All that... and a Bag of Toys!!

Saturday, April 10th, 2010. Can I even tell you how super duper excited I was when I found out Bag of Toys was playing the main stage at the Azalea Festival??!! There was NO WAY I was going to miss these guys! I mean, c'mon, I've been listening to BOT since I discovered them... umm... maybe 4 years ago?

The History. If memory serves me correctly, I came across BOT while surfing the pages of Myspace. That must have been it because I can't imagine having found out about them any other way, especially due to the fact that I was living in a little itty bitty town in Texas... many, many, many, many, many miles away from that big blue beautiful ocean that I like to call home. I was far away from anything that reminded me of sand, sun and surf. Oh, boo hoo... but then one day the groovy sounds of BOT were streaming through my computer and into my happy little ears. Oh, heaven! I could close my eyes and imagine myself being back in San Diego, or any tropical place where I could sink my toes into the warm, wet sand... where I could hear the waves crashing upon the shore... where I could feel the warmth of the sun kissing my face and palm trees swaying in the breeze... a place where I could chill with friends and enjoy a cold brew or maybe even a frozen margarita with extra salt, pease. How wonderful does that sound?! Yes, I am an island girl... for sure!!! Anything that could take me there, even in my mind, while living in the depths of the country and trees of Texas... well, dear ones, that was just pure and instant love for me!

And here we are today which finds me living on the opposite coast of San Diego and here in the beautiful beaches of Wilmington, North Carolina. I'm totally digging the vibe out here people. And for those friends that never had the opportunity to visit me while I was living in San Diego... yeah, you totally missed out. But hey, new adventures on a new coast abound... come on out and let's play! Summer is upon us which means lots of fun to be had and live music galore!!! Oh, I digress... back to BOT adventures. After becoming a fan on Facebook, I would stalk, er I mean keep up (haha!!) with the band through their posts. I tried so hard and wanted so much to see these guys perform live because I KNEW it would be a fabulous and groovy time. I remember traveling to San Diego once and checking out their concert schedule to see if they'd be playing SD while I was there. Nope no plans and the closest gig was, I think, 6 or 8 hours away. Bummer. Of course, not long after that visit they started to book gigs in SD. I started to put hopes of ever seeing these guys on the back burner and then wouldn't you know it I saw a post on FB about them moving to Wilmington. What?! Did I read that right? By the way, I'm still confused as to whether the WHOLE band moved out here to Wilmington or just one or a couple. I tell you what, it doesn't matter because I saw the post for their gig at Azalea Festival...talk about doing a happy dance and screaming for joy!! I was ecstatic!!

We think in terms of life happening in linear events, but I tell you all things happen at once and when they should!! I used to hope that BOT would travel and play in Texas. What better place for me to see them for the first time than in my new beach-y hometown of Wilmington!! The concert? Amazing, rocking, absolute fun... happy, happy, happy! I've said it before and I'll say it again... People, if you aren't having fun... well, then, you just ain't living!! Get out there, get in it and do the things that make you happy and bring joy into your life... no matter how big or small. When I found out BOT was playing Azalea festival there was NO WAY I was not going to find myself standing there listening and enjoying them LIVE. Live your life as a grand adventure and may happy surprises such as mine greet you always!!

Bag of Toys... Great job last night!! Thanks for the awesome playing and I definitely look forward to seeing you guys again soon!

Rock On!