This last weekend I went to the Jason Mraz concert at The Gorge Amphitheater and SURVIVED! I knew this was a risk since I would be in a crowd of 7,500 people, but I took various precautions to limit my exposure and keep myself safe.
TICKET PURCHASE AND SEATING OPTIONS The Gorge is an outdoor amphitheater so I anticipated much fresh air. I bought tickets in the General Admission area which is the grassy hillside behind the reserved seating and the fact this venue offered a
roaming option made it very attractive. Believe me, I would have rather had purchased the front and center seats so I could be within winking distance of Mr. Mraz and sing, dance, and steal things right under his nose (the title of one of his CDs), but that would mean I would have been in an assigned seat, shoulder to shoulder with possibly stinky people. I couldn't take that chance. When my camping neighbors drove in and told me they had seats in the second row right in front of him I was jealous until I got a whiff of that woman's deadly stench and I said a silent prayer of thanks that I made the choice to be in General Admission. She was camping and bathed in stink! I can't imagine how stinky the non-campers were!
OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS The Gorge is way out in the middle of a prairie-desert and hours away from civilization. There are hotels in the nearby city which is thirty minutes away or you can camp. Camping options are at The Gorge, or at a nearby campground. I was told by a friend the Gorge Campground is one big drunken/drugging party. I'm not sure if the Jason Mraz crowd would be that rowdy, but it didn't sound like they had any security or supervision. I opted for the nearby campground and reserved a spot for Friday and Saturday night.
AIR QUALITY AND HAZE! A few weeks before the concert, friends started asking me if I was still going because of the forest fires north of the Gorge. Although the fires weren't near the Gorge (nothing much in the desert to burn!), the air quality in the eastern part of Washington was affected by the smoke. I emailed the campground, but they said the smoke was intermittent and wasn't affecting any one's daily routine so far. A few days before Ticketmaster and the Jason Mraz Newsletter sent concert ticket holders warnings about the air quality with special precautions to be taken by anyone with lung problems or asthma. Oh great. Although I don't really have classic asthma, my issues are more like Reactive Airway Syndrome and in the past I've had trouble with campfires if the smoke was too thick. This worried me. I was afraid if the smoke was too bad on Friday, I'd be forced to leave and not see the show. I opted to arrive before the concert on Saturday knowing if the air was too bad I could drive out after the show.
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Taken from my seat just as I got inside. See the haze?
Compare it to the photo above. I was a little disappointed
as I'd heard so much about the view and sunset.
Didn't see either because of the smoke. |
SOLO I also went to the concert alone. I considered asking friends, but most didn't know who Jason Mraz was, and more importantly, suppose I got really sick from the perfume, smoke or whatever and had to leave? As it was I changed my plans at the last minute and was thankful I didn't have to subject someone else to my restrictions. Still, it would have been fun to go with someone, but this is one of the choices a MCSer has to make to stay safe and to avoid being an inconvenience to others.
The fire smoke wasn't too bad. My sinuses stuffed up immediately and I had a headache, but that could have been caused by the smell of sagebrush from the prairie. I've never done well with sagebrush. Also, much of the prairie surrounding the Gorge was filled with agriculture, and therefore, pesticides. I think I did great considering.
CONVENIENCES Upon arriving at the campground, I was able to choose any camping spot and move anytime which was nice. It was especially convenient when my camping neighbors arrived not ten minutes after me and smelled like perfume. Very nice people and big Jason Mraz fans, but very stinky.
This campground also provides a bus shuttle to the amphitheater which is located about two miles away. I wish I would have taken a picture of the buses as they were painted like graffiti. Very cool. This shuttle would be convenient, but not for someone with MCS especially having already met one of the poisoners since they were camping right next to me. So I opted to drive to the venue and park in the free parking. This might have been a hassle as I was warned once the show let's out nearly 5,000 cars will be trying to leave at the same time, but I figured I'd deal with that when the time came. At least I'd still be in my own vehicle and not sitting next to a French whore on a bus.
The parking opened at 2pm. I opted to leave the campground, give up my camping spot and go park early. It was either sit at the campground with little to do but watch unsupervised dogs crapping all over or sit at the parking area which was a field. There were also places to walk near the amphitheater and even a winery so it offered more entertainment and things to do for the next few hours.
I spent some of the time watching people arrive. The license plates were from three different states and ages ranged from babies (YES! Babies brought to the concert? Stupid parents...I hope they put earplugs on their child!) to elderly people and everyone in between. Very eclectic. Many of them stunk from twenty feet away. Some of the cars drove up and smelled of perfume and/or smoke even before the people got out of them. When this happened I closed all the doors of my van and went for a walk.
