SCOTT MILLER
News Assistant
As I sat with my friend in gridlock traffic on the Interstate-10 freeway Wednesday, my mind couldn’t help but wander in anticipation of the concert to which we were headed. When I told my parents that I had managed to procure tickets for the Eric Clapton concert, they could not stop raving about what a phenomenal show he put on; my father would even perform facial impressions of “Slowhand” Clapton while hunching his shoulders up and air-guitaring to “Layla,” “Cocaine” or some other song. My mother was content to simply equate her experience to that of a religious awakening.
All these memories came flooding back among the blare of horns on the I-10 that night. However, I was apprehensive about getting my hopes up too much, only to have them dashed away by crummy seating or the like.
After walking into the arena and quickly dismissing the $40 t-shirt kiosks, we made our way up two escalators and toward the opposite end of the arena from the stage, to our section, 308. Unfortunately, as prepared as I was for nosebleed seats, there was still a sense of defeat in realizing that our seats were literally the farthest from the stage. As we trudged up the stairs to our top row, top level seats, I couldn’t help but be a bit discouraged as my father’s contorted Clapton face popped up in my head — I just hoped that I would even be able to make out which dot was old Slowhand at that point, let alone compare my father’s impression with the real McCoy.
After the opening band performed and the roadies made sure the stage was proper for Clapton, the evening flew by. At times I was so mesmerized by Clapton’s flying fingers dancing up and down the neck of his electric guitar that I would start daydreaming about anything and everything, almost like I was in meditation. The raw passion on songs like “Wonderful Tonight” left me in awe and completely nullified my earlier apprehensions.
Two and a half hours after finally seeing Slowhand take the stage, I was outside, breathing fresh air and reflecting on the concert. Although it seemed the deck was stacked against us for the evening, it wound up being one of the most memorable shows I have ever seen. I started thinking about how this applied to the stressful life at Pepperdine, and even when it seems like classes and work are stacking up against me, I need to take a breath and really look at the life that I am leading in one of the most desirable locations in the country and am getting a great education. I am also preparing to take part in an overseas program for all of next year, something most college students do not get to do. Even when things look down, there is always something to be salvaged, like I experienced at the Clapton concert.
While it is a worth-while lesson, and one that is often beat into our heads, I finally understood what people meant when they say to step back and take a breath. Sometimes all it takes is one experience, like I had Wednesday, to fully relate simple lessons on life. One concert (albeit, an amazing one) had the power to change my current out-look on life.
I cogitated about how the concert affected me all the way back to my dorm room, until I put on “Tears in Heaven” and went to sleep.
03-22-2007