Stevie Wonderful

Okay, so it's been two months since I last posted. When I started this project, I said one of my goals was to get back in the habit of writing. Yeah, well done there, eh? Well, screw it! What the hell is wrong with me? This shouldn't be that hard. Even the few posts I've made have been nothing more than stupid video clips I've found. What happened to all the movie reviews I was gonna write? I'm full of worthless opinions. I love to talk. Why the hell aren't I writing on here? Anyways, I really, really, really promise to make more entries from now on, and this time I really, really mean it.

So, last night my girlfriend and I saw Stevie Wonder in concert. It was awesome! He played for about three hours, and the show was amazingly personal. He talked to the audience on many occasions. He elicited audience participation a lot. He played great songs. The last half-hour was sort of a medley of all of his greatest/best-known hits, so even if he didn't play your song earlier, most likely you got to hear it here. That was true for me: my big favorite was Superstition, which he played in the medley (but for longer than most of the others). He would often interrupt his own songs to talk or incorporate other songs like "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell and the Drells (from Houston) or even some James Brown. It was just a fantastic, fantastic show. Here's the Houston Chronicle's review.

Okay, now that I've given my review of the show, it's time for me to be cranky.

One nice thing about the show was that the vast majority of attendees were older. Not that young people aren't fun to see a show with, but there's just a totally different vibe between feeling like a parent of the audience or feeling like a child of the audience. Everything was more mellow, more subdued. I really liked that a lot.

Well, that wasn't cranky, but I needed to say that before I continued.

We were on the floor, pretty close to the stage. Not "special connection" close, but close enough to be excited about it. Now, being on the floor, everything is flat. You don't have the slope to lift your eye-level above the person in front of you. Fortunately, that wasn't a problem. However, two rows ahead of me was a blind guy with a walking stick. This walking stick, at the handle, is probably only 1 or 2 inches wide. But instead of folding it or laying to the side, he kept it up the whole show. It was perfectly in line between me and Stevie Wonder.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Is this guy really going to complain about a blind guy? At a Stevie Wonder concert?? Yes. Yes, I am. This blind guy is sitting down. What does he still need the stick for? I can just envision the conversation:

Me: Hey buddy, could you drop the stick? I can't see.
Blind Guy: I can't see either. What's your point?

I moved my head this way and that, but then you get people's heads in the way, you know. Every time I thought I had a good angle, that damned stick would be right there in the way.

Here's the point. We're all about treating people equally these days, right? Well, if everyone is equal, and anyone can be a jerk, then it's a given that even handicapped or "disabled" people can be jerks. If a sighted person had something that was blocking other people's views, no one would bat an eye if something were said. But here, because he's blind, I can't say anything. Is that equal treatment? I don't think so.

Okay, next rant. After the main show, some Texas state representative or congressman or something comes on stage with Stevie. He takes the microphone and makes a big announcement about how the governor RICK PERRY (the capitals reflect the enthusiasm of the speaker) has signed a bill making December 4 officially Stevie Wonder Day throughout Texas (this was at 11:00, so enjoy that hour, Stevie). Then he read the first paragraph of the proclamation, which was filled with senseless legalese just to say that today is Stevie Wonder Day. And this congressman/representative seemed so proud of having done this, and he's hugging Stevie. You just know that Stevie is thinking, "Yeah, you know, maybe instead of having some jive ass worthless day for me, you should call it Give Some Food To The Homeless Day or Be Kind To A Stranger Day." But of course, Stevie is too polite to actually say that. Luckily, I'm not. The way this stupid elected official was bouncing on the stage, you could just tell that really he just wanted some excuse to hug Stevie. It was sad and pointless.

Anyway, I had a great time at the concert. It was one of the best shows I've seen. I will try to upload a picture, but I'm not sure about my PhotoShop skills in order to get the look I want. We'll see.