Oh! Now I Get It!

So, I'm not a big music buff. Some friends and I played Music Scene It a few months back, and I knew the answer to one question all night. I dread the "What kind of music do you like?" question that seems to inevitably pop up on every first date. (Except for the blind date I went on today; my date turned out to be a total hottie too! Thanks President Lewis!) It throws me back to being an awkward seventh grader who doesn't know the names of any of the cool bands, whose honest answer to the question is primary songs or The Beach Boys or Bach. However, with the help of my iPod, a sometimes very boring job, and my friend Andrew who hooks me up with good tunes, all that is starting to change.

I've been to a handful of concerts and liked some more than others. Generally I think they're too loud and overpriced. (Except for $10 tickets to The Fray last summer.) On Monday night my friends and I made the trek down to Orem for the Jimmy Eat World concert. Paramore opened for them, and that portion was similar to my other concert experiences: I knew a song or two and mostly enjoyed people watching during the show. Watching the security guys extract people from the crowd was unbelievably entertaining. Then . . . it happened.

Jimmy Eat World came on stage and played "Big Casino." It was awesome. They played a great show, and I knew every single song. I had so much fun. I sang along and even danced a little (but just a little). I decided it would be totally cool to meet the band. I wondered where they are playing their next show and if I could drive to see them, or at least when they would be coming back to Salt Lake. I thought to myself, "Oh! Now I get it!" Now I understand why people get so excited for concerts and why they are willing to pay so much for tickets. When you love the band and know the music, a concert is a great time. Thanks Jimmy!