You may recall that last year I mentioned that if I were to do one thing different on my trip to Washington DC, it would be staying Saturday to Monday instead of Friday to Sunday because leaving on race day proved to be extremely exhausting. That was the plan. I couldn’t imagine anything that could change my mind; that was until it was announced that the first ever CONCERT FOR HOPE would be Friday night, and would be put on by David Cook. That’s right David Cook; the man I’d jumped through hoops for. The reason for my sleepless mornings, late night cell casts, two trips to Atlantic City, and lowered bank account (just to name a few.) So when it became apparent that I would be able to do the trip to Washington, the first thing that was booked was two tickets to the Warner Theatre- not the bus or the hotel- all other plans were secondary.
As the night loomed closer, I began to worry about seeing Cook for the first time since September 2009. A lot had changed over that time; more importantly it seemed that I had changed. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly or when it started but I was feeling empty, even more overly emotional than usual, and just plain blah for- I couldn’t remember how long. Maybe it was “Every day is exactly the same” syndrome. Possibly there had been a steady decline ever since the car accident/ DJ loss back to back last summer. Perhaps I was just overwhelmed by a winter that literally saw me sick with something or other constantly from the beginning of January right through to the first few weeks of spring. There were a hundred possibilities but one truth stood right in front of me: A trip to Disney World couldn’t fix my SADD so what made me think David could be any different? These fears quickly dissipated Friday morning as I, for better or worse, put all my hope in a change of scenery hoping that it was enough to jump start the endorphins in my brain again.
As the band keyed up the first song of the night, the first song I’d seen live in 20 months, my heart began the familiar pitter patter and my stomach fluttered with delight; by the end of that song I’d forgotten what sad felt like, and by the time Cook bid the room goodnight my face was stuck in a permanent smile and I had experienced the greatest concert of my life. To put this into perspective, the five solo shows I’ve seen Cook do (as well as the IDOLS LIVE show he participated in) were some of the greatest times of my life and this night beat them all. I had seen four songs off of the upcoming album- two of which he’d debuted that night- and the old songs have been retooled and reimagined to be even better than they were before.
The best part is if you couldn’t be there, fans who were have compiled the entire show here.
My birthday may not be until July but I consider Friday April 29th to be the first day of the year after what may well have been the worst year of my life. Thank you to David, who I will never count out again.
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