Somewhere Down the Road

I know I haven't posted anything in a while, but life sometimes gets in the way of things and then before ya know it it's almost June.

Lately I've been listening to "Somewhere Down the Road" a lot and I mean A LOT. All those months ago when I first heard this song, I never connected to it. Even though I knew it was not necessarily about a romantic relationship falling apart and two people moving on from that relationship, I just had no reason to connect with that song. But certain songs I believe lay dormant in the back of one's mind and when one may need it, it's there to listen to. And that's what happened to me.

The first time I ever took this song seriously was back in August when I saw Barry perform it live. Though at the time I may have been more in shock when Barry grabbed a stool and put it right in front of me but I digress. Since he performed it with very little instrumentals and at one point, acapella, it gave the song a new emotional meaning as more is sometimes exposed when a song is stripped down. A person is more vulnerable in silence or a quieter setting because more people are listening, the same goes for a performer and their music. I don't know if any of this makes sense because it's so difficult to put into words, but that song spoke volumes to me, even months later in February. It still does.

As I rode the bus coming home from school it came up in my Barry shuffle on my iPod and I knew I had to listen to it, especially after today. There's a reason why I connect to this song so deeply now and like people, music comes into our lives at certain times--it's never a coincidence. Even though the reason is for me to know, I will say this--no matter what life ever throws your way, music will always save the day. :)

Greek Theatre

So yesterday I got the highly anticipated Greek Theatre DVD and 1978 tour program in the mail. It could not have come at a better time. Life can sometimes get rough and just something as simple as getting a Barry package can brighten up the day--well my day anyway. :) I was not expecting the package to come so soon, so when I opened the mailbox and saw it in there, I jumped and screamed and quickly ran into the house to open it up. Once I ripped the envelope open, I went through the program and was like a kid in a candy store looking at all the pictures. While I may not have been alive during the 70s to remember all of this when it actually happened, I do have memories of my own concerning 70s Barry in general and specifically the Greek Theatre show. Like when I borrowed a Barry tape from my local library one time and was dumbfounded when I saw the Copa performance from the Greek. (Ya know when he does that very close dance with Reparata.) Or how I was obsessed with the opening song "Here We Go Again" for a good 3 weeks. They may be similar memories fans have from the first time they saw it--the only difference is I made mine 30 years later.

I reserved my Friday night for Barry (I usually do anyway as I'm so glad the week is over) to watch the DVD and to just have some quality Barry time. As the concert appeared on my TV screen I remembered to put on my vintage '78 Tour Barry shirt to get the "full experience." So I put it on and sat back down on my bed and just watched with awe. I laughed when he talked about the people being up in the trees, smiled when he would turn around and have this certain look on his face, I had tears rolling down my face when he sang "All the Time," and reminisced about how many times I had done this before, but how the feelings have always remained constant. It is truly amazing. :)

A Musical Send off

A few days ago I attended a memorial service for the man who was basically responsible for sending me to Australia almost 2 years ago. It was a religious service so I was not that into it for personal reasons, but there was one part of the service that really struck me and made me think. During a eulogy given by his son, his son spoke of how his father had passed away listening to his favorite opera music. He had put the iPod headphones in his father's ears and his father peacefully drifted away to wherever you go once you pass away. I thought to myself
"How perfect is that?" Even though you are dying and you will no longer be biologically a part of this Earth, listening to the music you love--to me there is no better way to move on. It just goes to show how greatly music impacts human nature, even till the very end. Just a thought for today. :)