Loud Lucidity

Tonight I indulged my inner teenager.  It was all a bit silly, and won’t change a thing overall, but just maybe it is one tiny regret that I’ve avoided carrying any further.

Queensryche played in SLC at the Depot tonight, as part of Geoff Tate’s farewell tour.  Geoff Tate is the one member of the band whose name I knew- just like so many stereotypical ‘fans’ who only pay attention to the singer.  Of course, in my defense, one of the reasons I remember it is because my brother made fun of me because I pronounced it incorrectly (I was 12, I didn’t know Geoff was just fancy Jeff!).

 I was at the concert tonight, unlike the one decades ago, when I was a teenager and deeply taken with their music.  Honestly, I haven’t kept track of them and only listen to the occasional song now whereas in the days of Jr High, they were in my daily mix, and my unrivaled favorite band.  I still respect them as performers, and I see their influence in the bands that I love best today- I’m just not really a raving fan anymore, or even anything close.

It was a good concert, at a venue that I really enjoy.  Even the opening band was pretty good (the Voodoos, all the way from Ireland), and that has only been the case a very few times with bands I like who actually bother to stop here (when I can afford to go).  The energy was high- even if some of the old men on stage looked like they could be older than my retired father, and the sound was good.  I know the sound was good, because I remembered to take earplugs with me.  It doesn’t seem like it would work that way, but it does.  I have science on my side to prove it too.

There were a whole lot of people in their mid-40’s trying to relive their youth, but really they were a nice crowd.  The guy who thought my Black Death shirt was funny, opened a couple doors for my lightly crippled self.   Sean bought me a drink.  And Scott kept me company during the long breaks before acts- also, he offered to put Sean in a headlock if he became too obnoxious.

I sang along- loudly and without shame.  I wasn’t even sure how many songs I’d actually know since I haven’t listened to the old stuff in a while, and I’ve never even heard the new stuff.  They only played one tune I didn’t know, and the others came right back to me.  I loved that.  I also figured out why those first albums are so much better than the ones that made my attention wander in the first place… I thought it was a fitting tribute when they dedicated a song to Michael Kamen.

So, there’s to you, teenaged Taz.  You can stop whining about, you know, that one time, decades ago.  I am glad that I got to see Queensryche perform, just once, with their original front man.