On Wednesday night as we were waiting for our table at Cleveland’s Melt Bar and Grilled, across the room on a large screen TV VH1 Classic was running footage of the 1985 Live Aid concert from Wembley Stadium in England. Matthew, my son, and I were watching but we could hear no sound. We identified Elton John and Paul McCartney – they were easy. But there was one group, particularly theatrical and animated, that we could not identify, though I felt that I should. After all, at the time of the concert itself, I was 29. Matthew gets a pass for having been only 1.
So Thursday morning, sitting by an open window in Matthew and Alissa’s cozy home, I was looking through YouTube videos of the various performances from that concert trying to figure out who this had been. I eventually identified the mystery group as The Who. (Like I said, I should have been able to identify them without the internet.)
But one thing led to another, and I began watching a clip of Led Zeppelin singing “Stairway to Heaven” at the US Live Aid concert. Barb sat down to take a peek, and as we sat there, a very distinctive odor began to surround us.
Marijuana smoke.
No, we were not doing anything improper. Either a neighbor was and his smoke was drifting through the window, or YouTube has begun to offer a new ultra realism feature.
Regardless, it was so appropriate. We weren’t watching clips of Andy Griffith. We weren’t watching The Sound of Music. We were watching a rock concert for goodness sake. Senses of sight, sound, and smell all fit as one. And we were, I should note, sitting within metaphorical shouting distance of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
Was it a subliminal impulse that led me to search next for Peter, Paul, and Mary singing “Puff the Magic Dragon”?
TulipGirl
LOLOL!