Sometimes I am still astounded at my capacity to be a complete idiot.
We arrived on time to the show Saturday night. It was my first time there. Todd and I read the names of the bands that have played there on the stars painted all over the outside of the building. We got a drink, walked around a bit, and then I bought a Cloud Cult T-shirt (100 percent organic cotton, of course). The first band came on, Ice Palace. They were pretty good.
I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm guessing that I wasn't thinking at all. I had another drink, and then decided to have just one more. I was drinking Bay Breezes, vodka with cranberry and pineapple juice. They were fruity and refreshing and went down so easily. The problem was not that I had too many drinks, but the fact that I drank them so quickly. I didn't even get halfway done with the third drink and then I decided I better quit. But I was too late.
I made my way up the steps to the bathroom, where I spent a considerable amount of time throughout the evening. The second band came on (second band, wtf? why two opening bands?!). I barely remember them...all I remember is that every single song sounded exactly like the previous one and that they seemed to play for hours and hours. I sat in the bathroom some more. I threw up a little. I sat on the toilet just to sit there for a bit because I could barely walk. When I stood up, I felt water run down my leg, and I realized that my skirt had been in the toilet water while I sat. Oh, yeah. I finished the rest of the night with toilet water all over my skirt, and I barely even noticed or cared.
I sat on the steps and Todd stood a few feet away watching the show. I was in a daze. I must have looked pretty bad, because I remember some random girl with black glasses bringing me a bottle of water. I drank it, and by the time Cloud Cult came on, I was starting to feel better.
I had to stand on the steps in the back of the room and I couldn't see as well as I would have liked. I remember they opened the show with "I Love You All," which I kind of expected them to close with. I remember the painting that Connie was doing of a woman. I remember that when they played "The Story of the Grandson of Jesus," a girl standing next to me said that she loved the song. I remember I was in the bathroom for a little bit of it. I sang along with everyone around me. The energy of the crowd was fantastic, a room full of people that love CC as much as I do. They did the song, "When Water Comes to Life," and the violin was beautiful. And then they sang, "Everybody Here is a Cloud." I looked out over the sea of heads, bouncing, shouting, arms waving. We were all together in perfect unison, and it was sublime.
And then it was over. They bowed, walked off stage, and we left. I was stunned. It had all been so quick...they couldn't be done already! I was just getting sober!
Todd enjoyed the music, too. It kind of sucked that we had to stand the entire time, and it really sucked that I am so naive when it comes to alcohol. It went later than we thought, and we finally got home around 1:30 a.m. I gratefully got into my flannel pajama pants and checked on the sleeping kids. It felt good to be home again.
I will see them again. And I will do it right this time.
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