Back In Time

June 28, 2012: The day that Marty McFly picked to land in when he went "Back to the Future." Not the past, but the future which as we all know is part two. Hoverboards, and pump-up sneakers. When that day finally arrived, I found myself at the epicenter of this storm at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California. I was there to take in a concert featuring the musical talents of Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald, and Donald Fagen, collectively called The Dukes of September. Fascinated as I was with this trip down memory lane, I was also captivated by the venue. I had heard of the Universal Amphitheater for decades, most prominently in the late nineteen seventies and early eighties. This was the place where Steve Martin and the Blues Brothers had each recorded an album, records that I internalized and made part of my life. In the past.
Now here I was, in the future, thinking about how I had seen the Blues Brothers at another amphitheater, Red Rocks, so many years ago. That's what I was thinking as we made our way to the gate that night. That's when I saw the two gentlemen in black suits, skinny ties, sunglasses and fedoras. One of them was carrying a briefcase which was, no doubt, full of blues. That shook me just a little. Once we were inside, and sat down, there was a guy a few rows in front us wearing a t-shirt featuring the silhouettes of both Jake and Elwood, below which was the caption: "We're putting the band back together."
The show was a trip down memory lane, featuring hits from Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and Mister Silk Degrees himself, Boz Scaggs. I was expressly amused as I watched the lady at the front of the auditorium whose job it was to translate each song for those who are hard of hearing try to power her way through "Kid Charlemagne." That was as bravura a performance as anything we saw that night.
When it was all over, we walked back outside, since the amphitheater had become an indoor venue back in 1982 when Universal opened a theme park adjacent to their concert venue. We took in the sights and sounds of the present, as we made our way back to the car, and the future.