Ultimate Rock Reflections

Another post about the tour? You did one yesterday! - you
Well, if this tour proved anything, it's that flogging that horse sometimes beats some life back into the old beast, so milk it, baby. In yesterday's post, I wrote about what happened on the tour without any real editorializing, and what is this world without me getting to editorialize? (A lot better off, probably.)
The main take-away lesson from this whole thing is that friends rock. I know you don't come here for Hallmark platitudes, but the enduring power of friendship merits some unironic hugs. The J's all walked away from the smoking wreckage of a band a decade ago with our deep feelings for each other intact. It's allowed us to come together again to do this with genuine excitement about spending time cramped in an RV traveling up I95. So many reunions seem to be driven by money or the urge to relive past glories (more on that in a moment). Those motivations were certainly present in our decision, but the just chance to get to hang out together was truly the primary benefit. These are old friendships that have weathered fights and firings. I don't take that survival rate lightly.
It is impossible to know the dynamics at play in a group of people you have never been part of, nor understand the personal drive of artists you've never even met. Nevertheless, when people who have been publicly feuding for years suddenly have a change of heart at the first opportunity to pack a stadium, one suspects that they may not be so overjoyed at the sight of each other, but rather are dependent on one another for their own needs. The cliche of performers past their prime needing validation from an adoring public is no less true for being one. In my case, nostalgia was in fact a slight deterrent from doing it once more. I mean, we haven't written a song together in 10 years! I feared that revisiting Sing Earthboy Sing yet again might be wearing out our welcome. Thanks to everyone who came for proving me so so wrong. It is gratifying to be confronted with undeniable evidence that an old creation still resonates with so many people.
There is a general tendency to see the past with rose colored glasses, but man, did we have fun in our twenties! We got to experience a life that is uncommon and exciting. There is a danger in this. At some point you have to make the conscious decision to grow up, and when your youth is that appealing, it's that much more difficult to let it go. Now, I really enjoy my life, and I've had lots of fun in my thirties too, but the process has involved making personal choices to walk away from some tantalizing opportunities that I ultimately understood were not right in the long run. (Just the fact the I now take "the long run" into consideration shows an inevitable progress towards maturity. I'll make it there one day!)
There, I'm done. My next post will (probably) be about something else. In true Catalan form I'm taking advantage of the long weekend to escape the city (in my case, for the Spanish equivalent of Kansas) so next week will hopefully bring pictures of funny signs, terrible haircuts, or whatever other reason you might check this place for.