Farewell Mr. Williams

Death affects everyone in different ways. Some will publicly mourn, some will privately mourn, and some will avoid the mourning process altogether. The one thing that's constant is the feeling of loss. The emptiness that consumes you for however long you determine is fair to you. In saying this, when a celebrity dies, you feel the sadness and loss, but you don't usually have a direct personal tie to them. You are easily able to move on as crass as that sounds. But for some reason, I feel things will be different with the death of Robin Williams. Why? Because I have never in my life, nor now in comments and such heard anyone say they don't like him or his work. He managed to bring a smile to everyone's face at one point in their life. And that's huge.

There are some people speaking of how the priorities of our society are skewed, that we focus too much on Hollywood, and not enough on real life. And to this I agree. But to say that one's life is not as important as another's because he was famous, and therefore shouldn't be mourned as much or publicly, that is unfair. To me the reason it seems like Robin Williams is being given more publicity than say a veteran who has passed, is because the entire world is mourning, and we are all doing it at the same time. Yes a veteran should be mourned equally if not more, but not everyone is acquainted with that veteran and therefore the mourning isn't as loud. But it's not any less meaningful or important. Please don't misconstrue my words, because I am a huge supporter of the military, and I know that they are the true heroes. And yes there are a lot of other important things going on the world that deserve our attention as well. Horrible things actually. But I also think it's alright to take a minute and mourn someone who made you laugh, who took you out of this ugly world for a couple hours. There's nothing wrong with that.

I personally have dealt with a lot of death in my life. Way more than I think any person should have to deal with. And each death has brought me the feeling of loss and sadness. I typically don't feel the same about a celebrity. Sure I'm sad for a minute, I may shed a tear thinking of their families having to deal with the death, but then as they say, life goes on. But this time, I truly feel like there is a real loss in my life, that there is an emptiness. The world really did lose not only a very funny man, but a humanitarian. Someone whose soul was genuine, and for that we should mourn him. We should celebrate his life, and we should be sad. But as always, life does go on, and we will move forward. Just like with any other death. So I think it's perfectly okay to post what you want about Mr. Williams, and express your feelings. He deserves it as much as anyone else.

Now some are going to quip that he shouldn't be given a second thought because he took his own life. And to that I say that's your prerogative. We are all allowed to deal with the situation how we choose, but also reserve the right to disagree with how another chooses to deal. Personally for me, I think he was a very sad person internally, who was fighting a lot of demons, and ultimately felt he wasn't able to keep going. Was it selfish? Was it wrong? I'm not the one to decide this. What I do know is that he brought a lot of joy to a lot of people, and I think he will continue to do so posthumously, and that should be our focus.

As for suicide, that's a whole other subject, and a serious one at that of which I'm not qualified to go in depth on. I will just say if you or someone you know is contemplating taking their life, please talk to someone, or do what you can for that person and try your best to get them some help. Sometimes it's as simple as having someone to talk to, and sometimes it's far more complex. Be there for your people, and hug them tight. You really do never know when it will be the last time.

Rest in peace Mr. Williams, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for making me laugh not just once, but a million times. I'm going to be sad for a bit, and watch movies and mourn because that's what I feel I want to do. And there is no shame in that.

Concert Season Part 3

So we have decidedly (maybe) come to an end of the concert season. And we had one hell of an end that's for sure. Let's get right into it:

Phillip Phillips:

This concert was totally unplanned, but that didn't mean it wasn't fun. Up in Ogden, they had been advertising a free concert with an unannounced guest. They actually encouraged guesses as to who would be coming. There were guesses of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, to P!nk and even Bone Thugs N Harmony. But alas, an hour before the concert started they finally announced who it would be, and I will admit, I wasn't that excited. I only know two Phillip Phillips songs and they're the ones they play on those insurance commercials. But I was already dressed and to Jordan's place, and we said what the hell let's go. If we don't like it, we can go hit up a bar or something. Well it actually wasn't too bad. He sounded really good, and we just chilled on the grass and listened whilst talking. My sister on the other hand, was up front dancing her heart out because he happens to be her favorite. So if it had been terrible, I at least had the knowledge that my sister had a great time.



