Who: Sugar Ray & The Goo Goo Dolls, co-headlining
When: August 28, 1999
Where: Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center/ Canadaigua, NY
With: Holly
Of Note: Mark McGrath's steaming hotness, Johnny Rzeznik's life advice
It was the summer before my senior year of high school and AIM was all the rage. While chatting one night, one of my high school friends and I decided it would be fun to go to a concert. I used my sweet AOL dial up to find out who was touring. So naive, I just started thinking about bands that I liked and searching "Madonna tour dates" and "Counting Crows tour dates". Holly, I believe, took a more geographical approach and we discovered the Sugar Ray (hot off the success of 14:59) and the Goo Goo Dolls (And I'd give up forever to touch you!) were co-headlining! And Fastball (don't you know that the road that we walked on is paved in gold...) was opening! And they were coming to Canadaigua, a scant hour drive from Corning. Tickets were purchased, plans were made. Leading up to that day, I was so excited.
Somehow, we had awesome seats...15th row or something crazy like that and right on the edge of the aisle. I would later tell people that, "We were so close I could see the individual beads of sweat on Mark McGrath's face." Fastball ended up not being there for some reason. Sugar Ray went on first and I was blown away. Again, let's talk about how hot Mark McGrath was!! When they got around to playing 'Fly' and the whole place sang along and rocked out, I was mesmerized. I felt so happy, so a part of what was going on around me.
When the Goo Goo Dolls took the stage, it was pandemonium. Now, I assume it's because Canadaigua is only an hour and a half from Buffalo and the hometown crowd made the trip. At the time, I didn't know what was going on, just that it was amazing. They played essentially all of 'Dizzy Up the Girl', an album I would go and purchase the very next day. Johnny Rzeznik talked a lot between songs, and one of the things he said changed my whole perspective on the world. Essentially, he used to always be worried about things...what to do, what not to do, what chances to take. He went on to say that he figured something out, "I'd rather live life with a pocket full of regrets over things I've done than not have lived life at all."
As trite as it sounds, that absolutely blew me away. I remember thinking about how I always tried to be right, always tried to be perfect. I made a vow to myself that I would never let an opportunity pass me by because I was scared of it or scared of the outcome. That it was better to regret doing something than not doing something. I'm not sure I've lived up to Mr. Rzeznik's philosophy 100%, but there are times even today when I think about that moment and what it felt like and use that emotion to push me towards doing something scary or uncomfortable.
I bought a blue, long-sleeved t-shirt for $10 from some guy in the parking lot. I still have that t-shirt. Every time I put it on, I'm taken back to that place where I was 17 and the world was full of infinite possibilities, the time when I vowed to myself that I was always going to do rather than not do.
Holly and I went to band camp the following week and bragged about how awesome the concert was. I thought we were so cool. Though we would later fall out for reasons I don't remember, like high school girls do, I have such very fond memories of that day.
I had experienced live music...and I was hooked.
When: August 28, 1999
Where: Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center/ Canadaigua, NY
With: Holly
Of Note: Mark McGrath's steaming hotness, Johnny Rzeznik's life advice
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| From Remembering the Encores |
It was the summer before my senior year of high school and AIM was all the rage. While chatting one night, one of my high school friends and I decided it would be fun to go to a concert. I used my sweet AOL dial up to find out who was touring. So naive, I just started thinking about bands that I liked and searching "Madonna tour dates" and "Counting Crows tour dates". Holly, I believe, took a more geographical approach and we discovered the Sugar Ray (hot off the success of 14:59) and the Goo Goo Dolls (And I'd give up forever to touch you!) were co-headlining! And Fastball (don't you know that the road that we walked on is paved in gold...) was opening! And they were coming to Canadaigua, a scant hour drive from Corning. Tickets were purchased, plans were made. Leading up to that day, I was so excited.
Somehow, we had awesome seats...15th row or something crazy like that and right on the edge of the aisle. I would later tell people that, "We were so close I could see the individual beads of sweat on Mark McGrath's face." Fastball ended up not being there for some reason. Sugar Ray went on first and I was blown away. Again, let's talk about how hot Mark McGrath was!! When they got around to playing 'Fly' and the whole place sang along and rocked out, I was mesmerized. I felt so happy, so a part of what was going on around me.
When the Goo Goo Dolls took the stage, it was pandemonium. Now, I assume it's because Canadaigua is only an hour and a half from Buffalo and the hometown crowd made the trip. At the time, I didn't know what was going on, just that it was amazing. They played essentially all of 'Dizzy Up the Girl', an album I would go and purchase the very next day. Johnny Rzeznik talked a lot between songs, and one of the things he said changed my whole perspective on the world. Essentially, he used to always be worried about things...what to do, what not to do, what chances to take. He went on to say that he figured something out, "I'd rather live life with a pocket full of regrets over things I've done than not have lived life at all."
As trite as it sounds, that absolutely blew me away. I remember thinking about how I always tried to be right, always tried to be perfect. I made a vow to myself that I would never let an opportunity pass me by because I was scared of it or scared of the outcome. That it was better to regret doing something than not doing something. I'm not sure I've lived up to Mr. Rzeznik's philosophy 100%, but there are times even today when I think about that moment and what it felt like and use that emotion to push me towards doing something scary or uncomfortable.
I bought a blue, long-sleeved t-shirt for $10 from some guy in the parking lot. I still have that t-shirt. Every time I put it on, I'm taken back to that place where I was 17 and the world was full of infinite possibilities, the time when I vowed to myself that I was always going to do rather than not do.
Holly and I went to band camp the following week and bragged about how awesome the concert was. I thought we were so cool. Though we would later fall out for reasons I don't remember, like high school girls do, I have such very fond memories of that day.
I had experienced live music...and I was hooked.
 |
| From Remembering the Encores |
 |
| From Remembering the Encores |
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