Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Have you ever seen a crowd go Apeshit? I have!

I feel like I have so many things to share with you but I'm too tired to do it and that kind of stinks. Mostly because I've been using my blog as a way to remember what the heck is going on in my life, basically like a diary. I have to get better at taking pictures and then documenting them here because I'm forgetting things and it makes me feel anxious. 

Anyways. So as you're reading this I'm probably on my way to St. Paul to meet my friend Amy because we are going to the Sam Smith concert. I had purchased these tickets almost a year ago for her birthday so I'm glad we finally get to go! I'm a little nervous because I've never had tickets on my phone through an app and I hope I don't get flustered and forget what's going on. I'm finding that when I get stressed out I start to lose memory and cognitive abilities, which I guess is normal, I just have to learn to work around it. Which is really fun. 

But last week I went to a concert with my friend Cassandra, which is one I wanted to go to but missed out on tickets. Turns out she bought two tickets so I bought one from her and we were going to be each other's date. I was nervous about this because we had floor seats (my first time ever being on the floor) and I was worried about being crowded by people, I was nervous about navigating a new place (US Bank Stadium, where the Minnesota Vikings play) but it was good learning experience because this is where Olivia and I are going when we see Taylor Swift (ssh... she doesn't know!!). It also confirmed that the seats I bought, the cheapest they had, are absolute nosebleeds. I don't do well with heights and vertigo now so that ought to be a treat to navigate. HA! 

Anyways. So we went to Jay Z & Beyonce for their On The Run II tour. 
The stadium is gorgeous and really accessible. It's kind of confusing on how you get in and the security lines are SLOW. I mean, the slowest I have ever been in, and that's saying something because I was once searched by a one armed TSA agent in Florida and even he was more efficient than these people.  
 The stage was MASSIVE. We were actually pretty close to the front but quickly realized these chairs are zip tied and CRAMMED together. I was already claustrophobic and kind of freaking out about how I was going to breathe with all of these people around me. The people watching was amazing, by the way. Honestly, maybe some of the best people watching ever? It's a close tie with the Rhianna concert from years ago. 
 Cassandra and I, sweaty and a little less cute after melting in 95 degree heat for almost an hour in full sun waiting to get in. We misjudged the time we needed to leave so that was our fault. 

The openers were supposed to be Chloe & Halle and then DJ Khaled. Chloe & Halle were a duo I had never heard of, though many around us did, and I thought they were totally terrible. I appreciated their full sequin jumpsuits, though. 

DJ Khaled never showed up, which was just as well because I don't think he has any talent. What does he even do? Play records? I mean, I could do that. I do do that, fairly regularly. I can make a mix like anyone else. I can also repeat my name into a microphone. I mean, what does he actually do? I don't know. So I wasn't bummed he didn't show. Mostly because the music they had playing to kill time was a pretty amazing mix of old school hip hop and R&B but also some of the classic rap songs. I wasn't hating on it and was thoroughly enjoying it while making friends with the gals next to me, since they were practically sitting on my lap. 

I'll just say now all of the people around us ended up being very cool, really respectful about the limited space we all had, and nobody spilled their drinks. So that was a pleasant surprise. 

Finally, Bey & Jay started. 
The intro was this really cool, almost Stanley Kubrick/Quentin Tarantino love child of a film. Every interlude featured more so you found yourself pretty engaged with it and it was just as good as the concert. They did a really good job weaving this together. It featured a lot of just them, but also a few sections had Blue and their twins, Sir and Rumi, which of course the crowd went nuts for.  
 Then they came down this elevator thing as the screen parted just enough for them. They had these outfits which were meant to kind of look like wedding attire, I thought, and it really fit. 
Here's the thing- this concert was almost three hours long and is one of the best shows I have ever been to. If you have the chance, buy a ticket because you will not be disappointed. They each played hits from their solo careers, they did some songs together, one song blended into the next and they shared the stage perfectly. Outfit changes, set changes, stage movements, dancers, the 20 piece band, it was all pretty amazing and worth every dime. 

The best part? This was blatantly obvious that this was Jay-Z's groveling tour. He did her wrong and she was going to make him, and all of us, know it. She commanded that stage and she did not come to play. She was completely not messing around. She owned it. He did too, don't get me wrong, he was amazing and he's just as good live now as he was during the height of his career, and you could tell he knew what this was. At the same time, the sweeter moments of the show were pretty great and it was obvious they love each other and are definitely each other's ride or die. No question. 

Overall? 5 star concert. Truly. It was so great, the crowd loved every second of it. People were losing their minds as they each pulled out oldies but goodies and morphed it with something newer. I think they ended up doing a little over 40 songs? It was long and it was worth it. 

I didn't pull into my driveway until around 3 a.m. and I was SO TIRED. But I had a really great time and I did pretty good on the drive home so I was pretty damn proud of myself. 

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