Billy Joel Concert
Last weekend I took a road trip with my best friend to San Antonio to see Billy Joel in concert. The drive from the DFW metroplex to San Antonio was supposed to be 4 hours, but with the traffic on I-35, it was almost double that. I wasn’t too worried because we had left ourselves plenty of time to get there, check into the hotel, take and nap, have dinner, and then walk to the concert as I had booked a hotel within what I thought was walking distance of the concert (1.8 miles).
We realized that we weren’t going to get a nap, but Terry was hoping to at least get a shower and change clothes. When we got to the hotel to check in, I didn’t have my ID. I had left it back in my car in Dallas. The clerk informed me that I couldn’t check in or use the credit card I had booked the room with, since I didn’t have ID. I asked Terry if she would use her ID and credit card to check in, but I lost my good booking rate that I had gotten from hotels.com because it had to be cancelled, and her booking was considered a new one. So that was frustrating. The clerk explained to me the process of trying to get a refund and gave me the contact information to do so.
In the meantime, we just put our stuff in the room and came up with a plan to park and ride to the concert as I had printed out information on how to do so. The clerk at the front desk said it wasn’t walkable, so we set off to find one of the 2 locations I had for getting a shuttle bus. I figured parking near the venue was going to be a real challenge as we had seen signs coming into San Antonio about parking being full near the Alamodome.
We drove about 25 minutes but couldn’t find the place to park and ride. It turns out it was a public bus, and Terry didn’t want to leave her truck unattended and take the bus, so it was back in traffic heading toward the Alamodome for us. In the meantime, I’m on my cell phone trying to get a refund for the hotel room. I get cut off in automation hell the first time I tried the number. Then I had a hard time understanding the guy trying to assist me. I finally got it taken care of only to find that we are right back at the exit for our hotel.
By now, it 6:45 pm, and the concert is supposed to start at 7:00 pm. Terry had looked up the concert schedule on her phone and reassured me that Sting would go on first, and Billy Joel wouldn’t start until 8:00 pm, so that made me feel a little better. I watched our route to the Alamodome and realize that it was walkable, and we probably could have done it in plenty of time. Trying to find any parking space near the venue was a nightmare as pretty much everything was full, and we weren’t familiar with the downtown area. But Terry was constantly reassuring me not to worry because we would find something.
At one point, we asked a guy at a VIP lot, and he instructed us where we might find parking. So we headed in that direction and miraculously found something. It was expensive, but at that point, I was willing to pay whatever we needed to so that we didn’t miss the concert. Once we were finally inside, Sting was already performing, but I didn’t mind too much as I’m not a huge Sting fan. After a bit of walking, we found our seats in the “nosebleed section,” and we got some water. Also, Terry got a hot dog for dinner. I had just eaten the leftovers from lunch while we were driving.
Once we settled in, the big guy next to me was leaning forward and pretty much blocked my view. It was weird because it’s usually the tall people in front of me that I can’t see over. But this time there was a child in front of me, so seeing in front of me wasn’t a problem. Unfortunately, based on where our seats were, I had to look to the right to see the stage, and it was the guy on my right who was blocking me.
I could see a screen in front of me, but some rigging kept me from seeing the singer’s head. Terry offered to switch seats, but I thought she deserved to be able to see, and I was really there to hear Billy Joel anyway. Most of Sting’s songs sounded pretty much the same, and I wasn’t overly impressed by his performance. I was just glad that we had gotten there before Billy Joel went on.
After Sting finished and they were switching out the equipment, I went to the restroom as a precautionary measure, which I was glad I did later. When Billy Joel finally came on about 9:00 pm (my bedtime), he was brilliant. I managed to look around the big guy when I needed to. I knew all the songs, and he was funny and entertaining. The show was one of the best I have ever seen. I loved it when they did a close up of his hands while he was playing the piano. As someone who took piano lessons growing up, I have a lot of respect for his talent, especially when he was singing and playing the piano at the same time is. The encore was outstanding. He had us up on our feet and dancing until the end. And I bumped into the big guy next to me a couple of time (who wasn’t dancing, just sitting there like a lump). I apologized for bumping into him, but I didn’t stop dancing.
After the show, we went to the restroom, found the truck, and sat in traffic. When we finally got back to the hotel, it was after midnight, and we had a challenge finding parking. Plus, our key cards didn’t work and had to be reset. Terry was too tired to shower, but I went ahead and took a quick one that night. I had a fitful night’s sleep. The next morning she showered, and we checked out. Then we went down to the riverwalk and had a nice breakfast. We also took a ride on a boat down the river, which was fun, entertaining, and informative.
On our way home, there were several slow downs because of wrecks on the highway. But it didn’t take us quite as long to get back to Dallas as it did to get to San Antonio. I steered Terry wrong once, but she didn’t get mad. She rolls with the changes pretty well.
What I learned from the trip was that life presents difficulties, especially when you have a goal. But these challenges can be overcome, and with the right attitude, you can really enjoy yourself despite the fact that it costs you time and money. I also learned that you should really enjoy and savor the good times with your friends because those will be the things you will ultimately remember.
Joke: “How do musicians stay cool at a concert? They sit next to the fans!” —from https://medium.com/@punsify/200-hilarious-concert-puns-to-rock-your-world-laugh-out-loud-jokes-for-every-music-enthusiast-8c97383cd48a
Quote: “Music is very spiritual, it has the power to bring people together.” — Edgar Winter
Advice: Enjoy special times with friends and try to learn from the challenges you must overcome.