Head Full of Doubt/ Road Full of Promise

Whew. The Harry Potter post is done. That took me a few days to recover from, but I think it's about time to get going on the last few.

This brings us to Saturday, July 16th.

The Avett Brothers live in concert.

That's a nice, quiet picture of them. Makes you think it's going to be a nice, soulful, quiet evening of introspective country riffs, gentle clapping and innocent, almost childlike, folksy love songs.

But really, that night was more like this. A wild, blaring, soul-searching, foot-stomping craze of merciless Banjo shredding, electric vocals and open- heart surgery. (That last bit being figurative, of course.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl4wLgw-6Zk&feature=relmfu

This video doesn't really even do justice to just how much energy these guys gave to their performance. They were amazing.

On the opposite end, they also gave some of the most gut-wrenching performances of quiet love songs. You couldn't help but feel their love, heartache, joy, excitement well over and pour forth into the sway of your hips, the rise of your arms, the closing of your eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XybDZ9I9k4k&feature=related

The concert took place in Salem, which give or take, is about an hour from my house. The sun was shining beautifully in the late afternoon as we piled into the car and headed south. We were early, but early is a good thing. There were no lines to find parking, no lines to get inside, and no lines to buy t-shirts. It was at an amphitheater, so we enjoyed the open air and the late-afternoon sun heating our excited bodies as we waited for the concert to start.

There were several foodstands, and beer stands, and Becca and I shared a shaved ice. Soon the opening band were on. Soon after that, it was time for the AB to come out. Right as the very first song played, I could tell this was going to be a momentous occasion, an evening to remember for months and years to come. And now that it's over, I can attest to that notion.

Without a doubt, that was one of the funnest concerts I've ever been to. It was the first time I've ever been to a concert where I felt like I could actually let go. Just enjoy it for what it was. I felt alive and present in each individual moment, thriving. There was no wondering what song they would play next, no fear of the night growing thin, and the end of the concert drawing near. There was no curious wonderings about the people around me, no distractions whatsoever from the only thing that truly mattered in that moment, which was the music.

Each word layered itself on me, and each song spoke in different tones.

I held Becca's hand and we swayed back and forth, our hands over our hearts, eyes closed as we sang words that we've come to know and to love. Words that have spoken a sort of promise over our lives, and words that have spoken a desire for the kind of futures we're headed towards.

The entire experience was out of this world.

Everybody loved them. Every person there exuded joy, and happiness, love for the band, love for the music, love for the moment.
Nothing was fake, there were no pretenses. Everyone was just there, together. Everyone was begging for more.

After their last song, the entire amphitheater screamed for at least three whole minutes, nonstop. They came back out and played two more songs, which I honestly don't think they had planned on doing.

"Thank you so much for inviting us back so soon."

I can't even imagine what it would be like as a musician to know you hold that much sway over a group of people. That you have influenced an entire crowd so strongly, and that what you have created has moved so many people that they literally will not stop screaming for more. We were hungered for what they had to give to us. It was like a simple, basic, animalistic need. We were not ready to let go, we physically could not leave. We needed more.
It was one of the most unusual and inexplicable things I've ever been a part of, and when they came back out for those last two songs, they played their hearts out.

They couldn't give us anything less.

Becca and I were discussing it afterwards, and we felt very close to something during the entire evening. It was hard to place at first, but then later we both realized that we felt very close to God that night.
We both believe he was showing us a little snippet of what He has planned for us. He's showing us our dreams, poured forth into physicality. A little of that joy, a lot of that music, a little of that chaos, and a lot of being together. One more crumb that He's dropped to lead us directly to where we're supposed to be, and for that, we both gave thanks.

We felt at home there. Together, with the music, and the other people. We felt for once like that atmosphere was exactly where we belonged. We would not be welcomed anywhere else in the world at that moment, because that is exactly where we were meant to be.

And when you can feel that coursing through your blood, as your arms are raised high and your eyes are tightly shut, nothing else even comes close to the euphoria of being where you know you belong.

"There was a dream, and one day I could see it. Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it. And there was a kid, with a head full of doubt, so I'll scream 'til I die, and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out."

Wishing you all the love and chocolate chips in the world,

Hannah

Xx