Back in the fall, before the gut punch that was Omicron, I purchased my husband tickets to see Blue Rodeo at Barrie’s Sadlon Arena as a Christmas gift.
At the time, things were looking “up” and I thought I might be ready to get back out there into the world and back to doing things I used to enjoy — like going to concerts.
You see, I love live music, always have. In fact, I still have a box around here somewhere full of ticket stubs from over the years, including my very first “arena” concert in 1995: Green Day at Maple Leaf Gardens.
What I don’t like, however, are crowds. Or “people-ing.” Even before COVID, I loathed being in a crowded space and have always had what I like to call a particularly large “personal-space bubble,” which, as anyone who has ever attended a concert can attest, isn’t something you can exactly count on.
In the past, I would typically just “suck it up” and get on with looking forward to the show.
This time, though, as I awaited last night’s twice-delayed concert, my nerves were jangled and my anxiety was getting pretty bad, thinking about being in a large crowd while still being in the midst of a pandemic.
Many times over the last few weeks, I’ve heavily considered finding my husband another date — and I came pretty close to doing just that many times. Truth be told, I was also looking forward to a night out of the house just the two of us where I didn’t have to cook dinner and someone else would have the “pleasure” of putting our children to bed!
We’ve seen Blue Rodeo a few times over the years and they’ve always put on a great show. Last night was no exception, but I won’t lie — despite my best efforts (and aided by a flight of great craft beer at a local restaurant) I couldn’t quite allow myself to truly relax into the music as much as I normally would. Maybe it was the anxiety over being back in a crowd, or the fact the lady in front of me spent the first half of the show live-streaming it from her phone. Maybe it was the group behind me who loudly and incessantly shouted throughout the entire show.
Usually hearing Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor crooning Lost Together, Hasn’t Hit Me Yet or Rose-Coloured Glasses, I find myself whisked away to a sense of calm that only a few other artists bring me — but despite my best efforts to give in to the magic of the music, I just couldn’t quite make it to that state.
The last two years have definitely made my dislike of crowds even worse and, unfortunately, I think it’s going to be a while before I am completely comfortable with attending large-scale indoor events like a concert again.
Hopefully, with the summer around the corner, which bring with it events like the popular Boots and Hearts Festival at Burl's Creek, Kempenfest and the Mariposa Folk Festival, I will get back to finding the rhythm I used to enjoy.
And who knows, maybe I will even get a second shot at what I missed out on last night, which is enjoying singing off key to a few of my favourite Canadian artists.
To steal a line from Keelor, as the band left the stage following their encore, hopefully I’ll see you down the road.
Nikki Cole is a staff reporter with BarrieToday.
