Say Hello to Heaven

The Forum - aka the Fabulous Forum is a magical place. It has its own smell...and no, not just the smell of years of spilled drinks and popcorn. It smells like history. All the events that have been held there since it was built in 1967 have left their mark. Maybe I'm weird because I think of stuff like that as I am walking into places..wondering who's footsteps fell in that spot before mine, who's butt was in that chair last. It has an elegance that only old buildings have and even with the "updates" that have been made to the interior over the decades it still feels cool, the kind of cool that only comes with age. I've been to the Forum for concerts so many times over the years and big moments in my history happened there. I took my oldest to see Depeche Mode when he was 5. He sat on my shoulders in our floor seats and then danced his skinny white booty off right along side my skinny white booty. In fact I saw Depeche Mode there every time they played over the past 20 years. The Forum started to feel like a home away from home. The Red Hot Chili Peppers and I hung out solo one night.. My then hubby didn't want to go and I didn't want to miss the show so I went alone. I've seen Duran Duran, Muse, Coldplay and Fiona Apple. I saw the Foo Fighters there with my dear friend Erin and it felt like we had been thrown back in time to some rock god show in the 70's. We screamed like teenagers all night.
Each time the stage is different, the interior takes on the personality of the band it's hosting. The last time I went to see my friend the Forum it was to hear Temple of the Dog. Since I spent some years in the 90's making babies I missed the chance to see Pearl Jam or Soundgarden in their heyday. I was able to catch an STP show but not at the Forum. At any rate I wasn't about to miss the chance to see the conglomeration of so many of these bands. Even though the tickets had sold out I was able to get some through a scalper but the thing that made the TOD show even more cool was the person who went with me. I can't remember the last time I had a date for a concert. I don't know if I ever have actually. Typically I go with friends or my kids. This night I had by my side a big, tall, handsome man who appreciated the music and the history of the venue just the same way I did. He knows things about music that I don't even know and has some pretty amazing history himself so to be there in that place with him was truly special.
The crowd that night was full of stellar individuals. Some who looked like they had stepped straight out of 1990 and into the beer line. Other people looked like the soccer moms and dads they had become, out for a night without the kids. Then there was us.. I wish I could have seen what we looked like to the people around us. I did run into my cousin and his wife after and he said we looked good together but I'm getting ahead of myself. Beers in hand, we stopped at the wall for one last smoke before going in when the lights dimmed -  the signal that the show was about to start. We rushed to our section and just as his hand pulled the red velvet curtain open for me to walk in I saw the stage covered in Persian rugs and guitar stands, chords like spaghetti all over the floor and Chris Cornell standing there as the first few notes of "Say hello to Heaven" spilled out into the arena. I can see it in my minds eye as I type, I can hear the music and smell the mix of breath and beer and his skin. We found our surprisingly good seats and spent the rest of the show not sitting in them. He kissed me as the music played and the lights were low. Everything was perfect in that moment. The rest of the set was spot on as they paused between songs to tell stories and make us feel like we were hearing them back in some garage in Seattle circa 1990. I don't think I have ever had a concert experience just exactly like that one. Even if I never have the stars align in that same way again that will be ok. One more time the Fabulous Forum worked it's magic....