Home Before Dark

HOME BEFORE DARK

     Four butt buzzings set a new record for a concert. Neil Diamond beat Paul McCartney, the former Beatle earned three butt buzzings for his latest concert at the United Center . I know you don't have a clue what a "butt buzzing" is, so I'll clear the air and tell you. My teenage son, Brenden, calls me on my cell phone, which I've placed in my back pocket in my jeans. I've left my phone on vibrate and although I know we're not supposed to let anyone hear snippets of concert, I had to give my son a taste of Neil Diamond or Paul McCartney or any other great performer at the outstanding venues like United Center or Allstate Arena. Brenden would hear McCartney or Diamond for 20 or 30 seconds, then my son would hang up....and if he liked what he heard, he'd call me back and we'd do the same thing again, thus the three or four butt buzzings, but I'm not here to go into a drawn out discussion of my slightly askew method of music review, I'd like to give you my insight into the whole Neil Diamond experience of July 26, 2008 at the United Center.

     My wife, Rita, bought 55-dollar tickets apiece for Neil Diamond. Fifty-five-dollars is the low end, one-hundred-18 dollars is the high end for a ticket, but she wasn’t a high end spender, though she has a tremendous appreciation for Mr. Diamond’s music. Add to the ticket price, the cost of parking and you, Neil Diamond "got to me, you brought me to my knees."

     Usually just on time for most events, Rita and I realized we were early by an hour. We went to find our seats and saw hardly anyone inside, then I looked at one of our tickets and realized the 7 o’clock concert start time she had mentioned a few times was actually the time both the parking lot and United Center opened. Neil Diamond wouldn’t walk onto the stage until 8 o’clock. What do you do with a whole 60-minutes to kill and you don’t want to spend heavy sums of money on the food at the various booths at the United Center ? Since Rita was thirsty, she caved in, because the water fountains lacked water pressure. We first checked a half dozen snack areas and all the bottles of water cost 4-dollars apiece, so she gave one of the less bored snack operators enough money for a bottle of water. We found one of those high tables without chairs and leaned over reading the 20-dollar Neil Diamond program of color photos and profound thoughts of his. What was to happen in the next moment changed our whole experience of Neil Diamond’s concert, "Home Before Dark."

     I noticed right away a man walking toward our table. He was dressed in a blue sporty shirt, conservative clothes, and I looked down at the program we’d bought so as not to stare at the guy, but he kept on coming, until he reached us and he began to talk. I was a bit nervous and heard a little of what he said first off. Something about he had two tickets that his daughter and son could not use because they could not come tonight to the concert. Some more words were said, but I was already stunned as was Rita, as she said later. He then said these are main floor seats and I had in the back of my mind, because I am a reporter, that something must be wrong with this scene, maybe he was looking for money or maybe the tickets were counterfeit, but I thrust a thank you at him, nonetheless…as my wife asked repeatedly after he had walked away, did you thank him? Yes, I said over and over. I finally put these new tickets in my hand and I noticed the price, hard not to notice. Each ticket cost 120-dollars. I suggested we go and find these main floor seats because we were on the third level and this may take awhile. Couldn’t actually find the way out of the third level without asking for assistance, and so happened there was an access door to the lower levels, and down we went, cement steps to the first level, and back to the entrance at Gate 3. We were told the seats were way on the other side of the United Center , so we were lucky to get permission to cross the main floor and end up on the other side where Gate 7 was located. We were in Section 4 and so Rita and I found our new seats about 20 rows in front of the stage. I turned around and looked back, cranked my head up and squinted to see those 55-dollar a ticket seats as far away from the stage as one could sit without being in another zip code.

     Rita has seen Neil Diamond several times in concert as he’s her favorite performer..so perhaps this "pay it forward" kindness of the man in blue was providential. A year ago this week her step father passed away. Maybe the gift was somehow directed spiritually, I don’t really know, and probably can’t possibly tell for sure….but whatever directed this man to give us those tickets while thousands of other people converged on the United Center, we are very thankful. Truly this past Saturday, we got to sit very close to a pretty amazing man;….."Pretty amazing….pretty amazing…..You overcame my loss of hope and faith , Gave me a truth I could believe in, You led me to that higher place, Showed me that love, and truth, and hope, and grace, Were all I needed"….PRETTY AMAZING GRACE-by Neil Diamond.

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