Flans, Flans!

U2 is not the first band I've been crazy about. Way long before (I knew) U2 existed, in my life there was a pop group called Flans. And boy, did I love these girls. From dressing up like them to hanging out with friends especially to set up our own choreographies to their songs. Yeah, it was that bad. I cried when they decided to "take a break" when one of them was about to get married. Still, years later, my friends would get me the CDs for my birthdays (as my Flans tapes sounded as well as a cassette can sound after being played thousands of times in a very hot and humid environment).

Time went by, music, people, places came into and left my life... And I forgot all about my CDs and the tapes of those songs that ware "rare" and didn't make it onto any CDs around. U2 came along, and then it all became about waiting for them and hoping to see them live, as Flans was just a memory, while U2 was a hope.

A couple of days ago, as I walked out of a friend's office, a familiar picture caught my attention. It was familiar indeed, as it was a sort of icon of what a good part of my life had been about. A tiny poster for their reunion tour concert in my city... That's all it took.

It was unbelievable to see them again... For years I've wondered why people would go see artists who aren't really current anymore, and now it makes sense: it makes up for it. For all those years of listening to the records and wishing that you had actually been able to go to one more concert... Of feeling the need to sing and dance to those songs you know so well, and everyone else seems to have forgotten.

Tonight's concert was wonderful... It was like time stood still for me to catch up with it. For me to be a grown woman, dancing along like I was still a girl, to the music of the women I had admired for so long. They were not the same, as time waits for nobody, and I was definitely not the same either, as life doesn't spare anyone while going on its way. It didn't matter. It felt like we were. They were great. The music was great. The crowd was... well, I'll say great too. I never imagined all those feelings would still be there. I seriously doubted I would remember the lyrics to the songs, as I've come to terms with the fact that I can not learn songs' lyrics. I remembered. All of them.

It'll be hard saying goodbye to 2005. It has proven to be one of the best years of my life.