Surviving my first dive bar

I got back rather late from the SYML concert last night, so I'm doing this post the next day. I left Klamath Falls and headed south to Sacramento. I had a long drive ahead of me with no sightseeing planned...just driving. After crossing the Oregon-California border, I stopped briefly at the California State Agriculture checkpoint. I declared my two pieces of sliced apple...I was allowed to keep them...and I continued on my way.  I stopped in Redding for lunch at MOD Pizza, and picked up food for my future picnic lunches at Trader Joe's.

About 5 1/2 hours later, I arrived in Sacramento. First, I checked out the venue for the night's SYML show... Holy Diver. I guess part of the name came from the fact that it's a dive bar. Even though they do drink there, I don't think the disreputable part of the definition fits. At least I hoped not! Still, I admit I was a bit leery when I saw the building.

My hotel check-in did not go smoothly, although it started out on the right foot. The guy at the check-in desk said he was upgrading me to a SUITE because someone was too impatient and didn't want to wait. I'm thinking the suite wasn't cleaned yet, so they offered my room instead. One's loss is my gain! Things then went downhill when I was told they didn't have any parking left and I would have to park in a public lot around the block! Not good! I was going to leave to park my car, when I asked if I could unload my things first...my car was in the driveway. Then, a female employee told me there was a parking space available! Sure enough, there was one space left. It was pretty tight, but I made it work...I unloaded my stuff before backing it into the space.

After freshening up and eating dinner in my room, I prepared to walk the half mile to Holy Diver. I didn't even consider driving, since doing so would result in the loss of the parking space. As I exited the hotel, I looked into the parking garage and saw a few open spaces! I immediately moved my car to a more spacious...i.e. less tight...space. It only took about 15 minutes to walk to the club. Once there, I was told it was okay to wait inside the bar for the music hall upstairs to open. As I waited, I could hear Brian Fennell...SYML is his musical alter ego...doing his soundcheck. He performed a few songs, which was very nice to hear! When the music stopped, I waited and hoped I would see him before the show. And, my wish came true! Brian was very happy to see me, and we chatted a bit. He introduced me to his two roadies and his keyboard player, Pete, who was accompanying Brian on his current tour.

While waiting for the fun to begin, I hung out with a nice middle-aged couple from Sacramento. Talking to them helped make the time go by faster. When doors opened, I got a spot right in front of the stage. The opening act was a band from Ontario, Canada called Dizzy.

I hate to say it, but I just about fell asleep. The band fit into my category of "pulling teeth" as in listening to them is like pulling teeth...just not my thing. The music and singing was repetitious, the songs sounded very similar and the lead singer had her eyes closed almost the whole time. I couldn't wait for them to get done and Brian to hit the stage. It was well worth the wait! Brian was awesome, as usual! And, his new songs were great, too!

After the show, I hung out and waited for the admiring SYML fans, old and new, to meet Brian and have their time with him. I checked out the merch table and bought a nice SYML tour shirt with a tiger on it. When the crowd cleared out, and went over to Brian to praise him on another great concert. I got my photo with him, said my goodbyes and walked back to the hotel.

I got back after 10:30 pm, and after the long drive and four hours on my feet, I was ready to call it a day. Well, I ended up hitting the sack at 1:00 am anyway, catching up on internet stuff. I would pay for that the next day.