...for the Caged

As my head rests against my car window I realize I should look ahead, so I slowly drag my eye line upright to look forward at the miles of traffic that lie congested before me. I dredge along, unable to change lanes, or experience a speed faster than 20mph. I get tired of the traffic and look to my left, the Los Angeles skyline waking up between the hustle and bustle of its many residents and eager travelers trying to enter its gates. It’s Tuesday, and at 7:15 in the morning I want to be absolutely anywhere but here. Not just the monotony of LA traffic, but the doldrums of an all-too predictable fall semester.

I wanted out, and where did I find my solace?

Fresno.

Zac Brown Band rang through my static-filled stereo and awoke an idea that would fuel the rest of my two-hour car ride. I tossed my phone to my carpool buddy and gave him direct orders to look up their tour schedule.

I was in luck.

Zac Brown Band, playing on Friday, November 15th in California!

Where? 

Fresno.

A four-hour drive was all it took to take me out of my life and into a night I so desperately needed. So, what did I do? I brought in reinforcement of course.

“Sarah, want to drive to Fresno with me on Friday to see Zac Brown Band? I need to not be here.”

Send.

 “You’ve got it. I’ll book the hotel.”

Received.

I text her Tuesday, we buy the tickets Wednesday, seal the hotel room Thursday, and gas up and drive away on Friday. Only a best friend would agree to such spontaneously rash decisions and venture north toward California’s armpit.

We drive, and it gets dark, and after we have gone through the minimal selection of playlists on our iPhones, we arrive at our destination.

We check into our seedy hotel a few blocks from the venue and ask the receptionist how far away we are.

“It’s a 20 minute walk to the venue from here.”

“Ok, so, a five minute drive.” There is no way we are about to adventure along the streets of Fresno in the unknown darkness that fills this unknown city.

Beer and braut in hand, and an upgrade on our seats, Sarah and I were ready to relax and enjoy the concert. And by concert, I mean the full on ambiance of it all. The people watching in Fresno is absolutely prime. After the seats fill and Sarah and I get our fix of eye candy by observing the three sets of swingers just two rows ahead of us, the curtain dropped and Zac and his men arrived.

Two solid hours of perfectly-pitched, smooth-as-butter music and all we had to do was take it all in. 

Aside from the fact that all we really wanted was a getaway and ended up stumbling upon a concert listing by happenstance, it really was one of the best music experiences I have yet to go through.

Yes, your mood affects the way you take in the music, perceive the lyrics and feel the emotion in the band and audience members, but their passion and dedication to their fans across the nation is what makes Zac Brown Band stick out. The intentionally-constructed sets, lightly scattered with stories from home and the reasons behind the lyrics made me fall in love with them as humans. Not just musicians, but people who live and love all the same, and have the gift of articulating it all so beautifully; hand-crafting words for the masses to relate to and feel not so alone in such lonely times.

Chicken fried closed the show but Uncaged started the encore. Appropriate for Sarah and I, this was our night; our night to let go and forget about our to-do lists and real world obligations, to leave the cages we built around ourselves made of expectations and false desires and to fly away for the night.

Fresno was my solace on a Friday night, proving to me that it’s the reason behind a decision that makes the impact, just as much as it’s the people behind the lyrics that make the song.