Metallica Concert

I am officially no longer a Metallica virgin! Can you see my excitement??? Jason surprised me last night by taking me to dinner and then to see Metallica LIVE. I was beyond thrilled! I've been wanting to see them for years but something has always prevented me from being able to attend - being too young (per my Daddy), being pregnant or having a newborn. But the time finally came for me to experience the gift of music, presented by Metallica. Oh it was such sweet music to my ears.

When I found out and shared the news with my closest friends, they laughed. No really, they laughed. Hard. At me! Apparently, it's difficult for people to see me have such an appreciation for Metallica's music. I can't see how they can't love them just as equally! Have you ever heard their music before? It's incredible! Even my children love their music. I digress. Back to my friends... they insisted that I wear all black - black lipstick, black eyeshadow, dye my hair black, black nail polish, all black leather clothes. I'm serious friends, these were their suggestions! I opted for my normal apparel - jeans, flip flops and a Metallica shirt. How could I have gotten any cuter?! I know you were all teasing me though =)

When we got there I was not surprised really. There were the crazies who looked like they live in their vans and go from one crazy rock concert to another. There were people who definitely got all dressed for the occasion and those like me - just a hard-core fan who dresses normally wanting to experience a favorite band live. Just a sneak peak, this is the guy in front of me. LOL. I made Jason switch seats with me because even standing I wasn't able to see above or around his mohawk. Yes, I did take a picture of some strange guys hair just to blog about it. I say if you actually have this kind of hairdo, you're looking to make a blog or two. The level of immaturity at a heavy metal concert varied greatly which made for some incredible people watching! A few things I don't understand:

• Mosh pits - I just can't see the fun in running and jumping into each other. It's quite interesting to observe these from afar because as the night goes on, few people like to have someone else slammed into their backside and all this does is cause fights to break out. But aside from that? I have no interest in jumping into someone or having someone else slam themselves into me.
• Body-surfing - Not sure where the fun lies here either. So random people, lots of people, who you don't know are holding you above their heads and passing you around. Their hands are touching all over your body. Nasty hands. Hands you have no idea where they've been. And all the while, they are attempting to "surf" you onto the stage. Do they really think they are going to make it past the five feet space difference from the crowd to the stage and pass the multiple three hundred pound bodyguards? Really?
• Head-banging - Why oh why would someone want to bang their head so hard and/or circle it so quickly? Does this impress the artists? Because all I can think of is the headache, the whiplash and the tangled hair I'd have to brush out. No thank you.

I also want to shout out an apology. Mark it down, save the page, I am apologizing to my father. I'm very sorry Daddy for begging you and begging you to let me go to a Metallica concert. I understand a little more now why your response was, "Not only 'no', but HELL NO!" when I asked you as a teenager. Thank you for saving my life by not letting me go. I don't think I'd have made it out as the same person all those years ago. The bands singing before Metallica were quite scary and I wasn't too crazy hearing them drop the f-bomb so many times. That really wasn't necessary.

Now it's time to explain the passion I have for Metallica and why. I went through a dark period during a few of my teenage years and this group somehow became my solace. The lyrics spoke to me and kept me grounded enough to keep moving ahead. During those dark years I was not very happy, I didn't enjoy life or people, I was looking to walk down the wrong path, wanting to be in trouble and in general just not caring for too much of anything. And the few things I did care for, I shouldn't have been. Believe it or not, Metallica's music calms my nerves.

As I stood their last night soaking in the fact that I had finally made it to their concert, I was reminded of all the things I had gone through, of all the mistakes I had made, and how I somehow made it back to the right path. Some of you watched me walk through this stage in life and prayed continuously, thank you. Some of you may have wondered about those years but never quite knew what to think of me or the line I was walking or pushing, totally understandable. There are even some of who had no idea and find it hard to picture someone other than who I am today. Because of these trying times, I have a deep, personal appreciation for Metallica. They were there with me, keeping me moving and giving me something to live for. Who knew people actually lived to get in their car, roll the windows down and turn the radio up?! They became my constant escape.

Now onto some happier things... pictures!
I had a little teenage moment here. I wanted a picture of the two of us but I couldn't quite find it in me to ask my neighbor to take it for me. He was smashed before we even got to our seats, so it was up to me to get the job done. I tried the newest picture-taking method of doing it yourself several different times using several different angles and hoping that at least one is usable. That's hard work! I was having the hardest time trying to get ONE picture with our heads in the photo. That was the best I could do. But give a girl some credit - it was dark and very few people their liked the flash of lights, or lights in general.

Here is the picture Jason got of me in my new most favorite ever t-shirt. I think I might frame it and put it above my bed to remind me that I finally got to see the best band ever live in concert!

And just a couple of cool pics of Metallica and a video.

Their opening song. I thought of Cameron the ENTIRE night and how much he would have loved seeing Metallica. But alas, he has to wait! I know few people will appreciate the video, but it's my blog and I want to watch it often =)

**working on this video**

And I took this video to show Cameron what a concert was like. This was their opening song. I had recorded their song "One" and accidentally deleted it. That just might be the absolute stupidest thing I have EVER done!

Thank you Jason for the incredible gift. It was definitely an experience and an amazing time!! I can officially mark this to-do off my Bucket List =)