The October Experience

     Greetings to all, and welcome to Let's Talk Music.  I have a story for you about my daughter and myself.   I arranged for my daughter to see a concert featuring one of her favorite bands, Static X. The tickets were something I had bought back in August 2023. The concert date was on October 11, 2023, The Hop Springs Beer Park was scheduled to serve as the outdoor location for the concert.  It was going to be my daughter's first concert, and she was really eager to be able to see one of her favorite bands. She had planned a beautiful experience.  She had planned to have her hair and make up done special for the concert. The original frontman, Wayne Static, passed away in 2014, thus he was no longer with us.  The remaining members of the band had done their best to honor their bandmate and founder. The amount of respect shown by Wayne's supporters proved that no one would forget him, as seen by tribute performances and memorials. Static X had a new frontman, but his role was to represent Wayne to the outside world rather than to take his place. We bought tickets that included a meet and greet, a picture opportunity, and a lovely sinch sack goodie bag.  I intended to drive back the next day since we lived 3 hours from the concert location.  At approximately 2:30 in the afternoon, we reach our motel, check in, unpack, and get ready for the music.  Charlee and I were giddy with anticipation for our impending meet and greet with the band.    When we first got to the park, not many people were there.  With our VIP tickets, we were supposed to be able to enjoy a private parking area, that did not transpire though; we were parked alongside all the other cars and had to pay.  About half of the Pass holders had used that method, it was discovered later that evening, that some of the pass holders were allowed to use the private area. Standing in line wasn't part of the deal either but we had to do that as well.  We were supposed to get early admission but we had to wait more than an hour in the VIP line before the pass holders were allowed to enter. We passed the time speaking with one another while we waited in line, we met several very nice people. After they finally let us in the gate we went our separate ways.  Later, we would all be reunited in front of the stage, waiting for the fun to begin.  Charlee had made a friend that was a year older than she and I was enjoying the company of her mother.   We noticed that the usual admittance of  individuals had still not been granted , and the time for the bands to begin had past.  We weren't sure what was going on because we noticed that individuals had started to exit the parking area.  After a few more minutes of hanging out at the stage, someone approached and informed us that the event had been canceled due to lack of security.  Thus, we retreated to our cars after remaining until the majority of the crowd had left and everyone had come to terms with the fact that there would not be a show. We bid our newfound pals farewell and got into our cars to go our own ways.  Before heading back home the next day, we did spend a little more time with Jess and her mother Cholise. After a few days, I received word that we would receive a refund for our tickets.  We plan to rebook and see Static X in Charlotte, North Carolina in February 2024, we are hoping for a better experience. Thank you for taking time to read of our adventure....to be continued!!   Rock on🤘

Lisa Bailey-Owens    www.youtube.com/@lisaowens7629
Metal Momma