Van Morrison's Moondance

I nearly forgot to post about the Van Morrison concert a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time I went solo to a concert, but it didn't matter. When I first arrived at the Gorge, there weren't many campers, but more arriving all the time and while it looked like a pretty tame crowd at first, it wasn't long before things were rocking at the campground, as people got jazzed up for Van. I met some rather interesting young folks who were from the Tacoma area, and leaving to drive back after the show as one of the gals had classes in the morning - dedicated I say. They camped there the night before, as I had considered but wasn't sure if anyone would be there, so camped at Walmart instead...I should have gone with my instincts, which was to go to the campground anyhow. I just didn't want to find myself out in the middle of nowhere and no one else is around...

I also met a couple who were spending their anniversary at the concert, while relatives watched the wee ones. They were such a cute couple, and though I risked being a third wheel, I linked up with them to head over to the concert and the line-up was almost non-existent - they had wayyy more people checking bags this time, unlike Tom Petty where two souls had to check 35,000 people...in any event, we sailed through quickly and went about searching for the best seats. We bypassed the concert gear table, although I had thought I should go before the show rather than later...I waited and when the concert was over, all the tour shirts were sold out. Dammit...oh well, I have my memories. Van did not disappoint. He was not at all friendly and rarely chatted with the crowd and when he finished playing he simply walked off the stage and left. His music, however, was awesome and sure jazzed up the crowd. There were lots of folks older than me, but also quite a few young folks who likely discovered Van Morrison in their parent's music collection.

He sang all the oldies that we all enjoyed, including Moondance. My favorite is still, and always has been, Into the Mystic...I just love those lyrics...I went to sleep late that night, listening to Van's tunes as they wafted through the campground, everyone else charmed by his music as I was. It was a good concert, and I have only grainy BlackBerry photos that I have not yet uploaded. That's okay...I have my memories...thanks Van, ya old curmudgeon...you still have it.