Cheesecake, Concerts, and Crazy Bicycles

A few months ago, I was waiting in line at JC Penney.  I thought to myself, “I wonder what concerts are coming this summer.”  So I whipped out my handy phone and looked it up.  Low and behold, Train was coming in September.  I realized I needed reinforcements to convince Matt to go.  So I called up the Smiths and they were a go.  So after some gentle strong-arming, Matt got the tickets and Thursday was the big day.  I picked up Logan and Lori and we headed up to get Matt.  After a looooong stop at a salvage yard, we made our way to the Cheesecake Factory.

We each ordered and started planning what cheesecake we were going to get.

I think the red velvet cheesecake was the best, followed by the Dulce de Leche.  After our tasty dinner, we grabbed our blankets and headed to the Gallivan Center.  None of us have ever been to a concert at the Gallivan Center.  After looking it up online, there were pictures of people bringing their blankets and sitting “comfortably” enjoying the concerts.  As we hopped off Trax we hand them our tickets and head in.  Logan was immediately enticed away by promising of free swag.  Matt and I headed further in.  However, the promise of a comfortable blanket concert was not in the cards for us.  After finding some cement near the back of the amphitheater, we sent Logan on a search for better seats.  He came back stating that there was plenty of room on the side of the stage, just not sitting.  So in favor of closer viewing we headed to the side of the stage.  Andy Grammer was first:

There were “bouncers” all over the place to make sure nobody went up on stage.  As Matt and I were looking around, our eyes fell upon this guy:

We looked at the guy and then looked at each other and started to laugh.  Matt asked me if I was thinking the same thing he was…… “Go ahead, just give me a reason!” 
As we were waiting for Mat Kearney, people were starting to crowd, Logan being the kind, seminary teacher he was believed this 7 foot tall man we he said that he was moving toward the middle and please let him through…..so he did, and this was result:

Yup, he stopped right in front of us.  What could I do?  Well, I could slowly inch and crowd said giant until he was slowly pushed back, and that is what I did.  Finally Mat came out:


Honestly, Mat wasn’t my favorite.  He had a few good songs, but he wasn’t that great.  The closer it got to seeing Train, the more people were pushing and wanting to get closer. 


Then Train came out.  I loved how interactive they were.  After a few songs, Lori started to get claustrophobic, so they left the crazy sardine floor and headed to the outskirts to lay on the blankets and enjoy the music.  I told Matt I wanted to stay until he sang “Hey Soul Sister.”  So we battled the crowds.

I loved the music and the interaction.  He was constantly throwing out beach balls, t-shirts, etc.  It was a fun concert, but after getting crammed and beer-stained, we were ready to head home.  We left just as Train was closing.  We hopped on the Trax, grabbed our car from City Creek and went out in search of a refreshing beverage to tide us over until we got home.
Matt found a Maverick, but by the looks of it, I opted to stay outside while the men went and got drinks.  As Lori and I were sitting there waiting for the men, a very strange bicycle pulled up to the store.  I would about 5 feet tall.  Once Matt and Logan returned, this gentleman exited the store with a HUGE case of beer in his hand.  We all started to wonder (out loud) how he was going to get on his bike and carry such a large case.  We were so amazed by his acrobatic maneuvers, we started laughing.  Suddenly someone shouted that we needed a picture, so Matt revved up the Explorer and we chased him down the street.  Because it was so dark, it was hard to see him.  This was the best that I got:

After I took the picture, I called out, “Thank You!”  to the man and he politely responded “Any time…..any time.”  And we then proceeded to laugh until we got to the point of the mountain.  Lori fell asleep about Provo and I had to listen to 45 minutes of Logan and Matt quoting lines from Monty Python.  I was about ready to climb in the back and make Logan sit up front with Matt so I could sleep too, but then we passed Mona and we were almost home.

It was a phenomenal night filled with cheesecake, concerts, and a really crazy bicycle. 

p.s. Matt, we haven’t forgotten that you owe us a Mermaid dance!!