Awestruck

[_marg]

So this past week I attended with my husband the 4 day International Blues festival in Memphis. What happens is that at the opening night, previous years winners play at a venue. The following 2 nights about 80 to 100 bands play at clubs on Beale street in Memphis, starting from about 5 p.m. and going to about 11 p.m. ..8 bands and/or duo/solo entertainers perform sets about 25 minutes long in each club with judges rating them.

People can go in and out of each club checking out the music. The following night the bands and/or single performers do the same thing only with a different set of judges. The top winner of each club then goes on to play at the final in a large hall which seats approx 2,000 people.

So the second night we go to a venue on Beale St. and I see an act which I think is superb. The guy who heads the band, sings and plays amazing blues guitar, is the one I will be awstruck with. They are from France. We spend the whole night watching bands at various venues. The next night the same thing we go to various venues, we happen to go into the same venue we saw the band from France at and they happen to be playing at that time as we walk in. Having seen quite a number of bands I confirm for myself that so far this is the best band we've seen.

The next day we go to the finals held 1 p.m. to about 6 p.m., watch all the bands but the band from France didn't make it there. However after seeing all the bands I still think that the band from France should not only have made it to the finals, but should have won and I make that comment to my husband.

So that night we go out to a club on Beale to see a jam put on by one of BB King's guitar players. The jam starts at 11 p.m. we get there at 9 p.m. and luckily manage to secure seats at a table for 6, due to some people leaving. The place is fairly packed, seats are in short supply. A few moments later 2 guys come and ask my husband if they can sit with us. It turns out they were from a top band competing at the event, but we hadn't seen them. People coming in were going over to them shaking their hands. So beside me are 2 empty seats which I have my back to because I'm facing the stage, and they ask me to save them for some friends of theirs. The place starts filling up with wall to wall people, fire marshalls have come in and warned that if pathway near entrance is not kept open they'll shut the place down.

I'm watching the band on stage and the people in the room, it's hot, I'm tired, I have a bit of a cold, I've listened to way more music that I care to, I'd just as soon be back at the hotel room in bed or watching t.v. at this point. And then I hear my husband say something like "you were great, you should have won". I turn around and sitting beside me to my back is the guitar player/singer of the band I thought should have won. I blurt out, "yes you should have won". But then I feel stupid, and think it probably doesn't sound sincere. I'm also not in a good mood at this point to talk with anyone. I figure there is no point turning around and talking with this guy, we have nothing in common and besides there are the other 5 men at the table, my husband who is a president of a Blues society and 3 other musicians who he knows and has much in common. So I turn my back to him and continue watching the people and band on stage. 1/2 hour later I notice he's left.

Next day we go to the airport, we're taking a fairly small plane to Chicago. I see a guy who looks sort of like the performer from France, but I think no it can't be. My husband comes over, he'd been to the washroom and says did you see where so & so went, (the performer's name). I initially thought he was confused and thinking of someone else who I had seen. And he says "No...he's here," (the guy from france) "I was talking with him". So then I realize and point out where's he's sitting...approx 20 feet from me. So my husband goes over to show him the pictures he took which are on the computer and I continue reading. Too awestruck to go over and say anything. My husband comes back and mentions that he told him how disappointed I was that he wasn't in the finals...which was true. We board the plane, ..arrive in Chicago..have to walk down the plane stairs to tarmack and then wait in order to get our carry on's. The performer from France gets off the plane comes over, shakes my husband hand, and I don't know whether to shake or not because I've essentially ignored him whenever there have been opportunities. He then looks at me, eye to eye, puts his hand out and I shake it. I think if I hadn't felt so run down and tired, wasn't sick with a cold which I had all week, things might have been different. But everytime I saw him I felt so awestruck. And I can't believe that the one person in the whole place( and there were a few thousand people there at least) who I had the greatest admiration for, even though I don't really care for blues music all that much, I end up sitting beside and meeting at the airport.

[_Yoda]

What a neat experience, Marg! Sounds like you had a fabulous time.

I'm not as into Blues as I am Jazz, but I'm sure it would have been quite an event to attend.

[_truth dancer]

How can you not believe in God after this?

[_marg]

How can you not believe in God after this?

I know. It seemed surreal at the time.