Monday, March 8, 2010

Survived a Trip to Hell


The sun has returned! If you take a look out the window you'd swear it's Spring already. But it's not. Quite. The outside thermometer is reading about 67 degrees. I'll take it.

I went to a rock concert on February 27. My son's band was playing at Club Hell, a little night spot in downtown Providence. Yes, Club Hell. Relatives gasped when I told them the name of the place. My kids and I joked that evening that we were all going to hell. And we did.

A nice little family outing. Most of us donned black clothes because it just seemed fitting. I haven't been to a nightclub in God knows how many years so it was quite an experience for me. The first thing I noticed upon entering the joint was how dark it was in there. The second thing I noticed was the sticky floor. What exactly had created the stickiness....I don't even want to know. The third thing was the condition of the rest room. Holy cow! It was dark in there, too, not very clean-looking and seemed to be devoid of paper towels and soap. Were we supposed to bring our own?

We had to wait about two and a half hours for my son's band to take the stage. They were the main attraction. Don't even ask me the names of the songs or even the names of the bands that started things off because I can't recall. Mostly we tried to find a quiet corner to sip our drinks and "talk" above the music. That involved shouting into each other's ears.

At last the guys took the stage and we moved up closer on the dance floor. After a couple of cocktails I was relaxed enough to enjoy the music and leave my worries behind. They played about six songs off their new CD and a few other familiar cover songs. The audience cheered, swayed to the music, applauded and even shouted for more.

My ears are still ringing. No, not really, but they did for a while. I truly enjoyed the show but I must admit the volume was louder than it needed to be. This was a very small building not a football stadium, and I'm sure I could have heard the music just as well if I'd stayed outside.

But all in all it was fun and broke me out of my usual Saturday night routine. And now I can say I've been to hell...

and back!


4 comments:

  1. Sounds like fun. Aside from the going deaf part. And the restroom - okay, we've all been in the restroom with no paper towels, or even a paper towel dispenser. Yet there are always paper towels in the trash. How do they get there? Seriously. I've wondered about this my whole life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It sounds pretty cool--to be able to see your son up on the stage!! I can see how the loudness factor could be a downer. Maybe next time you can bring some earplugs for the opening acts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Matt: we managed to get someone to put soap and towels in the rest room.

    Paul: Actually, I DID have earplugs. But they only block out so much.

    ReplyDelete