First Gig

We arrived at the bar in one piece. There weren't too many people there and I was dragged around by my arm meeting this person and that person, all greeting me with huge hugs, welcoming me, and just all around warmth. It was really overwhelming to feel love from people who didn't even know me. I of course was still feeling the effects of jet lag so I was pretty out of it and could barely pronounce the names I was hearing let alone remember them. I was simply beat!

Pat and the band members were nowhere to be seen, they were getting ready. All the people that were there were terribly excited and half crocked to boot, these being the people that would become our very good friends. All I could do was sit on a bar stool and feel lost. I knew not what else to do, what to say, nothing. I am pretty shy upon meeting new people, one of those who is unsure of how I should act. I lack confidence until I get to know another.

The drummers brother was following me around, giving me the eye and making me feel quite uncomfortable. I don't like to be ogled at all. Later I would find out that this guy was quite a player, didn't have any respect for marriage and/or women. But I gathered that just upon the experience.

It was time for the band to play and I was so excited. I would finally get to rest my eyes on Patrick for more than 1/2 and hour, the one that I had missed so very much for over a month. God, did I miss him. And I loved to watch him perform.

When we first met in high school, I had no idea that he played guitar, not until one day he pulled it out about a month into the relationship and began ripping off solos. **be still my heart** was my first impression. I had always been a music lover and had grown up with my older brothers' and sisters' varieties of music so my love of music was many different types.

The guys came out on the stage, Pat and I made eye contact and he beamed. Me on the other hand simply melted. I was in awe of all of it. Their sound was incredible and there was so much equipment. They were loud too. Not unusual of course for a band playing a bar but they were exceptionally loud. It was actually hard for my ears to adjust to that decible for the first couple of songs but they were tight as a drum and truly looked like they were having a good time.

The people in the crowd loved their music and knew their music. Pangs of jealousy crept over me because they had been able to hear them practice for a whole month and I barely heard a word. I still had yet to barely talk to Pat and here were these strangers whom had interacted with him, watched him play day after day. All I had was a CD that I could listen to that Pat wasn't even on. I know, I shouldn't have felt that way but I think because I was so tired and excited that my emotions were just a jumbled mess.

There were a lot of people in the crowd and the band was getting a great response from the crowd. It was great to be back in that setting again. Pat had been in a couple of bands in previous years that had a pretty good following but drugs tended to cause problems in one and the other was just a high school band with inflated egos. I loved the band life probably up until our experience in France. The following for Bluex was intense, let me just put it that way. The French loved them.

After they were done I was led to the back where I could finally be near Pat again. The butterflies were doing double-time in my stomach. I could barely contain my excitement. When we got back there and we saw eachother, well, it wasn't what I imagined. He had to get out to the bar area. They had fans, they needed to....sign autographs.

What a trip this was. On top of jet lag, I had to absorb the magnitude of this whole band thing. Pat proceded to explain things to me once we settled in. In between autographs I learned that they had been promoting the album on the radio, flyers, newspapers. This was the real deal. Their manager had been traveling all over to set up their tour.

The beginning of the tour was to be in about 2-3 months and it was scheduled to blanket Europe. Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Amsterdam, among other places and we, including all the band wives/girlfriends and kids, were going to be going with. The tour was supposed to last for one to two years. And we would be travelling on the train system. Pretty much living on the train and in hotels.

Now, with two kids, this seemed pretty insane but at that time, it was also an opportunity to travel around the world for virtually nothing. How on earth could we say no to that? Pat and I had discussed this of course and decided that since the kids weren't rooted in school yet that it was now or never. And an opportunity that even the sanest person would be dumb to pass by.

Traveling the world, what a thought....

At the end of the night, things were packed up and we were finally able to leave and go to our new home. That awkwardness was still present between Pat and myself but ultimately it took only a few moments of talking again and hugging to alleviate that. Life was good again, we were together, the girls were with their daddy and that little glitch was behind us.

The next entries will not be day by day, just general things that occurred throughout our visit. It was a wonderful experience in our life, one that I wouldn't trade for anything. Thanks for keeping up with this tale for those of you reading.