Dixie Chicks concert-aka the worst concert EVER

Ok-now that I have your attention w/ the title... 

This is not your run of the mill 'Oh Jaime & Shauna went to a concert AGAIN & sang, drank & danced a lot AGAIN & got into some sort of funny angst AGAIN.  

No, this is not one of those posts...

So I don't know what you loyal blog stalkers know about the Dixie Chicks but here's a history lesson for you:  They are a female country singing trio who play guitars, banjos, violins, etc & they were super popular back in the late 90's, early 2000's.  B-rad & I saw them in concert at Freedom Hall AND we saw them at the George Straight music festival in 1999 2 weeks before we got married.  

(Alicia you remember going with us, right? OH, what a picture!)

In 2003 the lead singer, Natalie Maines, made an insulting remark about President Bush at one of their concerts & pissed off the whole country.  Like people burned their cd's & radio stations wouldn't play their music & just like that overnight they were NOBODIES.  A few years later they came out w/ a song called 'Not Ready to Make Nice' (GEE way to be humble, ladies) & I think maybe they put out an album or 2 since then - WHO KNOWS?   

To get the whole story, no need to Google it - I've done the leg work for you & you can read ALL about it here.

I remember at the time not being happy w/ the Dixie Chicks about these remarks.  I mean-everyone has a right to their opinion for sure, but I don't really go to a country concert to hear their opinion.  I want them to sing their damn songs so we can sing & dance & go home... (I also think 'celebrities' have to live by a higher standard on stuff like that - they're in our homes & we spend our hard earned money to support THEM & I think a lot of times regular people idolize them & can be influenced by their opinions instead of forming their own.  OK-I digress - that's a whole other blog post...)

 I also liked President Bush (this was after September 11th of course & I think we had just invaded Iraq or Afghanistan or somewhere {which is what caused her rant} to find the terrorists that flew airplanes into our buildings & killed almost 3,000 people.)

MADNESS.

ANYWAY-we heard they were going back on tour & thought about going.  I mean-its been over 10 years since this happened - hasn't enough time passed?  Wouldn't it be fun to hear them sing their old songs that made them millions?  

YES, YES IT WOULD.

I looked at ticket prices-they were $129 a PIECE & we refused to pay that kind of money.  By the time they charge their bullshit fees you would be looking at $150/ticket - NO THANKS.  In my be it ever so humble opinion those girls were a bit too proud of themselves by asking that kind of money when they fell off the face of the Earth, haven't had a hit in maybe 10 years AND pissed off the whole country.  

How many concerts have when been to this year?  Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Reba, Luke Bryan, Garth... & we've never paid that kind of money.  NEVER.  And those tickets were for artists who are relevant NOW-not 13 years ago.  Psssssh.

2 days before the concert I got an email from Ticketmaster that Dixie Chicks tickets were buy 2 for the price of 1.  That's a sale I can get behind.  I looked online & there were lots of seats left,  including seats on the floor.  Clearly the gals were having a hard time filling up the venue so I called Shauna to see if she wanted to go & just like that we got our tickets.

We didn't really care about the opening act (Elle King-more on her later) so after we ate dinner we headed to the Yum center.  Curiously we didn't get stuck in any traffic (in hindsight that should've been a sign...) so we just sat outside of the Yum center to talk & people watch before we decided to go in.

The concert started at 7:30 & we walked in around 8:00.  By the time we used the restroom & found our seats Elle King was getting ready to sing her last song.

YA'LL - this chick looked like a trashy trucker on drugs. 

YES I know that's mean - but I swear to you on all that is Good & Holy it's true.  Just the way she talked & carried herself for the 10.2 seconds we saw her we looked at each other like, 'What is UP w/ this chick?'  

 Finally it was time for the Dixie Chicks & when they came out of course everyone was excited.  They started by singing a song we didn't know.  I HATE when artists do that, but ok, ok - we've seen it done before.  The next one we'll know for SURE. 

Nope, didn't know the second song.

 When I tell you they sang like 4 songs before we knew one, I'm not kidding you.

 Many of the songs they sang were very slow & not able to be danced to so we sat.  YA'LL WE NEVER EVER SIT DOWN AT CONCERTS.  And that's when I started looking around (because I was bored out of my mind) at everyone else... lots of other people were sitting too..

Then I noticed that the very back, top section of Yum had NO tickets sold from it.  Like they had this curtain hanging blocking it off I'm assuming because not seats were sold from it.  Obviously we figured ticket sales were lacking when we got a '2 for the price of 1' email but this is bad ya'll.  I have never been to a concert at the Yum center where a whole section is blocked off (excluding of course where the view of the stage is blocked.)  The stage is not blocked from those seats, people.

