On Saturday, May 11, my world blew up like fireworks at night. I went to see Ben Rector and Cody Fry perform with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Costa Mesa! I had an amazing time singing along to every song and ruining everyone's recordings doing so. Seriously, everyone could hear me, especially Underground, belting poorly (I‘ll give some credit to my belt in Underground, it kinda harmonized with Cody). Nevertheless, I had the time of my life and my seat was closer than I thought, meaning I could see Cody and Ben better (mostly Cody though as he was always near the right side of the stage). They even filmed an Instagram reel that night and I was in it! Granted, I’m not sure if it was on PSO’s account or Cody’s or Ben’s, but it’s somewhere. I'm rambling on though because that was an exciting time. Let's start at the beginning.
That morning, my family drove from our Lincoln Heights home to a Costa Mesa hotel. I played a few songs that I thought would be played and also would give an idea to what we were in for. Let's just say they were, um, interested. We arrived at the hotel, which while tiny as heck, was rather nice! We spent the afternoon getting lost in the nightmare that is Hobby Lobby, watching The Twilight Zone on the hotel TV, and mentally preparing for later. I got ready and I'll say my outfit was pretty ok. It included a navy blue Cody Fry shirt inspired by the music video for "Fine" with dark blue jeans, a burnt orange blazer, and my custom Converse. I felt pretty good in it, but after a little drive around, quickly realized my outfit was the hood's idea of the wealthy is. We ate at a Boudin at the shopping center across from the concert hall, but walking in made me feel tiny. There were many people of different races and ethnicities in there, but mostly everyone was white. I saw all them ladies with their fancy sundress-looking dresses and the guys with their opaque button-ups and jeans. At that point, give them a blazer like mine and call it a day! Boudin was a place we already knew since the bread was at Disneyland and also there was a restaurant in Santa Ana, so I ordered a pepperoni pizza. Our server, who was very nice, made me realize that Costa Mesa working off the backs of people around the age of 17-25 from places like mine. I didn't feel so alone seeing her, but she certainly made me more ready to leave the next day. Suddenly, I saw people with Ben Rector shirts and realized the minority was here too. Once we finished eating, we put the plates on top of the trash can like the people we are and drove to the concert hall.
We were dropped off about 90 minutes before the show, which was at 8. There was a Girl Scouts thing across the way, but I felt a little anxious seeing only one couple with matching Ben Rector shirts near the hall. Around 6:45, people were going into the building, but my mom told me to wait. We went in at 7, went through security, and got our tickets scanned. I was brimming with excitement and just wanted to run up and down the staircase in the middle. It was hard to restrain myself, but I somehow did it. There was an interview with the conductor and one of the violinists on the second floor that I went to see. After that, they opened the doors inside and let people in. The orchestra was warming up, and I was so excited and nervous. At 8:04, 4 minutes past the start time, the announcement was made that the show was starting.
If my heart was a hand grenade like the one on the cover of American Idiot, then it was exploding when Ben and Cody walked out on stage. It was a surreal moment for me as I remember listening to them at the end of my 8th-grade year. I tried not to cry, but I rejoiced. The setlist is a little spotty, but here's the setlist I remember:
There were probably more, but that's all I remember. If you see some funny things on the side, that's because that happened at the concert. Ben was pleased with the attendance as the previous night wasn't as lively as us. Between Flying and Waltz for Sweatpants, Cody told us the story of how he went to a family reunion in Wyoming and when he was going home to Nashville, he was basically the only one at Cheyenne Airport. There was a guy who opened the airport, took him through TSA, and checked him in for his flight, every time by saying "Welcome to Cheyenne Airport! Ready to fly?". He didn't even have to tell us who the pilot was as it was pretty obvious to us all. What I found surprising was they were very comedic and could make you laugh with basically anything. That time where they pulled out the kazoos in place of a saxophone solo? GOLD. Cody and Ben sitting together on the tiny piano bench to sing Duo? GOLD. Ben trying to come up with a verse about French Horns for a third verse of Loving You Is Easy? INSTANT CLASSIC. It was an unforgettable evening I don't want to forget ever.
Going home was exhausting, mostly because of the whirlwind of emotions I went through. When we got home, my parents basically roasted my taste in music to this:
I ignored them and went back to learning 21 Guns and Last Night on Earth on my keyboard. I got the hang of it!