Tomorrow, I go back to reality.

Before I go, things need to be said, or they will never get said.  If they never are said, they will be forgotten, and that would be a shame.  A friend and I took ourselves to St. Louis for the Dresden Dolls concert on Tuesday at the Pageant Theatre.  I have been a fan of the Dresden Dolls from the moment I heard them.  Their music struck a chord with me, and it has never grown old in all the years that I followed their careers.  They saw me through the thick and the thin, and theirs wasn’t the kind of music you run from after your girlfriend breaks up with you or your dog dies because there are too many bad associations.  It’s real.  I was passionate once.  I drove 10 hours to see Amanda play in Minneapolis last June because it was the first time she’d been so close. 

Sometime between then and now, I lost my passion.  For anything.  For everything.  I didn’t really care that I was even going to see the Dolls play.  I wasn’t excited.  It felt wrong, but I could do nothing about it.  Apathy doesn’t lend itself to passion, and I felt empty.

This next part is tricky to write about.

The concert was magic.  The Dresden Dolls are magic.  From the moment they stepped out onto the stage, I could feel myself wake up, and emerge from the daze that I’d been living it.  Their music had always been therapeutic for me, but this was more than that.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I could see how much they love their music, how much passion goes into it to produce their craft, maybe it was because of the experience of the music with all of my senses, but whatever it was, I felt whole again.  I needed that. 

After the first few songs, we moved from the balcony where we had been sitting to a place in the back of the hall where I had a better view.  We stood there for well over an hour and watched Amanda and Brian make magic.  I soaked it all in.  Anyone who has ever seen them play live, I’m sure will tell you the same thing.  The way they play off one another, engage the crowd, and get into the music is awe-inspiring.  It’s amazing. 

I could have stood their all night.

Eventually, after the dreaded encore procedure, the show ended.  Amanda and Brian left the stage to do the things they do after the show, and we left to find some place to crash for the night, but the night never really ended.  I feel whole again.  I took back my passion,and now hold it dear, because I’m a zombie without it.

If you’ve never seen the Dresden Dolls perform live.  Do it.  I promise you, it will be like nothing you’ve ever seen before.  I wish I could thank them in person, but this will have to do. 

Thank you, Amanda and Brian.  You are something amazing.