{concert} Earth, Wind & Fire

During the summer, my job does this wonderful thing called Summer Half Days. Every other Friday for eight weeks, we get to take a half day (as long as our projects are completed, of course.)

This past Friday, I took one of my half days and headed down to St. Augustine to enjoy a girls’ afternoon/evening out with my mother-in-law (specifically to see Earth, Wind & Fire at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre).

Prior to the concert, I brushed up on my EWF favorites to make sure I remembered all the words to hits like Shining Star, September, Boogie Wonderland and Fantasy. (And let me tell you, there were a lot of concert goers who were surprised by my knowledge of their repertoire.)

Earth, Wind and Fire put on a great show, and I had a lot of fun dancing and singing along to their music with my mom-in-law.

People watching at the concert was also pretty incredible because of the diversity of individuals attending – young and old, casual and dressed to the nines, sun-kissed and weathered and those who’d obviously had work done.

My favorite, however, were the people who danced. There were several couples in the two rows ahead of us that had obviously loved to dance to this, the music of their youth, and that weren’t shy about recapturing those moments. Their enthusiasm was infectious, and I couldn’t help but boogie along right beside them.

I’ve been to a number of concerts, and I’ve learned through those experiences that the audience is a huge determining factor on how much I’ll enjoy the show. From a crowd perspective, this is probably one of the best concerts I’ve been to in awhile. Everyone sang their hearts out, danced their butts off and traded memories with their neighbors of when/where they were when they heard a particular Earth, Wind and Fire song for the first time – it was an incredible camaraderie to experience.

Another amazing part of the experience came after the show, when talking to my mom-in-law. As I don’t usually dig into the history of the musicians I admire but rather delve into their discography, I was shocked to learn that the founding members of the band were in their late 60’s/early 70’s. Can I just say that I hope I’m as full of energy and song when I’m their age?

All-in-all, it was a great show and I highly recommend catching their act if you haven’t seen it, or catching it again if you have. After all, you’ll always “remember how the stars stole the night away…”