 Finally they played a song we knew!  OH, HAPPY DAY.  'Goodbye, Earl' is a song about a man who beats his wife then her & her friend kill him -  I mean what's NOT to love?  In the video, notice the big screen behind them & the types of pictures that are scrolling on it... 

Many were like old time pics of men & women who didn't smile. I saw some pics of OJ & Chris Brown scroll by as well.  (Get it?  - men who 'allegedly' beat their wives/girlfriends?) & it's worth noting those pics were not altered in any way.  It was their pic on the screen for a moment & then it was gone.   Then suddenly there was a picture of Donald Trump on the screen with animated horns coming out of his head & a mustache drawn across his face. 

Really, Dixie Chicks?  REALLY?

Ok-so then I was really irritated.  Clearly they have NOT learned their lesson & that just makes me angry.  Ever tried a slice of humble pie Dixie Chicks??  They need a double batch!  The longer we sat there the more Shauna & I looked at each other like, 'what the hell are we doing here?'
They did a lot of cover songs too...Now, I'm not saying they were good covers or we even knew all the covers though.  I mean-they did a Beyonce song crying out loud.  Do NOT get me started on Beyonce...

 When we found our seats we didn't realize we were in the wrong section.  Some young(er) girls came up to their seats & turns out one of them is one of Shauna's babysitters.  They pointed out we were in the wrong section but we decided to stay there until the actual seat holders showed up, play stupid & then move.  Guess what?  Those rightful seat holders never showed up.  (You guessed it - another bad sign.)   This is how much those young(er) girls were enjoying the concert...

 Finally we had had enough.  At some point they left the stage & some stupid video of them racing cars w/ each other played while there was instrumental music in the background playing.  It was painful, people.  Once they came back out (to sing MORE sings we didn't know) I tried to be the optimist & give them 'one more song' before we bailed.  Shauna pulled up the set list & it was going to be like 2-3 more songs before one we recognized.  We said, 'NU UH' & we left.  Done.  Over.

We decided if we ever want to listen to Dixie Chicks songs we actually know it's best to not go to one of their concerts & just listen to them on our phones.  

 We played songs we knew the words to, sang along & didn't have to listen to any nonsense in between.  Perfection.

I'm fairly certain that all the people I saw on Facebook that went & said, 'Oh the Dixie Chicks are AWESOME' were at a different show than we were.  That's the only reasonable explanation.  I feel bad that I drug Shauna along to a horrible concert & that we paid money for a terrible show but on the bright side we have an epic story to tell...You can't put a price on that, people.

Flight 93 Memorial

After we left our 5 hour car tour of Gettysburg, we drove 2 1/2 hours northwest to the Flight 93 Memorial.  We had pondered not going here since we took so long at Gettysburg but we ultimately decided that since we were this close - we should go.  

The road Siri took us on went over & around mountains & were mostly secondary roads (no interstate, people.)  Surely you know that the passengers of Flight 93 brought the plane down in a rural field...& that's all it is people, a field in the middle of nowhere.

We got there after the visitor center had closed so we weren't able to go inside, but the path starts toward the top of of hill...

The black path follows the path of Flight 93 that fateful day...

As you walk there are markers for each plane that was hijacked when they hit the World Trade Centers & the Pentagon.

When you pass the visitor center to continue on the path, at the end there is a clear glass wall that says, 'A common field one day.  A field of honor forever.'

I had a hard time getting people to get out of my way to take a pic.  That's not me in the reflection, people...  Through this clear glass if you look under the 2nd word 'field' you can see a bit of white... that's where the black path picks up again & close to the location the plane crashed.  

To the left you see the memorial plaza & there's another black path connecting it to the right side where you see the white markers.

The sign mounted here says:

 'Looking out across these fields, your gaze follows the path of United Airlines Flight 93 in its final moments.  Traveling approximately 563 miles per hour, Flight 93 crashed near the tree line before you in the distance.  A large sandstone boulder marks the approximate location.

A 40-acre debris field remains fenced today, following the perimeter of the crash site and debris field as marked by the FBI during its investigation in 2001.  During the investigation, heavy equipment was used to excavate the crater to recover debris & evidence.  The area was backfilled in October 2001 and seeded with grass & wildflowers to respect the final resting place of the passengers & crew.

Today, family members may visit the crash site any time they desire to do so.  The area is closed to the public.  You may walk along the perimeter of the crash site and debris field during a visit to the Memorial Plaza.'

As you drive down to the plaza they have planted 40 groves w/ 40 trees in each to represent the 40 victims on Flight 93.

Once you arrive to the crash site it's a somber feeling.  It is very quiet of course because you're in the middle of nowhere, but also because you know what occurred here.  

