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A Museventure for the Ages

Just like it's difficult to predict their sound on succeeding records, whenever I plan on seeing my favorite band, Muse, perform, it's also difficult to know what crazy events will take place between the time I first see the tickets and the night of the concert.

The first time I saw them was likely the smoothest process of all four occasions, as my father and uncle took me to a show of theirs in Detroit for my birthday without any major hiccups - none that I can remember anyway.

I ordered tickets to see them in Columbus on that same tour, where my brother and two friends of mine were going to fly in from Nebraska to join me for the festivities. I believe the concert was on a Saturday initially. After the bass player's wife gave birth to their child earlier than anticipated, however, the band had to postpone some tour dates, including the one in Columbus. When they rescheduled, the show went from the weekend to midweek, my brother and friends could no longer make it due to work schedule complications and I had to find three locals to see it with. I wound up selling two of the tickets and going to the show with my mom.

Between 4 and 5 years later, my girlfriend at the time purchased us a pair of tickets for my birthday. As the show was in early March, I believe, I kept checking the extended forecast to see if there was any chance for snow on the night of the concert. I didn't see anything until the morning of the concert. Forecasts went from, "Partly cloudy and yada yada yada" to "Holy crap, there's gonna be a sh*t ton of snow tonight!" Fortunately, it had appeared as though the snow was going to hit us late enough that we could return home from the concert before it got really bad. Immediately as we exited the venue, however, we could see the forecasters got things wrong yet again, as roughly 4'' of snow had already accumulated and it was still coming down at breakneck speed. My ex didn't live far from the facility, yet it took about 90 minutes to safely arrive at her residence, as she had to drive between 5 and 15 mph down the interstate. We saw accidents everywhere. From a car spinning out of control behind us to people sliding off the road to semis doing pretzel imitations at the edge of roads, this night would go on to be called Musepocalypse 2014.

For as crazy as the two before-mentioned nights were, however, they were nothing compared to my Museventure this time around. My baby-mama-girlfriend (BMGF from this point forward) and I planned on seeing Muse at the LCA (Little Caesars Arena) in Detroit this past Thursday night. As we now have an 11-month-old son, we asked my mother if she wouldn't mind watching over him while we were at the show. She happily accepted, especially since most of our family live in the Detroit suburbs. We left at around 1 pm, in two vehicles, and the show was scheduled to start at 7:30 with opening act Walk the Moon. After we ate at a Fricker's in Findlay, it was 3 pm. and we were right on schedule. We then had to stop shortly thereafter due to the little guy being hungry. After that got taken care of, once we reached Perrysburg, my BMGF asked me, "Was that your mom on the side of the road?" Unfortunately, after I called to check up on my mother, she made it known that it indeed was her and that something was wrong with the car. We all met up at a gas station nearby, and after concluding the problem wasn't oil-related, we decided it had something to do with the engine. So we took both cars to the dealership closest to us. As it was a Hyundai dealer and the car was a Kia, we couldn't get it fixed there. However, the gentleman on hand was still very helpful. My mom had the car towed to the closest Kia dealer in Toledo and my BMGF took charge, as she calmly ordered us to transfer all of the luggage from my car to her's and produced enough room for my mother to sit in the seat behind me. She then asked me when I wanted to be at the show, as it was past 5 pm, we were still an hour and a half outside of Detroit, and I was starting to wonder if we'd even get to go to the concert. I said, "8," as I didn't really care whether or not we made it for the opening act. She guaranteed we'd be there by that time, and low and behold, she was right, as at around 7 pm, we parked just outside the LCA; my mother then took over the reigns driving; and my BMGF and I waltzed to the arena, not believing what all had just transpired, but incredibly thankful we made it to our destination in one peace.

After unwinding by consuming a couple of adult beverages at a bar inside the LCA, my BMGF and I decided to head to the floor, where we had general admission seats (ironic since there was no sitting in this section of the arena). We kind of hung toward the back during the opening act, Walk the Moon's set, and just goofed around. I had hoped people in front of us would leave their spots to grab  a beer or use the restroom once the opener's set ended, but after that didn't happen, my BMGF grabbed my hand and led the way toward the front. By the time she was done, we were two rows from the stage and ready to rock! For the next two hours, I was just a few feet away from my favorite band, watching them do what they do best, and feeling completely immersed in the performance. From the first song, "Pressure," to the 24th and final song, "Knights of Cydonia;" from being sprayed by a fire extinguisher to having confetti blown all over me; from taking pictures to keep for memory's sake to standing there and cherishing a moment which would stay with me regardless of whether or not there was a photo to commemorate it, I wore a constant smile on my face and didn't want the night to end (my knees would disagree with me on this). The show was over-the-top and ridiculous at times, but in a good way. The band seemed to be enjoying themselves throughout and that positivity and emotion carried over onto the audience and vice versa. It was the most fun I'd had in I can't remember how long and I'm still feeling an odd sort of buzz four days after. Even though I won't be getting my car back for up to a month or longer, will be driving a free rental around town, and my BMGF's GPS almost took us to Indiana on our way to central Ohio, it was one of, if not the best concert experience I've ever had. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen, and for anyone who's yet to experience Muse live, do yourselves a favor and order some tickets pronto! They put on a show of the likes you'll never see from another band, guaranteed!

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