Do you remember Dillon Fence?

Think of the quintessential college band. Chances are if you went to college in North Carolina in the early 1990s, you may have conjured up thoughts of Dillon Fence. Yea, do you remember them?

I honestly don't remember how many times I have seen Dillon Fence perform. Between seeing them on the quad at Duke, at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, and at assorted places in the Piedmont, Dillon Fence definitely reminds me of the college years. Heck, I even saw the band before-they-were-stars when they played at a Wake Forest debate camp that I attended one summer in high school. Even better, if you require a Dillon Fence fix you can see them again this weekend at Cat's Cradle.

When my husband, Patrick, mentioned that Dillon Fence will be performing in Chapel Hill this Saturday night, we automatically started laughing about the last time we saw the band. Several years ago, Patrick and I excitedly hit Dillon Fence's reunion tour at Ziggy's (If you have never been to Ziggy's, it consists of the shell of an old house with a giant tent behind it.). We happily sent the kids to my parents and bought our tickets.

The summery Saturday night of the concert, hubby and I went out to dinner before hitting the coliseum area about 8:30pm, the concert time printed on the tickets. First off, neither Patrick or I had been to Ziggy's in at least ten years, so we were a bit fuzzy on its exact location. As we walked up to the first club on the street, we noticed a very looooong line stretching down the sidewalk. Upon closer observation, we realized that unless Dillon Fence was now attracting a hip-hop crowd, we were probably in the wrong location. Needless to say, we got back in our vehicle and moseyed down the street.

A block or two later, we immediately recognized the ramshackle house of Ziggy's with the fenced-in yard and assorted attached tents. Noticing a lack of cars, though, did concern us a bit. Rechecking the time and date on our tickets, we ventured into the venue. Patrick and I strolled around, bought a beer or two, and sat down to relax and wait . . . and wait . . . and wait. Now, I know I've gotten old. I go to bed at the time when I used to go out for the night, but I really didn't think I had gotten that old. Apparently, I have aged much more than the members of Dillon Fence.

I was fighting back yawns as the band finally took the stage about 11pm. The concert was great; I remembered the words to the songs; I jumped up and down; I sang. Even better, there were plenty of thirty-somethings attending, too. Pregnant women, mommies, daddies, gray-headed men- Patrick and I were relieved to not be the only "old" people at Ziggy's that night. We were partying on the floor near the stage about 12:30am when we turned around and noticed a considerably sparser crowd than was in the club 45 minutes previously. After a minute, we figured it out. Everyone behind us had to go home to relieve their babysitters. We were so thrilled that our kids were spending the night with their grandparents, so we could stay for the entire show.

I'll tell you what, though. I was wiped out the next day, okay, for the next few days. Staying up until 2am definitely took more of a toll on me than it had ten years previously.

Let my memory be a lesson to you: If you see Dillon Fence at Cat's Cradle this Saturday night, don't go too early, book your babysitter for the entire night, and allow lots of recovery time for yourself. Will I be attending? Unfortunately, no. My husband will be polishing his halo by chaperoning a youth retreat all weekend, which leaves me on solo parenting duty. I don't think I can exactly take Curly Girl and Car Guy to Cat's Cradle now, can I?