My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday.  Husker and I  used it as an excuse to go to Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, TX to a concert by the Eli Young Band.  Husker's baby boy, Jon, is the bass player.  For those who are not from the DFW area, Lone Star Park is a horse racing track that is also a venue for concerts.  Jon arranged for us to get backstage passes, and after meeting up with him and his bandmates out front during the meet-and-greet time, we headed upstairs to the box suite provided to the band and their guests.

Let me back up and explain for the older generation that meet-and-greet is a time either before or after a concert when the band meets fans, poses for photos with them, and generally expose themselves to the fanbase up close.  At this venue, their tour bus was parked at the entrance to the facility, and fans that had purchased backstage passes were allowed into a blocked off area for their personal time with the band.

The suite also provided a very nice supper for everyone, plus drinks of all kinds.  Others watching the show from the suite were family and friends of all the bandmates.  Jon's fiancé, Sarah, was also there.  A funny thing happened in the elevator up to the suite:  A young man on the elevator realized that we were headed for the VIP floor and noticed our backstage passes.  He knew that these oldies could not be run-of-the-mill fans.  He even jokingly asked if he could buy the passes.  Husker told him that the passes cost far more than he could pay, and happily identified himself as Jon's father. 

We learned from Jon earlier that their cut of Guinevere is the Number One country tune in the DFW area, although not in the nation.  The band started their day with a gig in Nashville at 1:30, hopped on a flight to DFW, played Lone Star Park, and as I write this, they are on their way to Salt Lake City for another gig tonight.  Tomorrow is Denver.  I am exhausted just thinking about it. 

All said and done, it was a nice way to celebrate my birthday.  Thank you for the passes, Jon.

P. S.  We found out later that the concert sold 19,370 tickets.  Way to go!