People at the Concert

I went to a Hall & Oates and Tears for Fears concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas with my friends.  We had planned for this several weeks back and we were anticipating to enjoy listening to music that were popular during our younger years.  I haven’t listened to their songs for some time now since I have been partial to listening to my coffeehouse music while driving.  The younger singers are also excellent in delivering their unplugged music that renders for more pleasurable listening.

It was unusual to be heading towards the concert venue on a Tuesday afternoon.  The afternoon rush traffic was already heavy and luckily we were headed the opposite direction hence driving on the lighter side of traffic.  Still, the slowed traffic and the blazing afternoon sun was not adding to a favorable situation.

Parking was scarce and profitable for the parking lot owners! Percy was driving and applying his Manila street-driving skills as he deftly maneuvered us to a parking space.  Traffic cops were all over the place and kept the flow of vehicles and people orderly.  I was thinking of security at this time considering what has happened elsewhere.  The steady stream of people walking narrowed towards American Airlines Center entrance.  More people but there were also more security personnel.

We were just in time for the opening song and it was one of the more popular ones.  People were standing, singing along, and applauding.  I was aghast with myself on the next few songs because I didn’t any of them! I didn’t know what to do!  All I could do was mumble and bumble the words and tried to sway with the music.  I looked around and saw that my friend, Jay, was having a good time with the couple on the next row.  They were singing and dancing!

A peculiar thing happened afterwards.  I started people watching!  The first one I noticed was a lady in her fifties wearing a white quarter-sleeved, v-necked blouse and blue jeans that matched perfectly her unabashed swaying to the music.  The curly, silver-haired guy in business white shirt and dark pants sans the jacket next to her was staring and, I think, had a crush on her!  The young girls, barely out of their teens and with their mom, were also people watching but seems to be enjoying the rhythm of the music.  Perhaps, mom convinced them to accompany her.  The young ladies in their mid-thirties or, maybe forties, kept on swaying as well and bore the hallmark of today’s digital generation with their smartphones in hand recording the event and in constant communication with someone else.

I took several photographs because I was mesmerized by the color and brightness of the lights.  I was surprised to find that one showed a sea of heads facing the stage and apparently mesmerized by the pageantry of the show as well.  We witnessed a good show that appealed to a wide range of age groups and we went home happy that we were part of it.

Tears for Fears