The Doobie Brothers:

This concert was planned for sure, and it was actually a birthday gift to my mom. She has wanted to see Boston for a very long time, and The Doobie Brothers were an added bonus. The weather all day had been rainy, and not just a little rain, but flash flood rain. And the weather people said it wasn't over yet. So we went prepared with a tarp so our tushies wouldn't be wet, and ponchos to cover the rest of us. We were up on the grass, and so we chilled with beers and listened to the classic tunes of the Doobies. They even threw in a Michael McDonald song, and it wasn't awful. The rain did present itself again and stayed for about 20 minutes and then let us be for the rest of the night. I call that a good night.



Boston:

As I had mentioned, my mom was pretty excited to see Boston. I still feel bad about not taking her back in the 90's when I won fourth row center tickets, but I was young, and my then best friend went with me instead. So when I heard they were finally coming again, I jumped at the chance to make sure my mom would get to see them. And they didn't disappoint. They sounded amazing, they played all the hits, and then some new songs which were ok. The best part was that it turned out to be a parent/daughter night and I took my mom, Jordan took her dad, and Jordan's cousin brought her dad as well. We had fun singing the songs at the top of our lungs, and dancing on the wet grass. And our parents had more fun than we did if that's possible. Again I call that a good night.



Paul McCartney:

Well the ultimate of ultimate concerts happened and it deserves my story upfront and then you can watch the videos. If you know me, or read this blog, you'll know that The Beatles are my all-time favorite band, and Paul McCartney is not only my favorite Beatle, but my favorite solo artist as well. I own everything he has ever released, and know all the songs by heart. You could say I'm an obsessed fan, or just a very well versed fan. Either way, growing up I was growing more and more convinced that I would never get to see my Macca live in concert. The closest he ever came was Vegas, and I just didn't have $1,000 to fork out on trip costs and a ticket. But then something magical happened four years ago. He announced a date in Salt Lake City, and I flipped out. I was online the moment tickets were available and got the best seat I could get with my poor man's money. I remember it being the most amazing concert ever and I could die happy after that. I had come to terms that it was most likely a one time chance and it was worth every penny. I really never thought I would see him again. And then he announced a date again in SLC this year, and I once again flipped. Jordan was sweet enough to say she would go with me, even though she's not a huge Beatles fan or Macca fan. But she does know that when a Beatle comes, you go. So again I was online the moment tickets went on sale and got the best seats again for the money we had, and this time, were we not only closer, but the venue was smaller. It actually felt intimate compared to last time. And trust me it wasn't. But needless to say, the excitement for this concert was just as great, if not greater. I was getting to see him a second time!

We sat in our seats with anticipation as we waited for him to come on stage, I couldn't believe I was getting to see him again. And then the time had come, out he came and man did he look good. The entire night he proceeded to play song after song without skipping a beat, taking a break, or anything else. The man is a machine, and worth every penny spent. I knew every song of course, and sang my throat dry. Tons of videos were taken (evidence below) and pictures galore too. I'm beyond lucky that I got this second chance to see him, and I really do hope there's a third in the near future. I can't get enough of him, and his energy. It's easily the best concert I've ever been to, topping the first time because I was closer and because I genuinely enjoyed watching Jordan's excitement at being there. And I'm not saying it was the best because I'm biased, but because he really is one hell of a performer and knows how to play to a crowd perfectly. Please enjoy my snippets of the concert!

All My Loving

My Valentine (Johnny Depp is signing on the screen)

Maybe I'm Amazed

I've Just Seen a Face

Blackbird

Lovely Rita

Let Me Roll It

Daytripper

Helter Skelter

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

Hi Hi Hi

Live and Let Die

Thank you for indulging me in this summer's adventure of a million concerts. It has been an amazing summer full of great music and friends, and I could not be happier.