GRAND CONCERT

I haven't gone to many concerts for a while now. I find the tickets expensive, good seats hard to come by and I have seen some really lame opening acts. But recently when I was searching the Web, I found that one of my favourite groups when I was growing up, Chad & Jeremy, formed up again and were touring small towns across the U.S.

I found that they were playing in the town of Fall River, Massachusetts whose claim to fame is being the hometown of the alleged axe murderess Lizzie Borden. (Ms. Borden was acquitted in court of killing her step-mother and father).

I did a mapquest of the driving directions and learned that Fall River is about a one-hour drive south of Boston. Then when I found that Porter Airlines now flies to Boston daily from Toronto Island Airport, I was sold. I booked the entire trip using expedia.ca.

Flying from the Island airport is really slick. There are few crowds and no interminable wait in a queue for take-off. I was amazed after landing is Boston that there was no one in line at U.S. Customs and I was practically waved through.

I was given a nice car from the rental agency, but there is one thing that bothers me about today's automobiles. I remember a time when all the controls - turn signals, lights, heating etc. were all in the same place and worked the same way. Not any more. Every make and model is different and it takes a coon's age to get familiar. When I reached into the glove compartment to locate an owner's manual, there wasn't one.

I had no trouble navigating by myself from Logan International Airport to Fall River. I had a reservation at the Super 8 Motel across the Taunton River in Somerset. I had dinner before the concert at a very nice cafe right beside the concert hall. At one point, a man walked into the cafe who looked a lot like Jeremy. When he spoke to the waitress in an English accent, I knew it was him. He said he hadn't brought his reading glasses with him, so I proffered my own specs which he graciously borrowed. Soon after, Chad walked in and they had dinner at the table right next to me. I forced myself to just mind my own business and not disturb them.

I can't remember when I enjoyed a concert as much as this one. It was a small and cozy hall and I had a table and chair all to myself right in front of the stage. There were no more than 200 people in the audience but they were enthusiastic. Chad and Jeremy sounded just like they did 45 years ago, even though they are both in the late 60s. After the concert, they met with the fans and they signed three album jackets that I brought with me. I chatted with them about the guitars they use. This concert alone was worth the trip, but I now had arranged a 3-night stay in Boston before flying back home.