We went on a daaaaate! A double date, actually. A REALLY good one!
We were among the crowd of lucky people that opened up JazzFest last night! The ten day event was kicked off in the Bess gardens, and we were there! We were there super early, in fact.
Brady and I picked Carrie up on our way out of town, and we met Carrie’s husband, Braden, in a parking lot near the event. He had picked up supper for all of us, so we grabbed our takeout, lawn chairs, and jackets, and headed to line up with the keeners.
We were pretty close to the front of the line, which was SO exciting! The people ahead of us teased us for how we set up in line, but I think they were just jealous 😉
We felt a little bit silly being there so early, but only a little silly. Mostly just excited for the almost guaranteed front row seats. We still planned to stand during Walk Off the Earth, but the doors opened at 6:00, and our band wasn’t scheduled to start until 9:30! So, sitting.
Turns out that was an excellent choice on our part. The openers werrrrre not great. No burn, but they really didn’t fit wither Walk Off the Earth, nor the “jazz” part of JazzFest. Both were heavy on the rap side of things, and neither were great :/ But, maybe someone loves them! As the openers played, the rain picked up.
It was POURING by the time the second opener was wrapping up.
We were all in jackets, hoods up, with garbage bags over our laps in an effort to get less wet. It sort of worked, but only a little, lol! We were all DRENCHED.
Braden ran back to his truck to get a full rain suit right before 9:00, but as we suspected, Walk Off the Earth started their show early! Because RAIN!!!
As soon as they started, we abandoned our chairs and made our way into the front crowd. Braden missed the first song or two, but we kept an eye out for him, and he quickly joined us. It was right around that point when the rain lifted.
It was an amazing show. The band was ON, with no visible missteps, and strong voices. Their crew is amazing, catching guitars and ukuleles as the band threw them across the stage, and bringing out the next setup of percussion instruments in perfect timing. Beard Man’s keyboard still sat on the stage, lit by candles, even though he’s not around to play it anymore. The tributes for him were pretty emotional. It was just awesome.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – whether you know their music or not, they are worth a watch/listen. Yet, if you’re not familiar with them, you may be the odd one out. Everyone sang along. It was a happy, loving crowd of fans. They have this really cool way of making you feel like you’re part of something special just by being there.
We encored the band once the show “ended,” obviously. They came out with maybe three more songs, and as they played the show out, the rain started again. Honestly, it was kind of perfect. Loud voices closing out an amazing show, getting soaked by the rain that we so desperately need. It felt powerful, somehow.
We all walked away from the show just bursting. It had been SO fun. It was our second double date to see Walk Off the Earth, and we agreed there is really no way we can let them come through the city without going to see them together 🙂 Its just too good. Carrie opted to drive home with her husband (#rejectionhurts)
and Brady and I headed home ourselves. We buzzed about the concert the whole way home, and then recounted virtually the entire thing back to Jerilee, who had watched our kids despite being SO under the weather! I imagine we’ll be talking about the show for a while.
Stay dry this weekend. Or, don’t 🙂 I haven’t gotten so rain soaked in years and it felt really wonderful. Highly recommend. 10/10.