We Were On VH1 !!

In the summer of 2001 (i think), Shawn and I attended my first real concert. This was back when I listened to heavier rock music and I couldn't be more excited.

We headed to Texas Stadium in Irving for the Summer Sanitarium Tour. The bands were Powerman 5000, System of a Down, Kid Rock, Korn and Metallica.

We had a hard time finding the place. It was this trip that I learned to just keep my mouth shut and let Shawn get lost. He'd bang his fists onto the dashboard of the car because we had entered a turn only lane, because we missed our exit, because we got going the wrong direction....

It was the never ending car trip from hell, that is until we went to Lubbock last November. Anyway, at one point, Shawn spotted an Oldsmobile with Metallica stickers all over the rear window. The car was packed with adolescent boys.

"These guys are going to the concert--look at all the stickers!" Shawn exclaimed. "I'm following them and if they're not going to the stadium, I'm gonna be mad!!"

So we followed the kids in a stupid way and actually ended up in Irving. You have to understand that the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is an absolute zoo. No, zoos have structure. This was nothing more than a hodge-podge of spaghetti bowls and exits and NO SIGNS!!

Once we found the stadium, it took us an hour to get to it. We saw it from the front, we saw it from the rear, we saw it from the left, from the right...

We finally stopped at a Burger King. The young man was gracious; apparently lots of people stop in after viewing the stadium from all sides. Even at the Burger King we were staring at the massive dome from across the interstate going, "Duh, how do we git through?"

We made it with tickets in hand and waited in the hot Texas summer heat for hours. Literally hours. Little trolleys passed by selling sodas and water for $5 each.

We decided we weren't that thirsty.

We had floor tickets. After finally making it in, Shawn realized he didn't have the keys to the car! Oh well. We'd worry about that later. We ended up in the very front row-center of the mosh pit. This was my first time and these people were NOT at all gentle.

I was so bruised by the end of the night, you'd have thought I'd had a beating. I did, in a way.

If you don't know what a mosh pit is, I'll explain. Hundreds of drunk and stoned young people crowd together and push. That's about it. The second row wants to be in the first row, the third row wants to be in the second row.... you get the idea.

It is a unending sea of elbows, pony-tails, tattoos, sweat--lots of sweat, knees and feet. We got to the front out of sheer luck and made some friends to play the buddy system with. You help me keep these jerks offa my girl, I'll help you keep those turds offa your girl. That's about how it worked. I'm not a real touchy-feely person to begin with. I never have liked to be touched.

You can imagine how I might've felt. I get anxious going into Wal-Mart on a busy day. ("I gotta get out of here! Why are you standing so close to me? Move your CART!)

Occasionally, a member of the crowd would make his or her way to the stage and dive off, stuntman-style. The other members of the crowd would raise their arms and carry the diver to the rear of the remaining crowd. There were drops, crashes, and blood and bruises. It was awesome.

Something else, I happen to notice was that this was the only place I've ever been to where hundreds of people freely and openly used drugs. It was strange. The security didn't care. The cops didn't care. They were keeping their eyes peeled for a riot or a fight.

We'd heard later on the news, the statistics of the concert. Remember, it was mid-day in July, in central Texas. The outer rim of the mosh pit was estimated to be 100-120 degrees. The middle, where more bodies were crammed up against each other, was estimated to be 130 degrees.

No kidding.

After a few hours, Security started filling large cups with water and passing it into the sweaty crowd. Soon, several were being treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration.

A large cup filled with clean, cool water was handed to me. "Take a drink, pass it back," someone barked at me. I offered it to Shawn who handed it off to the next guy. The cups didn't stay clean for long. At one point I stared blankly into a half-full glass. There were bits floating in the clear water and a couple of hairs...

"Don't look at it," Shawn encouraged. "Just drink it!" We all knew we had to stay hydrated to keep our coveted spots. There was no leaving and coming back. There was no pushing your way to the front by now. There wasn't so much as space of breath between you and the next person. It was SO much worse that the WWF shows.

Between sets, a stage hand held up a water hose and the pit went wild. I was squished into the little wall in front of me and Shawn held me tightly. Another man told the stagehand, "No, no!! They'll stampede!! NO!" The hose looked so refreshing but I knew he was right. Us smaller ones would get trampled!

On either side of the stage was a large screen that occasionally showed the mosh pit. There were speakers everywhere and for the next 2 days, Shawn and I were near-deaf.

The second to last band, Korn had come out onto stage. About 2 songs into their set I started to feel sick. The security guy that was placed directly in front us got to know us between sets. He was kind enough to offer us water first so long as we passed it on. The man noticed my expression had changed.

I've never had a panic attack but I can imagine this was something like it. I suddenly could not breathe. I had to fight to get air into my lungs. All these sweaty bodies were swirling around me and I thought I might pass out. Dizzy, dizzy!! All I could hear was the bass of the music and quick shrills from girl's screaming. It was hot, so terribly hot! Why couldn't I breathe?!

My face turned red and tears started streaming down my face. A girl that had been near me for a few hours touched my shoulder. "Are you crying?" she asked sympathetically. Embarrassed, I shook my head and said "No." I didn't want to lose our spots! Poor Shawn would have to leave because of me!

Shawn asked if I was alright. I barely managed to say "Yeah," when the security guy asked me. "I can't be here! I have to get out! I can't breathe!! I can't breathe!!"

"You want to leave?" he asked. I nodded. The short stalky man grabbed me up and pulled me over the short wall and sat me on my feet. I just started walking not even looking back to see if Shawn was there.

I took the path that the stage-divers took when they changed their minds. I walked in a zigzag fashion and Shawn came up from behind me. He took me to a little booth in the very rear of the stadium and we got water.

It was clear and clean and cold. It was the best water I'd ever tasted in my life. We sat on the tarp that covered the AstroTurf of the stadium. It was muddy water but it was the first time we'd satin six hours. I finally caught my breath and apologized over and over to Shawn for having to leave. He was, of course, really cool about it.

By the time Metallica was to enter the stage it was dark. We were in for a treat. Apparently, James Hetfield, the singer and lead guitar had busted his arm skateboarding. He wasn't there so we were treated to hearing the other singers do Metallica songs. It was really cool. I was almost sorry I wasn't up front!

Near the end of the set we went to the car and thought about what to do about the missing car keys. We went to the car and discovered the keys to be in the ignition switch! It was really eerie. Shawn had the keys when we passed though the metal detectors. I saw him pull them out of his pocket. Weird. True story, I promise. I looked up at the stars in the night sky and told him, "Someone was looking out for us!"

We drove the long drive home and slept away the weekend.

What's funny is that Shawn was watching Kid Rock: Behind the Music. I was in the living room and he came running in after screaming something I didn't understand.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Vh1! Vh1!! We're on TV!" he shouted running down the hallway.
"What?" I asked.
He explained they were showing spots from the Summer Sanitarium Tour. "Are you sure it was the Dallas show?" I asked.
"I'm sure! It was you and me!! On TV!!"

I'll have to check the listings to see when this particular episode comes on again. I'd like to see that for myself!