It would have been fun to carry my blanket, water and snacks and go sit on the lawn in front of the gate like everyone else with General Admission seats so I could get a good seat, but I didn't see the point. First, I would be sitting with stinky people and probably forced to move, but even if I got in early and planted myself in a great place, if someone stinky sat down next to me, I'd have to move! So I opted to wander around, look at the winery, watch the people lining up, investigate the Gorge campground, listen to Jason Mraz's sound check (couldn't see anything but the sound was really good at the winery), etc. For the first few hours most people were hanging out by their vehicles, sitting in lounge chairs, snacking and playing Jason Mraz tunes. When the gates opened, it was like a huge cattle call!
SEAT SELECTION Once through security, ticket check, and in the amphitheater I watched people and tried to pick those that looked non-stinky. Yeah, right, HOW? Looks are always deceiving! I avoided those who were dressed fancy, women who wore lots of makeup and big hair, large men who tend to cover up their body odor with colognes. Most of the obvious stinky people headed to the reserved seats so that was fine. I finally found a spot, made friendly with a couple who was eyeing the spot next to me, sample-sniffed around them as discreetly as possible (I am a dog...). They seemed fine. When the next group started nesting on the other side of me I made small talk. No smell. Very friendly. Wholesome looking people. OK, this was fine. Feeling secure, I laid my blanket between them and thought to myself,
So far, so good. Now to watch the people planting themselves in front of me. And behind me. Ready at a notice to move. No problem except someone about ten feet away smoked a few times throughout the night and, of course. the air blew it in my direction. I couldn't avoid everything so I hoped being outside would help.
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Can you see Jason? Yeah, me neither. Even my binoculars didn't help much.
I used them to get a better view of the screens to the sides
of the stage. The disadvantage of the GA area is you feel
miles away from the stage!! But the sound was excellent and
he had all kinds of weird videos at the back of the stage to watch. |
INCONVENIENCES Once it got dark, it got freezing cold. I didn't expect that after 80 degrees all day and hot mugginess. I had been prepared earlier with extra sweaters, but I watched all these other people in shorts, tank tops and sandals and thought I was being over prepared. I have no idea how they survived! I at least had long sleeves and a coat. At one point I was looking through my binoculars and couldn't focus because I was shivering so hard.
Being cold makes one really, really susceptible to junk food! Those
warm French fries were calling to me. Then that
hot Chicken Teriaki Rice Bowl screamed to me to come buy it. I was thankful the lines were so long as I didn't have the patience to wait. It was either see a concert or stand in line for food. I never caved, but very tempted. I just wanted to hold something hot!
Also, sitting on a hillside takes some special knowledge. The constant gravity pull downhill makes your butt HURT PAINFULLY. I could not get comfortable. I now see why there is a mad dash to the terrace part of the General Admission area which has flat grass and angled cement walls to lean back on. You can see part of the terrace in my photo above as I was standing right in front of that area. I'll know this for next time.
Another issue was the restroom facilities. All outhouses at the campgrounds and the Gorge. I don't know what chemicals they use in them but I became very skilled at holding my breath while inside. Besides the chemicals, I think it's so gross to have urinals in them. Why can't men be taught to SIT when at a public toilet? It's very scary seeing all the wet at your feet and then having to make sure your pants don't drag in it when sitting on the throne. Eeewww...Hmmmm...toilet woes.
Jason Mraz was outstanding. I've been watching him for years in concert footage so I knew he was an excellent performer. It was wonderful.
I left during the last encore song and high-tailed it to my van and out of the parking lot. No problem. Got to the campgrounds and found a site with no one around, slept, awoke the next morning and my sinuses cleared when I was half way home! No lung issues. No nausea. Throat never closed up once. Only slight headache and I'm still clearing my throat and coughing today, the next day.
Would it have been nice to go with a group of people, for the whole weekend, camp next to nice, but smelly people, take the shuttle there and back, sit in line with the other GA ticket holders bonding in our love for Jason Mraz, and reserve the expensive seats right under Jason Mraz's nose? Yeah. Oh well. I do what I can do to survive.
I SURVIVED! Even with all the precautions and worry, being able to do something I haven't been able to do for a long time let's me feel like I'm normal. Who would have thought being "normal" is cause for celebration!!??
HOORAY!
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