Songbook #8: Ecstasy
I wouldn't want to be
Living in a world of ecstasy with you
Rusted Root
Ecstasy
In my life prior to college I didn't see a lot of live music. This was mostly because I grew up in North Dakota, where live music opportunities were rather limited. Smaller bands rarely got any farther north than the Twin Cities, and until the Fargodome opened in 1992 there wasn't really a place for arena bands to perform. Although I'm sure I saw a few concerts here and there growing up, I don't have any particular memory of them. Well, there was the excruciatingly bad local band that played an assembly at my school, but I've mostly blotted that out of my memory.
So taking this into consideration, the only three concerts I went to in high school were the previously mentioned Billy Joel in 1994. That one I went to by myself. Prior to that I went with my family to see Meat Loaf on the Bat out of Hell II tour (my mom loves Meat Loaf, or more precisely Jim Steinman). At some point we also saw The Moody Blues perform with whatever Fargo's local orchestra is called. And that was about it.
My freshman year of college didn't really change anything. I saw a few of my friends bands (Phil played in a ton of them, freshman year it was Grindstone) but I didn't take advantage of the Grog Shop or the Euclid Tavern or even the concerts that the student activities board (aka UPB) brought in.
That changed my sophomore year. I no longer recall why I went to see Rusted Root, which was the concert for the fall semester. I hadn't even heard of them, so it was probably because a bunch of my friends were going. That night, October 27, 1997, was the first time I went and saw a band I knew nothing about. It would not be the last.
They say you always remember your first time, but the truth is that night is a bit of a blur to me. I recall having a really good time and dancing in Adelbert Gym. I remember a cute girl in the band (presumably Jenn Wertz) who had something like a washboard hanging around her neck that she was playing. Or maybe that was the opening act, whose name I didn't recall until I was writing this. I remembered that the lead singer for the opener was an attractive woman who was pushing an album called Octoroon, which leads me to believe it was probably Laura Love.
So if I don't really remember the show, how can this song be stuck in my head? A few days after the show, the used CD guy was set up in the student center. This was a guy who for the first 3-4 years I was in college would turn up every couple of months with a few tables full of used CDs. I happened to see a copy of When I Woke so I snagged it for a couple of bucks. I listened to it frequently throughout college. Although I liked several of the songs on the album, Ecstasy is the one that stuck.
Tracklist
#1 - Welcome to the Jungle
#2 - Runnin' Blue
#3 - Cryin'
#4 - Mr. Jones
#5 - Blinded by the Light
#6 - Piano Man
#7 - Romeo & Juliet
#8 - Ecstasy
Living in a world of ecstasy with you
Rusted Root
Ecstasy
In my life prior to college I didn't see a lot of live music. This was mostly because I grew up in North Dakota, where live music opportunities were rather limited. Smaller bands rarely got any farther north than the Twin Cities, and until the Fargodome opened in 1992 there wasn't really a place for arena bands to perform. Although I'm sure I saw a few concerts here and there growing up, I don't have any particular memory of them. Well, there was the excruciatingly bad local band that played an assembly at my school, but I've mostly blotted that out of my memory.
So taking this into consideration, the only three concerts I went to in high school were the previously mentioned Billy Joel in 1994. That one I went to by myself. Prior to that I went with my family to see Meat Loaf on the Bat out of Hell II tour (my mom loves Meat Loaf, or more precisely Jim Steinman). At some point we also saw The Moody Blues perform with whatever Fargo's local orchestra is called. And that was about it.
My freshman year of college didn't really change anything. I saw a few of my friends bands (Phil played in a ton of them, freshman year it was Grindstone) but I didn't take advantage of the Grog Shop or the Euclid Tavern or even the concerts that the student activities board (aka UPB) brought in.
That changed my sophomore year. I no longer recall why I went to see Rusted Root, which was the concert for the fall semester. I hadn't even heard of them, so it was probably because a bunch of my friends were going. That night, October 27, 1997, was the first time I went and saw a band I knew nothing about. It would not be the last.
They say you always remember your first time, but the truth is that night is a bit of a blur to me. I recall having a really good time and dancing in Adelbert Gym. I remember a cute girl in the band (presumably Jenn Wertz) who had something like a washboard hanging around her neck that she was playing. Or maybe that was the opening act, whose name I didn't recall until I was writing this. I remembered that the lead singer for the opener was an attractive woman who was pushing an album called Octoroon, which leads me to believe it was probably Laura Love.
So if I don't really remember the show, how can this song be stuck in my head? A few days after the show, the used CD guy was set up in the student center. This was a guy who for the first 3-4 years I was in college would turn up every couple of months with a few tables full of used CDs. I happened to see a copy of When I Woke so I snagged it for a couple of bucks. I listened to it frequently throughout college. Although I liked several of the songs on the album, Ecstasy is the one that stuck.
Tracklist
#1 - Welcome to the Jungle
#2 - Runnin' Blue
#3 - Cryin'
#4 - Mr. Jones
#5 - Blinded by the Light
#6 - Piano Man
#7 - Romeo & Juliet
#8 - Ecstasy