We are one

On Sunday, January 18th, I attended the "We are one" inauguration concert for Barack Obama and was given just a taste of the amazing phenomena that took over DC last week. Let me try to begin to describe my experience. I began the day by preparing brunch at my house for a group of friends. While on the metro at 9:00am, I already saw crowds forming of out of town visitors bundled up in layers of clothing, armed by maps and enthusiasm, ready to go to the concert. This was my first real contact with the inauguration hype that was filling the air. Strangers were chatting with others on the metro (this RARELY every happens in DC as the metro is usually characterized by people rushing off to high power jobs who are overworked and trying to catch up on rest, itunes, sudoko, or the latest NYtimes bestselling novel). Back in my house, my roommates and friends spent the entire brunch talking about plans for the day, our impressions of the city changes, and basically just getting excited for what we were about to experience. We walked from my capitol hill home down to the Lincoln Memorial by walking to Union Station and then down past the Capitol building and the National Mall. As soon we approached Union Station, the scene began to change. The first evidence of inauguration were the vendors everywhere selling Obama paraphenelia (mugs, t-shirts, mousepads, calendars, and even an Obama puppet). We did comment, however, that up to the point of the mall, things seem quiet in a weird way. You certainly saw the structural changes (rows of port-a-potties, tour buses, etc), but you didn't quite yet feel the energy and buzz of people.
By the time that we reached site of the Washington monument, the masses of people were apparent. It was about 1:30/2:00pm and we made a feable attempt to get in line to the area by the Lincoln Memorial/WWII Memorial/Reflecting pool, but were quickly turned away. Thanks to Jeanna's quick thinking and strategic eyes, we jetted over to an area in front of one of the jumbo tron screens to watch the concert and had a full shot (although at a bit of an angle) of the screen. Although we were not watching the performers directly, just having a vision of the Lincoln Memorial in front of us and the Washington Monument made the experience significant.
The performance was a finely woven mix of speakers, historical quotes, and all American songs that the crowd could easily sing and dance to (well dance as much you could in your 6 inch X 6 inch space crammed against other people...so I guess it was really more just head bobbing). I have never been at an event in which so many people were all focused on just one thing together with such a shared sense of hope, optimism, and smiles for their neighbor.
Thankfully that positive energy carried out as we walked home because otherwise it could have been mass chaos trying to get out of packs of people. We literally shimmied for about 30 minutes taking baby steps while being basically carried by the movement of the crowd that surrounded us.
I just watched the concert again on HBO online. Unfortunately they only played it on the site for one week so it is no longer available. My heart was beating fast watching it as I remembered the momentum of the crowd, the spark in the air, and the great sense of shared community.