a sudden these two guys shove their way right in front of me, and I am pissed because I can't see a dang thing.  They are clearly drunk, slurring their speech, wobbling, and hanging all over each other.  One of them leaves to get more drinks, and the one who stays behind is swaying so bad on his feet that I have to push him away to keep him from falling on me.  He is chewing tobacco, and he looks like he is about to either throw up or pass out, and I am getting really scared that these bozo's are going to ruin this night for me.  When the other guy comes back he spills his beer on me, and apologizes and asks if I want his beer.  I refrain from swearing at him and say no thank you.  I ask him if his friend is all right because he looks pretty sick to me, and he's all "no, no he's fine" and hands the dude another beer.  I give Matt a look that says "we gotta get these guys outta here".

When the opening band is singing the last song of their set The Avett Brothers come on stage and start singing with them, and I start screaming and jumping up and down because I am so excited...but I really can't see much of anything because of the two drunk goons in front of me.  Once that song ends there is a break to reset the stage before The Avett Brothers start their set.  And by some miracle one of the guys leaves, but the other one stays.  He waits and waits and waits, but his friend never comes back so he leaves too...and Matt pushes me forward to fill up the space where they were standing so they can't come back.  And I am not joking, 30 seconds later The Avett Brothers come on stage to start their set, and I can see perfectly!  It was a miracle (assuming that miracles can happen in bars)!

From that point on, everything is perfect.  They play tons of songs from their newest album, but some of my favorites from their older albums too, including my all time favorite November Blue.  I may or may not have cried a little.  It was all just so beautiful, and fun, and perfect.  All the frustrating stuff that happened before the concert disappeared completely.  At some point the drunk guys came back and tried to push their way back in front of me, but my man wouldn't let them...and eventually a bouncer came and took them off the floor because they were falling all over people. HA!

By the end of the concert Matt and I had been on our feet for 5 hours, and I could have kept dancing and jumping and singing for another five.  I was high on music.  As Matt and I walked back to our car, we were already talking about when we could get to another Avett Brother show.  It really was the perfect start to a perfect vacation.

The end.