Concert Series – The Regent Theater – April 2025

Once again, I found myself traveling for a concert. This time, it was up to Los Angeles for Pop Evil. I wasn’t exactly in a good mood, either, since the weather prevented me from riding my motorcycle up from San Diego. It was just cold enough and there was just enough threat of rain that I opted to rent a car rather than just ride my Harley. Which sucked, because it took four hours to get to the venue, which made me miss the first band in the lineup. But at least I was safe and comfortable, right?

So I get into the Regent Theater in LA, park across the street and avoid getting scammed by someone wearing an official-looking t-shirt asking for $20 in cash for parking by using the machine nearby for the same purpose, and grumble to myself as I get inside. After a quick bathroom stop, I had my can of Liquid Death and am getting up to the barrier just in time for Return to Dust to hit the stage. They surprised me with how good they were, and I found myself rocking out with the others around me.

My vest garnered some attention as it usually did, and I showed off the new patches I had on there, as well as talked about the upcoming shows I’d be attending, too. The guy named Sam was a little drunk, but still cool about things, and we talked for a while. Then I talked with the guy who was at least sixty or seventy with a mohawk (And a three-piece suit, nonetheless!), and I decided I needed to be at least that cool at some point in my life. Never did get his name, but he was awesome.

That conversation naturally led into a new one with a pair of pretty girls nearby, also angling for the front barrier. I quickly learned that one’s name was Leah while the other one’s name was Savannah. Leah was 39 years old, just a couple years younger than me, and was apparently Savannah’s mom. Caught me off-guard with that, but hey! Any parent who brings their kid to a rock show is doing something right, I figure. Savannah was about as tall as her mother, talked like she was fairly well educated, and had a mature attitude for the most part. I mean, like me, she was excited and fangirling about the bands, but we all do that, don’t we?

Once the second band had finished, the ladies excused themselves to the restroom, so I held their place at the barrier for them. They returned a few minutes later, Leah with a drink that she wasn’t sharing with her kid, so I knew then that Savannah wasn’t 21, but I figured she was 18 or 19, anyway. We made more small talk about our favorite bands, including the discovery that this was Savannah’s first real concert, and she had wanted to see Return to Dust and Pop Evil for a long time. I congratulated her on the occasion, and that was when Devour the Day took the stage.

The next thirty minutes was a great thrash-fest, followed by a little more small-talk between me, Leah, and Savannah. Told them where I was from, and how it had taken twice as long to get there, more of my favorite bands, things like that. Before I knew it, Pop Evil was taking the stage and it was time to GO, especially with two of my favorite songs of theirs: Paranoid (Crash & Burn) and Let The Chaos Reign. I even helped Savannah get a pick thrown from the guitarist while managing to keep the mosh pit from smashing us all against the barrier.

All too soon, the show was over and people were heading out. I usually stick around behind to see if I can get a drumstick, a setlist, or another pick. Savannah had to use the restroom, but Leah stayed nearby to be easy to find, and apparently, allowed us a moment to talk in relative private.

“So I couldn’t exactly say this with Savannah around, but I did want to give you this,” Leah said as she handed me a small plastic card. I looked at it, and it appeared to be a key for the nearby DoubleTree hotel. I looked up at her in surprise. She continued speaking. “You’re one of the coolest guys I’ve met in a long time, and it’d be great to see you again. But I can’t exactly advertise to my daughter that I want to take a guy home.”

At that, I smiled. “Oh, I can give her a reasonable explanation for me tagging along. It is LA, after all. And this isn’t exactly a safe neighborhood.” She nodded at that, accepting it. “We won’t be able to do anything until after she’s asleep, of course.” I nodded, myself. I know I’d never want to see, hear, or even know about either of my parents getting physical with anyone at all, let alone in the same building.

Right about then, Savannah returned and asked if her mother was ready to go. I managed to snag the Pop Evil setlist while they chatted, and turned around just in time to hear Leah telling Savannah that I would be accompanying them back to the hotel. I chimed in. “Yeah, it’s not really a safe neighborhood here, so I’ll get you back to the hotel safely. In return, your mother is allowing me to spend the night on the pull-out couch so I don’t have to drive back to San Diego tonight. Which I appreciate, by the way.” They both nodded and smiled, and then we were out the door.

In my rented car, I followed them back to their hotel, and once we were inside, it was a surprisingly quiet elevator trip up to the eighth floor, though I was getting the discreet side-eye from Leah. It was difficult to act normal. A short walk later, we were in the room and setting things up for the night. Leah convinced Savannah to take a shower, which gave us a bit of alone time again.

Unlike the last time, I was carrying a couple of condoms with me just in case something happened, which made Leah happy. So I put them in the drawer of the dresser beneath the TV in the main room for the moment, and then Leah and I were starting to kiss. Her lips were exceptionally soft against mine, and almost immediately, I found my hands sliding around her waist.

I pulled her in firmly for a moment, but just as my hands were sliding down over her backside, she reached down to grab them while pulling back.