I am a list maker by nature.  Even if I don’t have it written down somewhere, I have the list in my head.  In my head is a list of bands that I like, but have never seen in concert.   The only band left on that list is Dispatch, and I thought they would likely stay there, because they broke up long ago and moved on to other projects.

And so, back in January when Dispatch announced a reunion tour, I was all over it.  I figured I could talk someone into going with me.   The weekend is finally here, and I am headed to San Francisco today with my youngest sister for a weekend of music and fun.

She should be invested in Dispatch by now, because I’ve dragged her to see State Radio, Chad Stokes’ post-Dispatch band. (“There Will be Vodka”).  Chad looks like a friend of hers who brought me a pineapple as a wedding present.  In some odd way, this makes me feel like I know Chad.  And he, too, seems like he would bring someone a pineapple.  It really was a sweet, simple gesture.  I don’t know whatever became of the pineapple.  Most likely it went the route of the leftover booze from the wedding, which is to say that it was consumed by my middle sister and my husband’s brother.    We arrived home from our honeymoon to discover that they were now a couple.

Perhaps they ate the celebratory pineapple, and it brought them good luck.  They are now married and expecting their second child in a few weeks.  I really hope that baby stays put, and isn’t born while I am far away.   It seems strange for two of us to be going without her.  My sisters and I made an agreement a few years ago to forego birthday presents for each other, but to make sure that we got away together on weekend trips, concerts, and the like.  Life gets in the way and we haven’t always been successful, but we try.

It’s bittersweet, but I am still excited to be heading of of town, and she will be there with us in spirit.  The concert on Saturday night will be great, I’m sure I will get my Concert Moment, (“Oh, You Like the Banjo, Eh?”), and I will delete the list of Favorite-Yet-Unseen bands from my head.

But regardless, you can’t go wrong with San Francisco.  My husband lived there before we got married, and it is the site of many great memories.  We both love the city so much that, immediately after our Seattle mountainside wedding, we flew to San Francisco for our wedding night, and left for our honeymoon the next morning.  As I am writing this, I am now realizing that it will also be weird to be in that city without him.

Pineapples, live music, sisters, weddings, babies….think it’s possible I am putting too much nostalgia pressure on the weekend?  I’m pretty sure there is not enough room in the overhead compartment for all of this, but I will try to cram it in anyway.