Fast Cars, Hot Women, Good Music... and Rain (The Happening)
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Well, it's been a bit since this transpired, but I figure I'll share anyway. May in Indianapolis can only really mean one thing. It's time for the Indy 500 again. Every year, the track hosts a concert for Carb Day. Usually, it's Kid Rock or some nu metal band that really doesn't do much for me. This year was different though. Stone Temple Pilots were headlining the concert, and I thought that a day of sunshine, a little racing and a huge group of race fans would be the perfect way to enjoy the band. In short, the forecast for sunshine didn't really work out. It rained on and off all day long. I knew the cars wouldn't run in the rain; so, I wasn't worried about missing the Indy Lights race or the practice session. I procrastinated as long as I could before picking up my friend and heading to the track. The track was in total chaos. The rain had forced people out of the stands and into milling around anywhere that provided even marginal protection from the light rain that was falling periodically. I decided against wearing a rain jacket and planned to just drink enough that I didn't care about getting soaked.The stage was setup in a large open area in the infield of the track. Evidently, every else there had the same plan as me but were much further along. The field was a seething mass of drunken race fans toting coolers full of alcohol. We managed to meet up with some friends and work our way to about the middle of the pack before planting ourselves. Around us, people relentlessly trudged by with their coolers; squeezing through spaces barely big enough for them let alone their cooler. Eventually, the area around up started disappearing. People were dropping their coolers where they could and were then using them to stand on. As time dragged on and the space around us and view of the stage diminished, people started losing patience. Shortly before the band was set to take stage, a fight started breaking out near us, and it was decided that we would move. By the time the show actually started, we were standing at the far edge of the field. Watching STP play from this distance was like watching a badly dubbed movie. I could see the drummer striking the kit long before the crappy PA carried the muffled sound to my ears. Our group had fragmented in the crowd. The rain was falling harder. My friend Nancy was complaining about her boyfriend, who we had ran into earlier, and I was drinking a warm beer from a discarded cooler. Things could have been going a bit better. About halfway through the set, Nancy and I decided to head back into the crowd; in spite of her fears that the crowd was going to be mad at us.... No, I have no idea what she was worried about. By this time, the rain had driven a lot of people away. I was soaked. But, I'd also had most of the liter of screwdriver that she'd brought to the track and was wearing her sunglasses. As we plowed back into the crowd, the sun came out briefly; summoning a huge cheer from the crowd and making me feel clever for having sunglasses. Back in the mix, things were as they should have been all along. Everyone was friends again and dancing and singing along to every word. Race girls were flashing the stage. The sound was much better, and I was finally having a great time. I had never seen STP play before. I'd always heard they put on a great live show. In all honesty, I wouldn't really know. They were too far away for a lot of the show to really tell, and when I got closer, I couldn't see the stage real well. The band sounded great once we got closer though. Scott's voice still sounds like I remember it sounding from my days in college, when we'd drive around listening to Core and mosh in the front seat of a huge, red Galaxy 500 to Sex Type Thing. In the end, this is probably what made me the happiest. STP was an important band for me in college. I never had a chance to see them play back then; being able to finally see them live, I was happy the years hadn't turned them into an ersatz version of themselves. When the final song had finished and it was time to head home, I was disappointed to be leaving.As we began the long trek to the parking lot, I had mixed feelings for the day. The weather sucked, and about half the show did too. As Nancy pointed out, we should have stayed instead of trying to follow the others. It wouldn't have changed the weather any, but I would have enjoyed the show more. I won't make the same mistake again.Thanks for reading.
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