Published: November 05, 2009 10:51 pm      

Concert karma

I took a leap of faith last night. Putting a bad experience behind me, I put trust in my belief that humanity is inherently good and did something I swore I would never do again.

I bought tickets on eBay to a nearly sold-out concert that my husband and I have been waiting for years to attend. It will mark only the second time we’ve had the opportunity to see our favorite band together.

To attend though, we had to overcome our fears of once again falling prey to a prior bad experience. We decided it was worth the risk.

So here we sit holding our breath and praying we made the right decision. I’m also hoping a little bit of karma has made its way back to us.

Fate, I think, is what put us in the position to start. I believe some unidentifiable force seeking to restore the balance upset before drew us back to the same situation to have a chance at a different outcome.

I just don’t think it was a coincidence the only tickets we could find after hours of searching traditional venues were unacceptable.

Somewhere something knew being behind the stage instead of in the thick of a convulsing crowd, “scoobying” in the brilliance of the band’s signature light show, was not going to satisfy us.

Desperate, it knew we’d turn to eBay to fulfill our desire for a specific experience. I knew it as soon as the perfect tickets popped up on the first search screen.

The tickets were one of three sets available and had less than three hours left on the auction block.

Despite the bad memories surging in my brain and my stomach twisting into a knot, I took the challenge.

In June, my husband and I were again slow to get tickets to hear the same band.

The group had been on hiatus for five years and when they finally announced a tour, fellow fans snapped up tickets in droves as soon as they became available.

By the time we finally found a venue and date we could attend, eBay was our only option.

We bought tickets from a fellow fan who’d gotten extras in an online lottery. They were in a fabulous location and were the highly coveted original art variety we wanted.

We were thrilled.

For weeks we could hardly contain our excitement. A list of songs we’d always been hoping to hear ran through our heads as we counted down the days to the show.

Each morning I’d scour the mail box for the tickets. Each day they didn’t come.

When the tickets still hadn’t shown up weeks after the designated shipping date, panic began to set in.

Frantic e-mails and phone calls were simply ignored.

Finally, after weeks of some aggressive cajoling and just two days before the show, the seller contacted us.

The tickets, he claimed, had been misplaced by the post office but were now in his hands.

He’d meet us at the venue.

Expecting the worst, we packed up and made the trip anyway. Sick with what we thought was certain disappointment we tried to be optimistic.

Then less than 30 minutes before the doors opened, a scrawny, scared-looking college kid with his voice full of apologetic excuses crept up to us at the designated location.

Overcome with joy, we clutched our tickets and raced inside where euphoria quickly set it.

At the start of the second set, the band played the No. 1 song on my wish list.

I’m hoping to hear No. 2 later this month.

CARRIE STAMBAUGH can be reached at (606) 326-2653 or cstambaugh@dailyindependent.com.