My favorite part of my drive back toward the East Coast has been figuring things out on a day-by-day basis. The downside? I may have become a Maggie Rogers groupie.
I saw Maggie a few days ago in Arkansas at what I thought was the best concert of my life. That was until I learned she was playing two nights later in Indianapolis, exactly where I was driving through on my way back home.
Was this another sign that I should go? Well for a $20 pit ticket (had a coupon to waive my fees) I had to go see her again.
Now, this show in Indianapolis was better than the previous one in Arkansas. I liked this setlist more, and the crowd at this show was top-tier.
I somehow got barricade front-and-center-ish again and am still shocked by that. If I could, I would go to every one of her shows because she is just that good, and her shows are that good of a time. It’s nice that the setlist changes so much so each show feels so unique.
I have been on a great run with concerts, but we need to talk about something about the industry for a moment.
Concerts should not be pay-to-win
Okay, I know this may be weird, but both of these venues (and the one I go to in Pittsburgh) had a way to pay more money to enter the show first.
I very much understand people do not have the time to sit out all day to camp out for a good place in pit, but I think capitalism has gone too far. With fees, I paid $70 total for my two tickets (an absolute steal), and could not afford a dime more.
Thankfully, I still got great spots, but where did the honor and gamesmanship go in all of this?
I sat in the rain for two hours, and thankfully got great spots, but when did we as a society just accept this as a way of life.
This isn’t Disney.
Does this make me a groupie?
Well, the Oxford Dictionary says the definition of one is, “a person, especially a young woman, who regularly follows a pop music group or other celebrity in the hope of meeting or getting to know them.”
We can knock off the young woman part of that, but I would be lying if I said the rest of that did not equate. Granted, I did not try to see her outside of the show (that is fucking weird, let celebrities be normal people). It would have certainly been a shame though if she did recognize me from the previous show.
And if I had infinite money, there would be a large probability (100%) that I would have gone to the rest of her shows on tour.
Feeling thankful
This is my last day on the road, and it’s tough to not get sad that things are winding down. I head back home to Medina in the morning, and close out what will be one of the best things I have ever done. I’ll get into more of this in tomorrow’s blog.
Recaps
Day 1– I crashed a wedding party
Day 2– Michigan may be the most beautiful state
Day 3– I suck at goodbyes
Day 4– Text your old friends
Day 5– The Buffalo Bills need big buffaloes
Day 6– Everyone needs to visit Idaho
Day 7– Idaho is more than just potatoes
Day 8– 5 keys for car camping
Day 9– From Medina to Portland
Day 10– How to win at Portland karaoke
Day 11– Is In-N-Out overrated?
Day 12– A date at the co-ed hammam?
Day 13– Sequoia is a must-visit
Day 14– I am getting beat up by a grill
Day 15– The Grand Canyon is actually cool
Day 16– Making friends in Albuquerque
Day 17– Are aliens real?
Day 18- The best concert of my life
Day 19– Is Buc-ee’s a cult?