Last weekend we attended our first concert since before the modern version of the plague disrupted daily lives and the chicken wing supply chain. It was the Last Summer on Earth Tour with Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Barenaked Ladies. The show had been rescheduled twice and we bought the tickets in December of 2019. So, it wasn’t until I heard the first note of a guitar that I was certain it was going to happen.

The music was great, the bands enthusiastic, and the crowd mostly well behaved. Of course, how rowdy is the typical audience for those three bands anyway, right? However, the people-watching was quite entertaining. There was a guy in his 50s on a date with a woman in her 30s. She had the panicked look of a teenager about to spend 3 hours at grandma’s house.

My brother used to work in the music industry, so I captured about 30 seconds of video of the show to send to him. It wasn’t until after I watched the replay that I realized a woman photobombed me and grabbed her boobs while I was recording. My brother didn’t seem to mind.

I also completely missed the woman who threw her underwear over our shoulders. We were a good 30 rows back from the stage, so it landed in the aisle. Maybe she was trying to hit on an usher and not the band? A female usher later picked them up and then realized what she was holding. She dry heaved.

Speaking of ushers, the one closest to us didn’t like the Barenaked Ladies. He actually turned around at one point in the show and flipped them off. I’m pretty sure that’s against the Usher’s Code. Although I haven’t been able to confirm that because an internet search lasting five minutes failed to produce the Usher’s Code. What other secrets are ushers hiding?

Meanwhile, back at my house this week, the duct cleaners are here sucking out 36 years’ worth of dust, dander, and dead spiders out of our HVAC system. We decided it was high time we got rid of all of that filth, and then get to work filling the air ducts with a more modern collection of detritus. I’m embarrassed to say those vents haven’t been cleaned since Reagan was president. Or 2 years before Toad the Wet Sprocket formed.

Carry on, Citizens!