The Concert
Bill has been helping with concerts for at least thirty-five years. He loves to set up equipment, fix anything that needs attention, run lights or sound, and hobnob with the band. He even likes to tear down the stage when the concert is over, even if he ends up working until early the next morning.
He may have helped with a concert or two before I met him--in fact, it's quite likely that he did. But, when we had lived in Michigan for a year or two, Bill became the assistant manager for an ice hockey arena that was also the local concert venue for the Traverse City area, hosting big-name stars several times a year. There, he learned to do it all, for all kinds of sold-out performances. I usually received a pass for each show, so I attended them all, frequently sitting by myself while Bill attended to the invisible details that most spectators don't ever think about.
I remember the impatient audience that heckled Bill as he tried to introduce an opening act for a rock band. I remember hearing stories about how rude Bob Hope was to the arena staff. I remember waiting and waiting, along with the rest of the audience, for popular bands to sing something familiar, instead of trying out all of their brand new songs on us. B. B. King and Debbie Boone and Johnny Cash gave the best, most memorable concerts, there in Traverse City in the late 1970's.
Soon after we moved back to Nebraska in 1982, Bill started to help with the annual Oregon Trail Days concert here in Gering. He usually spends a long, hot Saturday, setting up and tearing down, and working on all of the little details that make a concert great. The performers aren't always as well-known as some that we've seen, and the concerts are rarely sold out, but Bill is still in his element, working hard to make each concert the best it can be. This is strictly a volunteer position, but he usually gets a couple of free passes for any family members who want to see the concert.
In my opinion, concert volunteers get the best seats in the house. Bill often runs a spotlight, high above the audience, in (or on the roof of) a small building at the back of an open-air stadium. Erin reminded me that, when she was a preschooler, she loved sitting on the step just in front of the spotlight. She considered that to be the best possible place to view a concert, even though she had to share her spot with dozens of flying insects that also loved the light. When she was a bit older, she even got to run a spotlight. What a thrill for a young teenager!
Tonight, Erin and Victoria have both joined Bill on the roof of the little building at the back of Five Rocks Amphitheater, just outside of Gering. Bill worked for an hour or two last evening, and again on this refreshing, cool morning, to get ready for this year's Oregon Trail concert, featuring the Casey Donahew Band.
I still attend concerts occasionally, but I often choose to stay home for a rare solitary evening. After Levi is in bed, this evening is mine! Besides, if I really want to hear the concert, I can just step outside my back door into the privacy of my own back yard. Even though the concert is a couple of miles away, I can usually hear it just fine right here!
He may have helped with a concert or two before I met him--in fact, it's quite likely that he did. But, when we had lived in Michigan for a year or two, Bill became the assistant manager for an ice hockey arena that was also the local concert venue for the Traverse City area, hosting big-name stars several times a year. There, he learned to do it all, for all kinds of sold-out performances. I usually received a pass for each show, so I attended them all, frequently sitting by myself while Bill attended to the invisible details that most spectators don't ever think about.
I remember the impatient audience that heckled Bill as he tried to introduce an opening act for a rock band. I remember hearing stories about how rude Bob Hope was to the arena staff. I remember waiting and waiting, along with the rest of the audience, for popular bands to sing something familiar, instead of trying out all of their brand new songs on us. B. B. King and Debbie Boone and Johnny Cash gave the best, most memorable concerts, there in Traverse City in the late 1970's.
Soon after we moved back to Nebraska in 1982, Bill started to help with the annual Oregon Trail Days concert here in Gering. He usually spends a long, hot Saturday, setting up and tearing down, and working on all of the little details that make a concert great. The performers aren't always as well-known as some that we've seen, and the concerts are rarely sold out, but Bill is still in his element, working hard to make each concert the best it can be. This is strictly a volunteer position, but he usually gets a couple of free passes for any family members who want to see the concert.
In my opinion, concert volunteers get the best seats in the house. Bill often runs a spotlight, high above the audience, in (or on the roof of) a small building at the back of an open-air stadium. Erin reminded me that, when she was a preschooler, she loved sitting on the step just in front of the spotlight. She considered that to be the best possible place to view a concert, even though she had to share her spot with dozens of flying insects that also loved the light. When she was a bit older, she even got to run a spotlight. What a thrill for a young teenager!
Tonight, Erin and Victoria have both joined Bill on the roof of the little building at the back of Five Rocks Amphitheater, just outside of Gering. Bill worked for an hour or two last evening, and again on this refreshing, cool morning, to get ready for this year's Oregon Trail concert, featuring the Casey Donahew Band.
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| Casey Donahew |
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