Once again, ladies and gentlemen, it's...
The Little Lies at this year's Music At The Marina
At the Port of Everett Marina!
Like every year, the experience for us begins up above on Grand Avenue because that's where we can actually score free parking.
The only cost?
A lovely stroll along the Avenue with all its greenery and view of the Sound. We catch up with other strollers on the sidewalk. We're passed by skateboarders who just asked us who's performing down below. People are playing with/walking their dogs. Throwing frisbees. Just relaxing on the grass to our right.
And on our left?
People in collapsible camp chairs looking out at the Sound, the sun, the sky, the clouds, and all the people below. And, of course, listening in on the concert's that's just begun.
We can recognize it from way up here. Linzy of The Little Lies singing the Christine McVie classic, "Everywhere", with its iconic keyboard arpeggiated introduction.
By 'n by, we find our way to the Grand Avenue Park Bridge to make our way down from these heights.
Down below there's a massive crowd that's both concentrated in front of the stage and also dispersed in boats on the water, along docks, on the balconies of nearby apartments, in the backyards of homes up above and, of course, along the park up above we just passed.
As always, we make our way to the front, stationing ourselves a few rows back. I actually play the "parents of the keyboardist" card because we just placed ourselves right in front of fellow fans of the band. They're totally generous to us, though. And super complimentary of Linzy. :-)
It's not that Little Lies audiences don't show up to relive the songs they embraced once upon a time as teens and young adults. It's just that this time I was more aware of the singing that was, of course, coming from the stage...
But also from everywhere, all around me.
I was also aware of the swaying and arms held around each other. Moments of deep remembrance and living and emotions that have not lost their power across decades.
Which is one a helluva thing.
Of course The Little Lies bring it like a rock group at an arena show. They bring that visceral Rock Star thing that every rock fan who's ever been to a concert recognizes. A look. A moment. A certain intense passion. The poses, of course. How each band member engages with each other band member. And since these are Fleetwood Mac songs, sometimes the emotion between the members is love and graciousness... and sometimes it's confrontational in your face anger. They embody the songs and the singers, do these Little Lies, lighting up the stage and the audience with out of this world energy and performance on "Rhianon", "Gold Dust Woman", and "Tusk". Don't get me wrong, it's an absolute banger of a set when it's not an intensely emotional set. It's just, like a gospel choir, you believe in your soul they've hit one hundred percent energy... and then somehow, incredibly, they find more.
It's absolutely hypnotizing.
In the end, it's all above love. Love of the music. Love because of the music. And love because we're all here together and we love this music and we love this band.
It's a helluva thing that we can all feel so normal... like this is just some random awesome day in a lovely awesome world when outside this bubble at the marina, neither the day nor the world are even close to awesome or lovely or normal.
It's a helluva thing.
And we're sure grateful for this little bubble in a stormy world where we just lived a full-blown outdoor rock concert.
And we're all just fans.
:-)
