Eric and I had an afternoon date today. The Colorado Army National Guard was celebrating their 150th anniversary. And what better way to do that than with a free concert.As you all know, Eric and I are reformed band geeks and so we were jumping at the chance to go.
Believe me when I say you can take the kid out of the music but good luck taking the music out of the kid.
Anyway, as we were searching for a place to park, I realized how much I dislike LoDo (lower downtown) and its one-way streets and its ridiculous parking, when you can find it. We shelled out $10 to park and were about 10 minutes late.
We were treated to four different branches of the main concert band: wind ensemble, Dixieland, rock, and country. Everyone was great and we even knew two of the service men from our days in ASC showband.
After intermission, the main concert band reassembled and reminded us of the beautiful, moving qualities of music. They played “America the Beautiful” and I hade once played this exact arrangement. I found myself cuing the chimes (as I had this part) during the course of the song. Seriously, who does that? And why do I remember something that I did over fifteen years ago when I can’t remember the details of a phone call just yesterday?
Man did I enjoy my years as a band geek. There was the music, the camaraderie, the joy of being apart of something so beautiful. Then there was night rehearsal, the feelings of inadequacy and cutthroat competition for first chair. There are some days I missing playing the marimba, to hear that classic woody sound of the instrument, to feel so completely absorbed by the notes, that I don’t remember playing half the song.
Ahh, the power of music.
