. : : December 31st, 2020 : : .

Going to concerts in my twenties and going to concerts in my thirties have proven to be very different experiences.

In my twenties, I could quite literally go online, check out the line-up at a few of my favourite venues for the evening, and just choose to go out and see a performance impulsively.

In my thirties, it’s a whole other affair. I have to arrange sitters for my kids, schedule work around the evening, worry about back up plans if the sitter bails last minute, etc.

Whereas ten years ago, my only punishment was a mild level of sleep deprivation at work the following day, I now find that I’m yawning before the opening band even takes the stage and it can be a week following before I’m back to a normal sleeping schedule.

All of this is compounded for event concerts. Forget about travelling out of town or multi-day festivals: what do you think it’s like to get a reliable, trust-worthy sitter on New Years Eve in suburban Toronto?

Needless to say, although it’s been on my wish list since inception, I’ve never been able to make it out to Dwayne Gretzky‘s celebrated New Years Eve shows.