Who needs action when you've got words?

Wednesday night I went to see the Meat Puppets. Yes, they are back and rocking like they always have. When I found out about the show, I tried not to get too excited, like when my favorite book was made into a movie and by the time production was over, I knew it was gonna suck. I'm just a 40 year old punk rock mom; the first non-nursery rhyme song my son learned was Iggy's "Now I wanna be your dog" and the next was the Meat Puppets "Lake of Fire" . In fact as my son started to learn to play guitar, that was one of the first songs he learned.
I recently had neck surgery and shouldn't have been out in a crowd but just couldn't resist. After all- like most of their fans- I never thought I would get to see them play again and when I found out I could, I was driven by a force greater than my self-preservation. I was warned to wear my neck brace to the show, but couldn't bring myself to do it and instead just positioned myself next to the stage with my friends surrounding me like a human wall of protection. The only time I felt my neck was in danger was when a guy kinda jumped off stage and did a half-hearted stage dive thing and landed on the girl 2 bodies away from me. I feel sorry for that girl, but grateful the gods didn't land him on the girl who has metal plates in her neck and cadaver bone that needs to fuse.
I had no reason to minimize my expectations- It was possibly the greatest show of my life! My face hurt from smiling. It felt like Christmas morning and each song was another gift to open. Each song was like unwrapping a big wheel or jewelry box with a spinning ballerina or today's equivalent of an Ipod or Wii. There was never a disappointment- no new underwear or socks in the box- just amazing music and so many memories of my teens and early twenties coming back to me, as well as forging new memories by bringing Duke to his first Meat Puppets show. As we drove home he told me that it was probably one of the two best shows he has ever attended as well. Now he understands me deeper- he has listened to the Meat Puppets for years, but it is something different to see them live. Now we are fans together. Meatheads. I can't wait for the next one.
Who needs action when you've got words?