Late Night Adventures Downtown (On a Monday!)

January 10:

Did you have a set bed time when you were a kid? Did you ever want to go to a concert on a school night, but your parents said "NO!". Well it turns out that they were pretty smart. Against my better judgement, I agreed to go to see Dashboard last night. They are one of those bands that we have seen many times and just can't pass up. Especially when it's a 10 year anniversary concert of his first album.

Don't get me wrong. It was an awesome concert. I always enjoy the music, even though I don't actually know a lot of the older stuff. I watched one girl last night sing every. single. word. Here's where the story begins. For last night's concert, we were under the impression that it would begin at 6:30. I thought we would be home and asleep by 10 at the latest since it started so early. Turns out, the concert didn't start until 7:30 and there were no less than THREE opening bands. (BTW, Lady Danville is fantastic!) And then Dashboard proceeded to play for at least an hour and half. At least that's how long it went before we just up and left. And then the real adventure began. We took the light rail downtown to avoid the icy and snowy highway and associated traffic/accidents. We missed the return southbound train at Union Station by a mere minute or two. It turns out that at 11:30 pm on Mondays, a minute or two could cost you hours! The trains are not running particularly frequently, and apparently not on schedule either. We waited a half hour for a train that didn't show up. Luckily during that period, we could wait inside the warmth of Union Station. When the train didn't show up, we took a bus to another line, where we had to wait another 20 minutes outside in the elements where the temp was quite literally 0 degrees and the wind didn't help matters. We finally found a train and got home at 1 am. I don't think I have ever been more thankful for a warm house and an even warmer bed.

After last night, I have decided that I will not be attending concerts on weeknights anymore. I am doing pretty good today, but I can't wait for an afternoon nap when I get home! Anyway, the picture above is Dashboard. We had a really cool eagle-eye view from a stairway balcony. Being there early certainly paid off in that respect!