I hate changing my mind and then changing it again. But ... well, I did so for a number of small reasons, the sum of them convincing me to stay away, but not that convincingly. First and possibly foremost are my parents. I hate that what they'll say and think about me if I say, "Hey, I'm going to a concert," is foremost on my mind, but I want to stay away from hearing any crap from them as I can. But there are other factors that unfolded over the course of the week and accelerated today.
I noticed that this concert -- and I'm thinking about it, and I'm not going to say which band because ... oh, they might stalk me or something -- has its doors open at 7:30 with the opening act going on at 8:30. Seems kind of late, but I know I have gone to concerts whose opening acts began that late, and besides, it's a Saturday and I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow, so who cares? Then I go on setlist.fm to see setlists from this band's previous concerts and, more importantly, to see if they vary it from night to night. Seriously, if you're a concertgoer and want to know when your favorite bands play your favorite songs, go on this website and enjoy knowing when they come up before the people around you do. Well, I like a few of this band's songs, but its setlist has not changed since it began its tour a week ago, it doesn't play one of its songs I like, and the other two end its main set and its show. Again, that ain't a big deal -- many bands who I like but don't know intimately I go to so I can explore their discography on a deeper level.
And then today happened. Work was garbage, but that makes me even more inclined to go enjoy myself. However, it's been a relatively stormy day. The skies are threatening now as I write this, but I was afraid I was going to the concert in a rainstorm. Once again, I wouldn't have minded if I were alone, but I have parents who would say, "Are you kidding? It's raining cats and dogs out there!" Ugh. Then I see that the Twins are playing at home this evening, probably putting parking at a premium. I mean, why do I want to figuratively bang my head against a wall looking for parking? But wait a second ... I've gone to concerts the same time the Twins were playing ... right?
The final straw is when I went to the venue's Twitter. These guys are real good and giving out the set times several hours before shows begin. I see that the main act comes on stage at 10:15. That's because -- and I saw it on the venue's website but I didn't see it, if you know what I mean -- there is not one but two opening acts. I am not a fan of opening acts unless I have heard of them, so I make it a point of sauntering in halfway, if not more than halfway, through the opener. The second opening act goes on at 9:15. So I have to leave the house in time to get there at, what, a quarter to 10? Who are these guys, rappers? Honestly, I don't know if I want to go to a concert that late even if my parents were home. And do I want to deal with all of that -- and pay a bit more than $35, which is the cost of a ticket?
Again, if circumstances were different (especially with the parents part) I might not be so whiny. But I think a lot of my reticence also has to do with me getting old. The 26-year-old me -- assuming he had money -- wouldn't think twice about going in spite of all these obstacles. But now? A part of me wants to find these obstacles out so I can stop myself from going. I'm thinking I'm becoming like that.
So now I feel guilty about delaying this Zoom until next week. I might have been able to enjoy next Saturday night out at, say, a concert because I would have done this social thing tonight. And now I don't know what to say if my friends ask me if I enjoyed the thing I delayed the Zoom for. Alas. ...
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