Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. I worked late, made a few phone calls, and saw Train perform a private concert at Conseco while I munched on complimentary gourmet food and enjoyed an open bar. Typical Wednesday.
Yes. It’s true! The company Coleman works for had a three-day conference for their employees and clients here in Indianapolis. For entertainment Wednesday night, they hosted this big event, renting out the entire Conseco Fieldhouse for a private concert.
Most importantly, there was a mashed potato bar!
After stuffing my face with three different kinds of mashed potatoes loaded with chives and bacon, like any lady would, I mingled and made polite conversation with Coleman’s coworkers. Eventually, the lights dimmed, and Train took the stage.
Now, let me tell you. I am all about live music. I love it! And I’ve been known to enjoy a Train song or two in my day. But I did not think this concert was going to be as fun as it was.
It was really, really fun!
They were such good entertainers and the show felt completely personal. After all, there were only about 3,000 of us there.
It reminded me of those cheesy high school dramas on the CW where all of the friends happen to get together at some local club where a famous band — who had coincidentally just dropped a new album — happens to be playing. This usually coincides with the climax of the episode, but when everything is worked out, the friends stand together holding hands and swaying from side to side to the music.
(Think Rooney performing on the O.C. episode “The Third Wheel” in 2004, or Dawson, Joey and friends traveling to see No Doubt in the 2002 Dawson’s Creek episode “Spiderwebs.”)
(I’m sure Coleman would want me to mention the performance of One Republic in “Hero,” a Smallville episode from 2008, as well.)
Now, you may not think that you know a lot of Train songs. I didn’t think I did, either. Hence my hesitance to go to the event in the first place. A few songs in, though, I realized that I recognized most of them. It seemed that many of the other attendees felt the same way, because though people didn’t seem that into it during the opening number, by the third song? Oh, by the third song! It was like a different crowd!
This is due in part to the open bar. Thank God for open bars! Let me just say that they make for excellent people watching. Especially at corporate events. People may start out wearing suits, but in the end, their ties are wrapped around their foreheads and they’re struggling to keep balanced in their high heels. Delightful!
For example, consider the six girls who jumped on stage at one point to writhe around and shake their booties. Imagine the conversation that followed that in the office the next morning!
Or the two drunk girls (because they always seem to be in pairs) who giggled and wobbled all over the place and splashed their drinks on the floor, and who, in an attempt to woo their attractive coworkers, suddenly felt the need to dance solo, which included lots of slow hip shaking and hair tossing.
Or the drunk guys who quickly reverted back to their frat days, hanging all over each others’ shoulders and saying things that surely violated sexual harassment policy.
Ahh, yes. Corporate events.
So, all in all, it was a typical Wednesday night. What did you do?
Jillian Wyatt 