Sentiments from 3:00 AM

 

Around one o'clock in the morning, we were done packing up the rooftop from the concert, so Chup and I met Sarah and Scott Wiley across the street for late night/mid-morning Sammy's shakes, fries and burgers.

By two am we were deliriously proclaiming that we'd never had such an experience of rock and roll. At some point in that time frame, performers Mark Smith, Brinton Jones and Marcus Bently joined us--equally intoxicated with a mix of exhilaration, elation and straight up love. We talked about dreams of "what are we going to do next year?" and then they left.

Sammy's closed up shop, turned off their lights and said good night as we sat outside on their front porch table shadowed by the orange street lamp a few feet away.

By three am we were thinking about going home but also considered pulling an all-nighter--staying vigilant long enough to awake our children at six am to catch the Balloon Festival down Freedom Blvd. We each had families staying with us, which allowed for our late night rendezvous to continue indefinitely.

But in mentioning the horrors of coming home after the last concert to find Ever in her crib covered in vomit, the tender-hearted Scott decided we should probably call it a night so we could at least check on each of our children. Be there to see their little chests rising and falling, making sure they weren't needing us or soaked in anything uncomfortable.

Such is the life.

For a couple hours earlier  though--as the official fifth Rooftop Concert carried on--we had no worries. We had no stress. We had no fears. We were just in the moment.

Cherie Call & Sam Payne



CEO Sarah Wiley (we are now official, we have headsets and security guards)


Her husband, and guitarist for the evening, Scott Wiley (yes, he's from Pasadena):


Sarah Sample was intensely gorgeous, she fought the beauty of the sunset . . . and won:


Me, Mayor Curtis & J. Hack on stage doing one of MANY giveaways:


Including Modbod (given to the crowd via Miss Provo & Attendant),
3B Yoga
and Sweet Tooth Fairy:


Just before the show got on, Chup and I found perfect seats backstage, where we could, ahem, snuggle:


You at the beginning.


You in the middle.


You by the end.


With the help of the ever-capable Thomas Chock, Chup had the lanterns lit:



And the show? It was epic.

Ryan Tanner & Brian Hardy


Mark Smith


Brinton Jones


Ryan Innes


And the momentum built and built and built . . .






 . . . until the album was over, completely covered, nothing left to sing.

So I demanded an encore:


And that's when this happened:

(put together at the last second for me by Mango Films)


I know I call myself a writer, but there would be no way for me to explain what it was like after that encore. It was terribly emotional for everyone. Makes me realize that sometimes music can touch places words cannot.


And that is why we--the four of us participants and spectators--couldn't go home that night. Not when there were sentiments to try and explain--even though we couldn't explain it.

We just didn't want the night to end.






My sincere thanks to Paul Jacobsen, the man who made it all happen:



And thanks to my friend, co-founder and Wedding Photographer Justin Hackworth for these pieces of artwork I get to hang on my blog. He's the photog here:

(Come see his 30 Strangers Exhibit on BYU Campus--see here!)

I also used a few of Trevor Christensen's photos as well. (As shown in watermark.)