CONNECTION

Just got back from seeing Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at Milwaukee's Harley Fest. Now, if you don't know anything about me, the band, or what a Harley Fest is, you might think this was a peculiar evening. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a band. They are not black, not seemingly all that anarchically rebellious, they do not ever appear to ride motorcycles, and are a Club only in that they are a Band. I am but a humble fan of theirs, and definitely not a Harley person. But, boy, there are a damn lot of Harley-Davidson people in town for this 105th anniversary bash. For the last few days, but especially today you hear the brash burble of their engines, buh buh buh buh buh, in packs of two or three or more, headed to the lakefront. Driving in, there were many people standing on the highway overpasses, looking and waving. I was going to wave at them, but I was driving in a Lincoln, which is not a Harley.

I was having a very sad and crabby day prior to the concert, for various reasons, and I was definitely stressing over the logistics of getting to the concert tonight. Tens of thousands of motorcycle folks flooding into Milwaukee is daunting. But to my relief, by 7PM the highway was flowing well, it didn't take too long to find the Milwaukee Street, which had been blocked off for this little part of the Fest, and - hurray!- parking was a breeze in a nearly-empty garage. YAY! The rain that threatened never came, the streets were not polluted with Hell's Angels drunkards, and people were smiling.

After a quick sushi snack, I made my way to the front of the stage, next to a couple in their early 20s. I could tell they were fans, not bikers, nor the rare biker/fan. A guy next to me asked me when Blind Melon was going to be on and I had to tell him, man, I just don't know. I thought that dude died of an OD anyway. The band came onstage with appreciated punctuality and proceeded to ROCK ROCK ROCK! Wisely, I think, they played a good 90 minutes of their hardest rocking stuff, saving the acoustic songs for perhaps a different crowd. My sadness melted into the music, all these songs I love, and I smiled and danced and connected right in, plugged into the collective.

That is what it is all about, Charlie Brown. Connection. Finding those things that are so powerful, that resonate in your little core, that just make you happy. For me, tonight, it was BRMC. For you, it might be flying a model plane against a peaceful, cloudless sky, or playing roll-the-ball with a toddler you made, reading a novel that seems to pull all your own words right from your heart, or walking with your best friend, talking about everything and nothing. Whatever it is, you will know it. The Harley folks know it. I know it. Plug in.