No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride...and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well...maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten. - Hunter S. Thompson

Life is expensive. The very most basic commodities that keep us alive, keep us working, keep us a happy little cog in a happy little machine, inevitably chip our teeth and wear us down. This isn't new: this is humanity. It's the price we paid to crawl out of the dirt.

There's a lot of dirt in Lubbock, Texas. A lot of cool things, too. Art and music, friends and family -- the things that make life not only bearable, but also beautiful. But it's okay to leave the dirt for a little while. Sometimes, you should buy the ticket and take the ride -- out of safety, away from home.

This weekend, I witnessed Rammstein blow up the Alamodome for two hours. There was so very, very much fire. And fireworks. And fire. Transformative, cleansing, spiritual fire. Loud, heart pounding music that I have loved so long. The energy of 12,000 bodies. A beautiful, massive ritual of light and sound.

Ich singe bis der Tag erwacht

ein heller Schein am Firmament

Mein Herz brennt

If you try to find footage of the show, you'll notice how completely crap the quality is. Because no matter how good your phone camera is, that much light is going to un-focus it, blur it, make the quality absolutely garbage. It also sounds horrible. The audience was asked not to record the show, but people did it anyway. They trembled and were weak.

They bought the ticket, but missed the ride.

What a waste.

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I walked for miles in the punishing San Antonio sun to get to the show; my feet still hurt. I took an elbow crack to the ribs. I am bruised. I weathered the shifting of the bodies around me. My body is so sore. I sang my voice horse. It is deeper still. I felt the heat of the flames over and over and over. I am still flushed.

I tuned in. I freaked out. I was beaten. No sympathy for the devil from me.

I'll be paying for this trip in multiple ways and for quite awhile. But what I bought was priceless. I'll hold those flames in my heart forever, mein Hertz brennt. If you're thinking about buying the ticket, taking the time off, being uncomfortable, or trying something, anything, out of your comfort zone, I dare you. I dare you. I dare you.

Take the ride.