Friday, April 20, 2012

Tomorrow is Greg Lake Day

All's ready except for the last-minute packing. Some changes in plans, but nothing drastic. Between the excitement and the nerves I can't sweat the small stuff. I'm afraid to eat anything, but by tonight I'll be so hungry it'll win over the nerves. The hair is dyed and braided, the girly-prep is done; the only poo in the pastry is that I broke a nail just when they were all nice and even. Quel dommage, eh? If only all our troubles were that small.

It's pretty damned silly that I'm so keyed up about meeting him. But I'm thinking it's not just him being him. It's all these years that his music has followed me through life. Being a Progrock fan isn't something you can share, since about 1979. Music goes through fashion changes in culture and when what you really love falls into the black hole many of your fellow fans abandon ship. Just recently I've begun talking about it to friends, none of whom are Prog fans, natch. Here in the 21st century, in this area, there are few who still love Prog, if ever. This area is all about singer-songwriters and guitars, crafters of meaningful life experiences put into words and music. That's great, and what most of music is about. But it's not my be all and end all. The other part is that Prog was/is mostly a guy thing, and in my experience, guys who aren't musicians themselves. So the guys who were into it 4 decades ago probably aren't caring much about it now. People wane on music as they age, if they don't see its relevance to their lives. I'm sure there are still Progheads around, but it's not like there are festivals to go and meet them. And so it's a pretty singular pursuit, and after a decade of punk, rap and hip-hop I just stopped mentioning it. I kept all the music dear to myself. Maybe that's why it's such a big deal to meet Greg now. Or it's the supercrush I've had on him for so long. I don't know.

In any event, tomorrow is G-Day. I'll post about it Sunday night when we're back home. This will be a story, whatever happens. ;)

5 comments:

CarrieBoo said...

Why was Progrock mostly a guy thing? And what did girls listen to back then? Interesting. I can't believe Greg would ever go out of favour (now that you've turned me into a total fan!). Classic... class act. So tomorrow, you'll be with other Progheads? Electrifying!
(It's the final countdown... )

Austan said...

I've never figured that out. But ya go to a Prog concert and it's 80% guys. ELP, Jethro Tull, Floyd, Crimso, Rush, Queen, Styx, Yes, old Genesis, Moody Blues, Procul Harem, audiences full of guys. It was fine by me, ;) My girl friends listened to soft rock. Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, James Taylor, Jim Croce, etc. All good music, just not my fave.

Ha! Yeah, I'm guessing Strider will be the youngest person there, and the audience will be a bunch of old guys and a few women who still have the hots for Greg. But it'll be fun to see what the tribe looks like these days. The last I saw of them was at Yes in 78, when we were all longhaired hippie nerd freaks. Wait, I still am.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

I was raising 4 kids in the 80's and 90's, so the music of those decades are a blur to me. About the only one from that era that I cared about was Springsteen and he is, thankfully, still around. Yes, our tastes do change - depending on how much noise we can take at the time, but it is nice that you stuck with these artists.

I know you will have a great time Laura, and I look forward to your stories about your evening with Greg.

Austan said...

Arleen- All I remember from the 80s is the new Floyd album without Waters, and the blah ELP albums. The rest is a blur of synthesizers that sounded much the same to me. I saw Springsteen in 78-or 79? Great concert and I love Clarence but I can take or leave most of the Boss. Tastes change, but some, like the Beatles and my Progboys, stay.

Thanks, girl. This Is It!

Elephant's Child said...

Go, and have a wonderful time. That is an order.