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My Rockstar Night: Waiting in Line With Taylor Hawkins
On Sunday April 27th, 2003, some friends and I went to see pop punkers The Ataris at The Norva in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. I’m sure it was fun at the time, but nearly 20 years later the show doesn’t exactly stand out in my mind.
However, the events of the rest of the night will stand out forever.
There are no photos or social media archives chronicling this night. I didn’t have a cell phone (they didn’t have cameras then anyway), and Myspace wouldn’t even come online until over three months after this happened. Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, none of those things existed. This entire story comes from memory.
I was 22 years old and had no idea where my life was going. I was a university dropout, and had just (barely) finished a technical trade program at a now defunct school. I received my tax return and used it as an excuse to quit my job as a detailer for a rental car company so I could take time to find a “real job.” I had about one month worth of funds, including budgeting a little for some fun. No pressure.
All of that was on hold when I went downtown that Sunday evening. I had a ticket to see The Ataris that night, and tickets to see the Foo Fighters the following night at Old Dominion University. Life would be good, at least…
