A fond memory from when I was a teenager was hanging out with my dad in the early morning hours of the night. I was still living with my folks in Bemidji, MN and, being in the late high school/early college stage of my life, I'd commonly stay up all hours watching TV or surfing the web. My dad, being a musician, comes home around 2 am on gig nights, but rarely goes straight to bed. Those nights when he was "too wound up" to turn in, we'd stay up and talk or channel surf
Later, as I began playing shows with him, it became a weekly occurrence, and I came to understand how he felt. I'd get home and be unable to sleep for hours, and to this day I come off of shows lit up; unable to slow myself down. The part that Dad never mentioned, or maybe never felt, was what I've come to call the Rock n' Roll hangover.
The day after a gig, regardless of how well I slept, I wake up feeling like I've been hit by a truck. My eyes are puffy, my head throbbing, my limbs floppy, and my throat gummy. It's difficult to pin the exact cause down. A mug or two of beer is likely a contributing factor. 50 watts of Ampeg tube overdrive smacking my head takes it's toll, of course. Dehydration from intense perspiration, belting vocals full blast, swinging my head around, breathing hard to push all of that air, (in non-CA states) cigarette smoke, loading and unloading equipment, and staying up late... I'm sure they all take their toll. The bottom line is always a general worthlessness the next day.
I don't think I'm alone, either. I've heard big time rock stars like Eddie Vedder and Michael Stype talk about how coming down from the intense experience of a tour is difficult. I play in small clubs. I can't imagine the rush and eventual crash that comes with playing to a sold-out stadium.
I've come to think if this feeling as a sort crash in my case as well. I have to think that getting that wound up has to come with some sort of consequence. The dialectic nature of the universe manifesting itself once again.
Edit: New image, better illustrating the Rock 'N Roll Hangover...
