Written by Laura Hamlett Sunday, 11 June 2006 15:22

Let's face it: most of the things I get truly excited about are concerts.

It's not really post-party, so much as post-event. Post-exciting thing. Post-show, all right?

Yes, I'm the excitable type. Yes, I look forward to things for days, weeks, months. Yes, I was pretty damn giddy about last week, a week that included no fewer than four nights of shows (it should've been five but hey, a girl gets tired), many of them top of my list. Bands I could easily see every week and not tire of them. Bands like Extra Blue Kind, Lorenzo Goetz, Miranda Sound.

I've always been like this. I can remember in high school, circling a date on my calendar—the next Adam Ant concert, or Rick Springfield—and looking forward to it for months. What I like best are the final hours before the show. Oh sure, the show itself is incredible, but I'm always seized with that fatalistic thought of, "Soon, this will be over." I can't help it; I've tried. But the few hours before, you're giddy with excitement and anticipation; it's all about to happen.

I've gotten better during the event itself—and, let's face it: most of the things I get truly excited about are concerts—of taking a moment to assess, appreciate, drink it all in. To fully listen to the songs, watch the performance, get into the show, soak it up.

But then it ends, as all good things do. Today I awoke (without having gotten much sleep the night before) and knew I had before me an entire day of sitting at the computer, editing articles for the July issue. And the next day, and the day after that? Layout, formatting, putting it all together. Sure, it's cool to watch the issue come to life. But let's face it: It's nothing compared to the excitement of a rock concert.

Oh, but let's not forget the U.S. World Cup game tomorrow against the Czech Republic. There they are again, my old friends, those familiar endorphins...