THE WEEKND
No, that wasn’t a typo. And NO, I don’t miss the prescribed WEEKEND days beginning at sundown Friday, presenting a whirlwind of social life possibilities and possible fatigue, OR great rest depending on how you approach the society deemed “break”, winding itself down sometime after the last late afternoon church service on Sunday.
Or possibly Monday morning depending how hard you like to party.
I miss The WEEKND. For those of you not familiar- a pop culture, at times overly emotional, male artist. He left out the E so as not to confuse people. It didn’t work. Everyone over the age of forty was still very confused when I so ecstatically proclaimed, “I can’t wait to see The Weeknd in concert.” Especially since he was performing on Saturday. “Who are you seeing?”
“The Weeknd”
“But who?”
“I’ll just call ya on Tuesday dad!”
I have learned Abel is his real name and that he is Canadian. I have also learned that this is currently his farewell tour using his pseudo name WEEKND and he will afterwards be starting anew using his birth given name ABEL. Maybe now that he is getting older he is facing the same confusing dilemma as I about his artistic name of choice. Or maybe after living and touring thru America as long as he has he finally figured he better Dumb it Down!
Don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those that believes some dumb bullshit like “All Americans are dumb!”
But…
A good majority of them did stop drinking Corona beer when the Corona VIRUS came out- And if I may quote the classic, iconic Forrest Gump, “And That’s All I Have To Say About That.”
But back to my Monday tears…
Which is ironic being that one of his greatest hits is “Save Your Tears.”
Please listen to it after reading this if you are not already familiar!
I worked my last night with “Abel” on Sunday night and didn’t get home till one thirty a.m. So, it may have just been lack of sleep…But I was feeling extremely vulnerable and soft straight from my probably too early waking hour on Monday morning.
I have a sometimes disturbing, yet very appreciated, habit of going through a withdrawal of emotions that may not necessarily be all my own, but what my overly influenced, often empathetic brain has absorbed.
I have worked a good number of concerts now since being first employed at Sofi Stadium a little over two years ago come mid-August, and I am noticing a short-term attachment that develops when an artist I thoroughly admire is there for three nights or more. My part time work status does not by any means grant me any access to personally meet said superstar, but I do get close enough to watch them night after night, face to face in stage proximity, and even more on the grandiose jumbo tron screens- highlighting every emotion, vulnerability, humbleness, gratitude, love- which in turn generates, or brings to the surface all these same emotions in me. I watch the way they affect the crowd of forty thousand people. The die-hard fans that are there three hours before the concert starts to be the first ones in the gate running- and I mean literally RUNNING into the stadium! Like they want to breathe in every moment of the star they came to see’s presence in a vicinity they are not necessarily familiar with but know he or she- their idol- is somewhere in proximity, temporarily inhabiting a space they now get to share with them for one night only.
There are some musical acts that come with great music. People dance. They cheer. Some drink too much. They have fun.
Then there are those artists that affect the soul in such an inspiring way that I feel a shift in my view of life. Even though I have watched so many sold out concerts, for some reason this one hit different. Maybe because it was a mostly very young crowd and from what I have heard they are not hittin the sauce as hard as their predecessors. And by that I mean- I wasn’t dealing with a bunch of drunks, as can be the case in the field of Stadium Hospitality!
Or maybe it is merely a reflection of where I am at in life…
Whatever the reason, I, for two hours a night, watched this single man give overwhelming, passionate, intense- I honestly can’t seem to find a word large enough to describe- HAPPINESS. How often do we cry from JOY?
At a wedding maybe sometimes?
The ability of ONE human to possesses this gift of rarely felt euphoria onto countless strangers’ night after night is such an amazingly beautiful sight to watch.
Oh and I get paid for this too…
I sometimes get down on myself for working a minimum wage part time job, and then I get paid to experience this.
I was compensated to watch the result of Hard Work, and Beauty, and Humanity, and Greatness, at its best- all being delivered through one human being’s honesty and vulnerability.
That- IS POWER.
And we all have it. Let’s use it!
Well maybe not the singing part- I did once get banned from a karaoke night because my voice is so bad…
But my fingers have yet to be outlawed, So please subscribe if you aren’t already- and if you can afford- become a paid subscriber!! I don’t sell out stadiums so my writing and stand up is really all I have to give back for the so many gifts I have received from others! xoxo
And in case you are confused- the picture below is Abel- aka The Weeknd
ENJOY!