For those of you that remember September 11th, the days after & the media coverage of that day over the last 15 years I'm sure you've seen many of the same images over & over & over.  I was shocked to see this image that I had never seen before.  The man that took this pic was about a mile away when he heard the crash & saw a huge fireball go up into the air.

As you continue to walk down the black path (it's black to represent the horrific events that happened here) there are several places to stop & sit.  There are also little number stations where you can download an app & key in the number & it will tell you information about the Memorial.  There were also several places carved out in the wall on the left for you to leave mementos. 

This is the boulder that serves as a simple marker 'near' where the plane hit the earth.

As you near the end of the black path there is a marble wall.

It's an 'accordion' style wall with each persons name engraved on it.  At the end of the wall you can see a wooden fence...

When you look through the fence you can see a mowed path to the boulder.

This is where the family members can go out into the field anytime they choose.

Again it was very quiet here.  We saw small tokens of remembrance like flowers or stuffed animals at the base of some of the marble pillars.

From this angle when you look toward the top of the picture you can see the observation deck we had been on that had the clear glass wall overlooking the crash site.

Inside the memorial plaza were small pieces of paper you could write messages on.

I found several written by children & I must tell you - it breaks your heart even after all these years... These kids probably weren't even alive in 2001 yet they left a small note of gratitude to the Flight 93 victims.  If that doesn't make you teary eyed you are a robot inside...

In the end we are SO glad we stopped here before driving 7 1/2 hours home.  It was a really neat thing to see & read about even though we all have heard the story a million times.  We read that this crash site provided the most evidence to the FBI the days surrounding September 11th.  They quit finding evidence & remains of the victims after digging down 30'.  They dug down another 10' to make sure there was nothing else to be found.  The coroner declared it the final resting place of the victims & ordered it to be filled in.  

I always have to end on a funny note - I have told you this was the day we were in my car for 18 hours... after we left this memorial we drove home & got there around 2:30 am.  NOW-I love B-rad & I love my car (not necessarily in that order) but I love neither of those things enough to be with them 18 hours STRAIGHT.

Since we got back from our trip we've spent every weekend together at the lake on the houseboat. I'm happy to report that now B-rad will start getting ready for harvest so for now the divorce is on hold because I will have my quiet time (& he will have his from me - it works both ways people...).

Palmyra Pal Wow

The town Alicia & I grew up in has a really, really nice park - Buffalo Trace.  For the last few years they have had a little festival type thingie that has grown from the headlining band being a Gospel group to last year having the Juice Box Heroes play.  You may remember Alicia forced me to dance by ourselves at the very front of the stage all night....

Daniel & Alicia & her parents camp for the Pal Wow & I get invited/invite myself to hang out w/ them for the day.  

Joe & Marcia have a golf cart so we got to travel in style.  

Wait - why am I sitting in the back w/ the kids?

After walking around the craft booths & silent auction table we went back to camp before the first band was coming on the stage at 4:00.

I mean-look at this stage, people.  This is fancy for our tiny hometown.  And that Leroy's Restaurant sign under the stage - I worked there in high school!  It was just a pizza place back then.  Alicia laughed,   'Remember when you used to work there?'  I was a pizza making fool!

 Jake took chairs down to the grass in front of the stage & got us a spot all set up for the Crashers.  After we listened to the first band we went back to camp to eat dinner before the Louisville Crashers took the stage.  

At our spot waiting for the Crashers to start.  There were so many people there.  I heard a rumor that some got turned away because parking was full.

If I've heard of the Crashers- I know YOU have heard of the Crashers.  When I saw they would be at the Pal Wow I knew our town had arrived.  We were BIG TIME.

 Alicia knows a couple of people in the band--I swear to you while he was singing she was tapping his foot & leg, 'Mark!  Mark!' to get him to pose with us.   Hey-it worked so whatever...

 Yes, we stayed at the front of the stage all night.

 The Crashers took a break & the town let off fireworks.  

 I don't really care about fireworks, but I was glad to sit in a chair for 30 minutes or so to rest.... I can't dance all night long, people...

 It was so hot & humid that my hair was soaking wet from sweat when I got home.  Daniel & Jake were down front w/ us towards the end of the night.... he was sweating so much he declared, 'I think I stink.'  I said, "Oh-I'm sure I do too."  

I like open & honest like that...

The next day I checked out the Crashers Facebook page & found some pics of us.  In this one from the stage you can see me right under the arrow!  Alicia is right beside me but the guy in the band is blocking her!

 

 And this one from before the show?  That's our spot Jake set up for us!

Thanks again, McAfee's & Gettelfingers, for another fun Pal Wow!  And if you're wondering where B-rad was - well he started to harvest on Saturday.  You won't see him w/ me for the next couple of months...unless it rains...maybe...