I told Jon about the extra ticket and that he gets to see a great band if interested in going. He was in, so a road trip was planned.
We took off early enough to cruise up the coast from Huntington Beach to Seal Beach. This gave us a chance to explore Seal Beach, where I lived in 1998. Wow, that long ago??!? Dinner was at the bar of Walt’s Wharf, an excellent seafood place.
On to the venue. Easy to find, the Carpenter Center was dedicated by Karen and Richard Carpenter. The lobby had many of their gold records, pictures, as well as Karen’s drum set and sweater from a performance (performance pic included).
I chatted with surrounding others while waiting for the concert to begin. Some had never seen GBS and were dragged to the concert (as was Jon). Others had been to all local concerts, as had I – we listed off all venues and dates. A group of women in front row center stage had been on the Ships and Dip 2011 tour.
The concert was great as always. Sean bantered about walking around the UCLB campus and seeing man-made snow, Alan got in an Olympic ice hockey dig. Ushers had to chase down a few concertgoers from dancing in front of the stage. Chris walked down in the audience during a song that he sat out, and Alan singled out two audience kids guitar pick gifts.
Front row seating had its benefits. Never a blocked view but had to be aware of blocking other’s views.
| The first Row = Great Seats! |
The speedy drive home after the concert. And another concertgoer shared pics (thanks, Crystal!). Apparently, my blackberry pics are terrible compared to a real camera picture.