A lot of really good bands have been coming to Santiago more and more often in the last three years.  I’ve seen a few great shows (Manu Chao, Calexico), but I’ve opted out of a lot of big names that were pricey and crowded, and since they weren’t my favorite musicians, I decided to just save my money until someone who was really worth it came.

So one night recently, I got a text message from a friend saying, “Damien Rice is coming to Chile, but I guess you knew that already.”  No!  I didn’t know already!  I did a little happy dance after reading the message, than ran to my computer to find out how to buy tickets.  When I navigated to the ticket site, there were 8 seats left in the VIP section, 38,000 pesos (about $70), much more than I wanted to pay, especially at this time of year when I don’t have many classes, therefore not much income.

I thought about it for a while, had no idea what to do, sent a message back to my friend telling him my dilemma, then went to bed.

That night I dreamed that I was in the airport, about to get on a plane to go see Damien Rice.  But as I was standing in line to board, I realized I couldn’t find my ticket.

In the morning, I had a new text message from the friend, it said, “Buy the ticket, go listen to the music and be happy.”  I thought that was great advice, so I did. And by the time I made the purchase, there were only three seats left.  Whew, just in time!

I only bought one ticket.  I didn’t have time to try to find someone who wanted to go, and I was pretty sure none of my friends would want to pay that much. I’d never gone to a concert alone, but Damien Rice was worth it.  And the more I thought about it, I loved the fact that I could be that independent (I came to Chile alone, why should it be so hard to go to a concert alone?)

The big day came.  Another of my friends starting sending me countdown text messages (“24 hours to Mr. Rice”, “Just 5 more hours”, etc.).  It was exciting!

I entered the theater, found my section, row, and then seat.  And as I was stepping over someone to get to my seat, he said my name: “Tyra?!”  Coincidentally, I was seated right beside Luis, a friend of a friend from Colombia, who had also come to the concert by himself.  We were so surprised to see each other, and talked excitedly about music until the show started.

Damien Rice came out, just himself and his guitar.  He was doing a short South American tour without his band, because a friend had asked him to do a benefit concert in Brazil, and at the last minute he added a few other cities.  I’m so glad that it was this way, the music was beautiful, and the show was so intimate.  He told stories about the songs and made jokes with the audience.  He even took requests.

There were a lot of people in the audience with cameras, including Luis, who was recording everything for his girlfriend who was out of town and couldn’t be there.  Damien Rice made several comments throughout the first half of his show about all the cameras, and he worried that if everyone spends their life “creating memories”, they miss life.  A few songs after that comment, he asked if there was any one in the audience who didn’t have a camera.  A few people raised their hands, me included.  So he invited us all on stage.  I though it was a joke at first.  I stood up, than sat down, then stood up again uncertainly.  Then I saw people start to go up, so I went.  We crowded in a group around Damien, and he assigned us parts of Volcano (my favorite song) to sing with him.  We sang the song, and all the people still in their seats recorded.  As I was standing up there, a few feet from Damien Rice, I could barely believe it was really happening.  I kept thinking, ‘I can’t wait to get home and watch this on YouTube’. (Hehe, good thing all those people brought their cameras!)

For Blower’s Daughter, he asked them to turn down the lights and turn off the speakers, he stepped away from the microphone, and sang us a version so heart-wrenching it brought tears to my eyes.  In fact, I got teary-eyed a few times during the show.  If you don’t know his music, just listen to a few songs and you’ll understand.

I hoped the concert would never end.  I felt like I could’ve stayed there forever.  But it did end, and I left the theater feeling very excited and happy.  It was absolutely and completely without a doubt the best show I’ve ever seen.

Fortunately, I can relive it all through YouTube, and I have been!  I found a really good, clear version of all the people on stage singing Volcano, but I was too far over into the shadow to make myself out in the video.  Oh well, at least I know I was there.