Food Assembly Hall; Nashville TN (August 27th, 2021)

It was good to finally go to not just a BOC concert, but a real concert for the first time since October 12th, 2019! During my withdrawal, a couple weeks ago on one morning, my dad surprised me with news that he got the day off at his new job to go on road trip with me to Nashville so we could see Blue Oyster Cult. I was extremely stunned by the news. Before that day, I was afraid that I was going to have to wait another year until I could see BOC again after I moved, so I'm extremely grateful to my dad for making this happen, because even he was unsure before.

So at 7 AM ET, we hit the road for the next almost 10 hours. Sometime after reaching the state border and changing time zones, at 4 PM CT, we arrived at the parking garage, checked into the hotel, and got prepped up for for the night.

The Food Assembly Hall venue is actually fairly new. It officially opened a few months prior, and had a unique setting for shows in that all of the concerts would take place on the rooftop on top of almost 2 dozen eateries and bars to try out. This was where we also had dinner. At 7 PM, the doors officially opened and dad and I made our way to the balcony. You really gotta make sure you secure your spot or else you won't get a good view. Luckily, I quickly befriended a few people on the balcony kept me from being pushed all the way back to where I couldn't see the band throughout the night. While it's a bit unusual to watch the band from behind, being on the balcony did give me an opportunity to get some unique shots. The band also sounded great overall. Some changes they've made to freshen up their setlist include the addition of 3 songs from The Symbol Remains and Before the Kiss, which I haven't heard live since 2018.

1. Red and Black

13. DFTR (dedicated to Charlie Watts)

Encores:
14. Tainted Blood
15. Cities on Flame

Also! After Zac Maloy (the opening act) had finished playing, I met up with Buck before the main show! He gave me a couple guitar picks, signed my poster, got a photo with me, gave numerous hugs, and gave me and dad wristbands to go to the private bar area.

Dad and I did stop by at the private bar to check it out before the show, where we immediately came across Danny and his girlfriend. We chatted for quite a long time about moving, how they met, art, the Arcada Theatre, and more. It was really good talking to them. Both are really down-to-earth and Danny especially loved seeing me again.

We went back there again after the show to wait for Buck. Danny and his girlfriend were there to hang out for a little bit before leaving. Also got to see Eric, Richie, and Jules head out. Finally, Buck comes out, who joins us at our table, and we chatted for a good long while. (While I also snuck in a picture of him. ) I really do have to say that compared to the previous two times we met up at Club Arcada, this one feels like the most personal to me. Since there were very few people there, we got to hang out and chat for a lot longer than what I was previously used to, which was usually just one minute. I know Buck had to be pretty tired after the show, but he chatted quite a lot. We talked about our experiences when it came to moving out-of-state, why dad wanted to do the road trip, the Arcada Theater and its renovations and Ron Onesti also working on opening up new venues, my work for Buck, and so much more.

I really do appreciate Buck for being so gracious and thoughtful by spending so much time together that night. As a volunteer, a fan, and a mutual, being away for so long messed me up, especially in 2021 when I initially thought that I was going to have to wait even longer while shows were returning. It feels good to be back and fully reassured as a BOC fanatic and in full throttle with the page content again.