it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...(but still the best)

by jduron on may 26, 2011

I had was a freshly turned 16 year old in 1992. I had already seen more bands by then then most adults see in a lifetime. Houston was still considered the armpit of the music industry by some accounts , but there was a throbbing underground of people that still had taste in music and couldn't be suckered into the corny music of the error. I was an outcast in some circles for my taste in music and my group of friends but now can look back with great satisfaction knowing that the bands that I loved then are now a staple on everyone's ipod. Lollapalooza '91 had gone through Austin and created a huge stir and I was anxious to see what was in store for Lolla '92 that was actually coming to Houston- well Ft. Bend which, on paper, is just on the outskirts of H-town. The line-up was released and although heartbroken that Jane's wasn't on the lineup, I was beside myself with the mainstage acts and Jim Rose Circus Sideshow. We scrounged up our money and a group of us bought our tickets. They were really expensive for most of us at $20.50 plus handling fees. We managed to get a room at a local motel and split it a few ways. The few ways turned into about 15 of us staying in one room. As only a few of us had vehicles, we crammed into 2 different cars, the boys in one, the girls in the other. As we got closer, it was apparent we were not the only enterprising people that thought this was going to be the coolest show on earth. Seemingly a million of us sat in cars in the hot (and if you have been to Texas in the summer, you know I mean HOT) September heat. The lines was miles long and we were stuck. People were bailing out of cars to go pee in the sparse bushes, the aroma in the air was thick, the entusiasm was even thicker. I was enchanted with the thought that ALL of these people were coming together for the same reason, we all had that common thread. We finally get there and get parked and to the gates. I had been coveting my ticket all the way there. So much power this little piece of paper held. The ticket to another world sat safely in my bag along with the $10 spending cash I had managed to scrape up and had planned to strategically make it last for the next 24 hours.... and by the time we got there, I was hungry and beyond thirsty. I remember this was my first experience with a bottled water costing 25 times the amount it really cost but understanding why people actually bought them at that price. The set up was overwhelming, how was I going to experience ALL of this in such a short amount of time? Pearl Jam, Ministry, Ice Cube, Soundgarden, the Side Show all culminating to the headliner RHCP. I covered every inch of the fairgrounds that day. It was hot, it was dusty, it was smelly, there was no shade, there was no where to sit, there was nothing but my friends that were with me and the bands that were my 'friends' through the past years. These guys that had held my hand through thick and thin. The bands I related to, when no one else was there was my music and remains that way even as a mother of four and in my mid 30s. I can transport myself back to those days and I become that same wide- eyed girl just in an older person's body. I survived the day... sweaty and defeated... we watched RHCP. I remember being a bit sad for them as most of the crowd had thinned out by then and just a few stragglers had survived the entire show. I still had $1 left. We headed back to the room and I bought myself a coke from the machine in the hall and ate some cheese crackers that someone shared with me. I took my little corner of the floor and used my bag as my pillow. I looked around the room and thought to myself and agreed with Ice Cube, it was a good day. Now all those people I was with have all grown up and married, got jobs, families, and one of them isn't with us anymore. We keep in touch through FB and carefully planned happy hours and we even run into each other at shows. We all still have music running through our souls and we all have the memories and playing a role in the predawn of a new music era and being a part of something that was way bigger than ourselves... yet we felt bigger than life.

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