Lia and I have both been fans of the band, Imagine Dragons, for several years now. When they came to Seattle in March 2022, Lia and I went to see them with her good friend, Elle, and her mom, Renee. They put on an amazing show and we had a great time. However, it has been 2.5 years since Imagine Dragons has come back to Washington to perform. When I found out last spring that they would be returning again in the fall, I immediately got online and learned that they are performing only in outdoor venues while on their LOOM tour. As a result, they would be performing at The Gorge in the middle of nowhere in Central Washington instead of at a venue in Seattle. Although this concert venue is ranked in the top 5 in the country due to its stunning setting and views, it is almost three hours away and is not close to any town with hotels to stay at. So, needless to say, it is not a convenient place to go to for a concert. After learning this, I decided that it would be too much for Lia and me to travel here for a concert and I sadly put the idea to rest. However, that evening, Lia informed me that Elle was planning on going with both of their parents and that they would be camping in an adjacent campground to the concert venue. So, I quickly got on the phone with her dad the next day and confirmed that this was all true. He then invited the two of us to join them which made the situation so much more do-able for me. As a result, we both bought tickets within the next hour and our trip was planned! Elle's mom made reservations for the campground and I offered to provide our 10-person tent for all five of us to sleep in since they don't own a tent big enough. We were all so excited that this concert would work out for all of us to go to together!
Fast forward five months when we learned that the fall play Lia is planning on participating in at NWTL (Beauty and the Beast) would be holding call-backs in addition to the auditions. These call-backs were scheduled for the afternoon of September 28th which would be when we should be driving to The Gorge in order to set up our campsite and make/eat dinner before walking over to venue to claim our spot on the grassy hill to watch the concert. Since I knew that this would be a problem, I drove down to the theater a few weeks ago to talk to the director about Lia missing call-backs. The director basically told me in so many words that it would hurt Lia's chances of getting a good role if she missed these call-backs. So, after thinking it over and talking to Elle's parents, we decided to forgo the camping and just drive out to The Gorge after Lia attended half of her three hour call-back. It was the best compromise that we could make. So we picked her up at the theater yesterday at 2 pm and hopped right on the freeway. After driving three hours due to some traffic, we arrived at The Gorge at 5 p.m. After parking our car and walking quite some distance, going through security and walking through the vendors, we came over the rise to see one of the most stunning sights in my life. It was rather amazing to see this outdoor stage set up in front of the cliffs overlooking the Columbia River. It honestly looked like a gigantic painting set up behind the stage.
Since it had only been about an half hour since they had opened the gates, we were able to claim a spot on the hill large enough to fit all five of us near the top. We then enjoyed eating dinner while looking at this amazing view as the sun set. Since the long, summer evenings are a thing of the past, it was completely dark a little after 7 p.m. We then waited for the opening band to start 45 minutes late at 7:45 due to technical issues. After they finished around 8:30, we waited, and waited, and waited for Imagine Dragons to come on the stage. Some time after 9 o'clock, Renee noticed four police cars driving towards the stage with their lights flashing. We immediately wondered if there was some sort of emergency that would delay or cancel the concert. Finally, at 9:30 on the dot, the band walked out onto the stage and began their show. After singing their opening song, the lead singer, Dan Reynolds, thanked the audience for our patients and then went on to briefly explain that they had thought this concert was going to be cancelled due to mechanical issues their plane had while flying here. In fact, he went on to admit, that the issues with the plane were so severe that they thought their plane was going to crash and that they were going to die. It was rather crazy to be hearing this from the lead singer. Rene immediately wondered if they had been driven to the concert venue in a police escort from the airport in order to get to their concert before it was too late. So, although the lead singer did not admit this, we think that was why we saw the police cars driving up to the stage a few minutes before the band came out to play. Regardless of their delayed start, the five of us had a great time watching them perform for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Just like last time, they put on an incredible concert and we had so much fun singing and dancing to our favorite songs while standing on a hillside outdoors. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I am so glad that I was able to share it with Lia. The only downside was having to drive home in the middle of the night since we were no longer camping there. It took us almost an hour to walk to our car with the huge crowds and another hour to drive out of the parking lot. So, we officially started driving home at 1 a.m. and pulled up into our driveway at 3:30 in the morning. I have not done something like this since my single days in my twenties. Needless to say, I was so grateful for Elle's dad for staying awake and for safely driving us home that night. Until next time, Imagine Dragons! And, please do us all a favor, and come back to Seattle on your next tour!
No comments:
Post a Comment