Travis Tritt Toledo reviews
Travis was great! The concert experience? Unlike any ever.
This will likely be a long post so, as "The Dude" once said..."If like, brevity is your thing man"; you might wanna keep scrolling.
I woke up this morning thinking about the Travis Tritt concert we saw last night. Terrific and an immense talent, he was every bit as great as I had hoped.
But, that wasn't what I thought and talked about on the way, nor was it what is on my mind today. It wasn't the 4 star performance that struck me most. It was the way I felt. The way Sheila felt. Digging deeper and doing some self-analysis; realizing that far too many times, I likely cause the same effect.
While we live in Pennsylvania now, I am forever a "Marylander". That is and will always be a part of my identity. I grew up in a rural part of the state and, I bet if I were to look into the statistics, there are far more right voters than left.
I'm not big on labeling people, unless they are tools, but I've always had a liberal point of view.
My hero was Muhammed Ali. Much to the chagrin of my best friends father who, when he learned who my idol was said. " I would never allow a ______ in my house. I can't believe your parents let you idolize a black man."
I've always been on the side of pro-choice, pro-weed, just as ardently as I have been pro-gun. You do you as long as it doesn't push your beliefs on me an my family. In other words, keep church in church and out of education.
The Travis Tritt concert was in the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown. The venue seats just under 1,200 people. As a liberal, I am as much of a minority now as I would likely be in Bel Air. Perhaps even more so.
As we took our seats to the sold out show, I had a nice chat to the couple seated next to me. I looked for people I might know or whom I may seen in the years that we've lived in the area. Then we settled in hoping for what I think everyone there was looking for, a great show and an escape for a couple of hours from the normal.
The stage banter from the opening act ranged from topics of who they are and where they are from to being grateful that we can attend concerts and that there are concerts to attend. These comments often got a few loud shouts of affirmation or blame from attendees.
Then came the intermission before Travis took the stage. It started slowly in the back but soon, the chant of "Let's Go Brandon" filled the arena. Alternately replaced by the age old "USA, USA, USA" refrain. Both of which the stranger seated next to me gleefully joined in.
Instead of feeling a part of community of Travis Tritt fans, we now felt that we were unwelcome in the very state we will always refer to as home.
When we entered the theater, we were under no illusions that the majority of the audience would be aligned with us politically. We are acutely aware of our minority standing. What we thought, naively in retrospect, was that it wouldn't matter.
It took this experience to open my eyes to the fact that what I saw and what I felt is what I have far too often done myself to people in my life and on social media.
I truly believe that most people are inherently good and have a kind heart. We are all trying to get thru this life by doing our best. We know we will never be good enough but we can be better than we were yesterday.
I don't know that we will ever attend another country music concert. The memory right now is too raw for that.
But, for those whom I have ever made feel excluded, unwelcome, or unwanted; I am truly sorry and I am committed to doing better because I can to better. I just need to be more self aware.