Living like a Rockstar

I like driving when there isn't too much of it and not when I am tired. Straightaway roads in the silence can be therapeutic. It's amazing how hours can pass before realizing I haven't said a word and yet I have not observed the silence. Memories from my childhood will resurface sparked by a familiar looking house along the road which then feeds into puddling jumping through time to other long forgotten moments of my past. Then I might get distracted by a red light and watch a woman carrying a child across the street which makes me think about my future and where I might be. And at other times, a catchy billboard will let my creativity loose and I create a new story, a fiction of the lives outside my own.

After an hour or two of running through these thoughts I feel like I have done some work even though I haven't moved. I feel satisfied as if I stretched the muscles of my mind and feel lighter and energized. My face is relaxed and my temperament transformed. The best part about the 'driving meditation' is that time passes without notice and makes the long road seem a few miles shorter.

The silent drive to Virginia Beach, VA on Saturday ended in chaos as we entered the densely populated city. The clear blue sky on a weekend amplified the number of people that came out to enjoy the sand, sun and waves and the relatively short stretch of beach (compared to other beaches we have visited) magnified the masses. Pulling an SUV with a trailer attached to it in the wide open is stressful enough but putting us in a thick fog of half naked people running back and forth across the road is stress level red!

The affects of my earlier meditation wore off quickly. We arrived at the hotel around 3:30 PM to check into the room that we would be sharing with Evan's parents that night. I tried to find parking in the 4 story garage but halfway up the complex worried that we might not fit the maximum height requirement. We received confirmation of this when we heard a loud scream belt out from the top of the aluminum trailer meeting the concrete overhang. My stress went through the roof with it!

I needed to get out of there so with much dismay Evan and I had decided to head over to the venue to try to relax and then to get a hotel on the road later that night. When we arrived to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater we had some dinner and then went out to the stage for Evan's sound check. Since the stage crew had set up early that day Evan was able to jam around at his leisure. He was rehearsing a new set when Vivian Campbell, the guitarist for Def Leppard, came out to listen.

Vivian Campbell from Def Leppard
playing with Evan on 6/25/11

We had heard the week prior at the Alabama show that Vivian was interested in playing with Evan during one of his sets but we hadn't been able to get the two together to rehearse. I watched from side stage as the awkward introduction was made and the two fumbled on stage like teenagers each trying to ask the other out on a first date. Finally it came out, Evan asked if Vivian would be interested in playing on his set. Now that ice had been broken, they got to work selecting a song to perform that night.

Vivian has a passion for blues music as does Evan so they chose to cover Bill Wither's, "Use me up". Evan opened his set with "Latitude" which is a slide guitar piece before welcoming Vivian to the stage. The two of them jammed out while Evan sang the lyrics. It was a great collaboration that riled the crowd to their feet. Evan closed the show with "Woodpecker" and invited people to visit him at the nearest merchandise booth where he would be signing CDs. Another terrifically successful night!

After the show, Evan and I stayed in the scariest hotel. It was just outside of venue about 30 miles down the road at an America's Best Value Inn. The decor reminded me of scenes from the movie, "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson. Our room wasn't in the main motel but in a building at the back of the property. The outdated carpet leading us upstairs was covered in living creatures, a plethora of insect life. When we reached the door of our room, the number 405 had been scrapped off and were rewritten in childlike handwriting with trails of dripping paint. The gurgling noises coming from the bathroom kept me up most of the night along with the fear of something hiding under the bed!