Every roadtrip seems to have that one low point where everyone is too tired to go on. The seven hour drive from St. Petersburg to Atlanta was that moment for us. We originally planned to drive as far as we could after the St. Pete show, stop at a hotel for the rest of the night, and finish the drive after checkout. In reality, we made it about 30 minutes outside of St. Pete before completely giving up and beginning to search for a hotel (one foiled attempt to switch drivers that spiraled into some sort of delusional crying laughter about “prostitute fires” sealed the deal that we all needed to stop to sleep). It took roughly eight phone calls to hotels in three or four cities before we realized we weren’t going to find something right off of I-75 so soon after hurricane Irma, and we finally found a place about 20 minutes off of the interstate in Dade City, wherever that is. In my most sleep-deprived moment, I turned back to look at a pile of assorted things I was about to carry inside and completely lost it. I realized I was about to walk into a hotel a disheveled mess at 2 AM carrying chocolate milk, a sandwich, and a bottle of peroxide. In the moment it felt like the most ridiculous situation, and I wound up face-down against my suitcase in the trunk just whimpering because I was too tired to even cry. That night definitely goes somewhere in my top 10 most desperately needed sleeps.
 |
| Screenshot from a video that probably never needs to see the internet. |
We got in a surprisingly short line in Atlanta around 4pm. We were still so exhausted that we planned to aim for the balcony because it was seated, and the idea of standing for an hour before the show just sounded awful. By some miracle, I saw a few front row spots still open when we got inside. I walked about 10 feet towards my happy place, then felt myself turn around almost involuntarily and walk back up the balcony stairs instead. I sat in a cushioned seat before Hanson took the stage and during most of the slower songs, and I still don't regret that decision.
I'm not even going to lie to you. I'm looking at the setlist right now trying to decide what I need to say about the show, and I've got nothing. I had fun; I'm glad I went, but I was still tired enough that it probably didn't stand out to me the way it must have for someone seeing their first, last, or only show of the tour, or even just someone who got more than six hours of sleep in the previous two days. I auto-piloted through it and my brain and body did all of the right things at the right moments, but it's kind of a haze looking back. It's not a testament to being jaded or burned out; it's a PSA about what happens when you don't take care of yourself and make sure you get enough rest. Maybe it's also a PSA about aging and trying to do the same crazy stuff you've been doing for 10 years. I did it to myself and I know it (though they manage to put just enough time between tours that I'll probably still think I can power through three days on virtually no sleep next time, too). I'm sure it didn't help that we had to drive all night after Atlanta without sleep too so there was no time to rest and retain any memories, but that's a really fun story for the next blog post and actually doesn't have anything to do with a Hanson show for once.
Fortunately, being crazy enough to drive around on little sleep and spend dozens of hours in line does have the perk of making new friends. So here's
an actual Atlanta review from one I made this tour. Enjoy!
1 comment:
Not so much with Hanson, but in my Spring Awakening hey day, I had plenty of those low moments of no sleep and pointless tears and laughing uncontrollably at the sheer absurdity of it all. But hey, those moments make great stories, right?! :P
Post a Comment