On balance I'm glad I went to the HLN show in Turlock, CA, on Tuesday even though it was kind of out of the way and was held in the company of lots of cows... And I held it together and didn't cry this time... On the other hand, after this one I'm ready to swear off Huey Lewis and the News concerts for a while. When I go to them, like when I went to this one, there are lots of really good things that happen. But lately there's also been a couple of really frustrating moments too, and I've really had enough of exposing myself to those. They are interfering with my ability to enjoy the music, they negatively color the whole concert-going experience, and, worst of all, they make me doubt the sincerity of all the really good things that happen. I'm tired of torturing myself with that kind of emotional whiplash, so I think I'll give it a rest for a while. There are the two shows at the end of September I have tickets for, and I suspect I'll still go, but I'll take some extra steps to try to innoculate myself from the nonsense. Then the band is off the road for a while - at the moment indefinitely - which is sort of too bad but gives everyone a chance to get on with their lives.
One of the really good things that happened in Turlock, however, that wasn't at all undermined by the weirdness is Paul Thorn. He and his band opened the show. I had the privilege of meeting them and can authoritively say they are both fabulous musicians and great people. I can't recommend seeing them enough. Screw the Huey Lewis and the News thing; I think I'll go be a Paul Thorn fan for a while.
Since writing the above, I've become informed of sad news regarding the former News bass player. While I was apparently having my moment on Tuesday, he was apparently having his.
I want to say, in contrast to all my griping, what a wonderful person he was every time I met him. I haven't seen him in years, obviously, but as an awkward teenage fan getting to meet the band for the very first time he stood apart as kind, generous, incredibly sweet and approachable. While I was happy just to get autographs from the other band members, from him I always got a connection that would leave me with a smile lasting days, even years, thereafter.
I sincerely hope he beats the demons plaguing him. It's impossible to think of him as the criminal he's been charged with being. Cognitive dissonance indeed.