John Hiatt & the Rain....

OK so I struck out twice...First a couple of months back I saw my pre-sale notice about John Hiatt being on tour in North Carolina. So at the designated time I logged on and proceeded to buy two third row center tickets to the Hiatt show in High Point! Third row! Woohoo! I was elated until exactly two hours later when I discovered that the John Hiatt show in High Point was the exact same night as Jack Johnson in Raleigh....OH NO!!!

Oh yes..so I proceeded to work with the ticketing company and they graciously refunded my money the next day. Wow. That was nice. Third row center...$#@!.

So then I log on to the web site to see if any other tickets are available for a North Carolina date. It just so happens that there is another date in Raleigh at a place I kind of like....the NC Museum of Art. The bad news is there are only lawn tickets left...well I think to myself...the lawn is not bad at this venue as I can bring a nice chair with a picnic and purchase a glass of wine...top it off with a John Hiatt show and this can't be all bad...so I push the button and buy the tickets..

Fast forward. Friday August 15. I have not worked much this week to recover from the Jack Johnson show and catch up on some rest in between....besides I have an eleven mile trip planned on the river for Saturday so I need a bit of extra beauty rest.
As I wake up and slowly begin my first sip on my espresso I click on the weather underground...Uh oh. RAIN. Bummer with a capitol B. So I start to drag the rain gear out and start to ponder what this evening will bring.

A couple of hours before the show I call my pal at the venue. Seems I missed some great seats released by the band by about five minutes. Great. On the other hand, the voice on the other end of the line tells me it is barely raining. So I throw my gadgets and chairs into the car and take off on a one point five hour trek down the interstate.

Halfway to Raleigh the traffic is chugging down to 45 MPH, I have the wipers on high, and I am struggling to see the tail lights in front of my car. Oh boy. About now I am thinking super cell and visualizing a computer doppler picture with all this red shading in it right over my head. The only good thing about this moment is the extra pickles on the chicken sandwich in my right hand.

As I arrive at the venue parking lot there are lots of cars, ponchos, and zero tailgating going on....In fact my wipers on on low but that did not last long.
I hit the gps and notice Crabtree Valley Mall is right down the road. I am thinking this might make for a rain refuge....

I made my way to the Apple store which is as close to a candy store as I get these days. On the 24 inch Imac I notice that the big red cell is directly over the venue.
Well. That's it. I give...so I go to plan B. Buy that Apple TV I have wanted for a while and go home to catch some podcasts. Game over.

Too bad I just got the pre-sale notice two days late for the Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt show in Greensboro...but then again... three strikes, and yes you are out.