Rockin' out, white trash style
Here at my new travel assignment, I've made some good acquaintances - much better than my last assignment, and they invited me to go to a concert with them this past week.
So I forked over $20-some for a ticket and went to the Def Leppard/Foreigner/Styx concert.
I knew what to expect, I think. I've been to Monster Truck rallies, and I figured that the same crowd would be there. I was right, in many respects. Predominantly white, lower middle class. Average age 45. Many of the women wore too much makeup for their age and clothes that were a size too small for their frame. The men were smoking cigarettes and thought that the Beer Garden's choice of Bud & Bud Light for beer was ideal. A large majority of the concertgoers drove pickup trucks or Camaro/Firebird/Trans Am combos. A pan of the crowd close to the stage revealed more than one set of artificially constructed mammaries.
The people-watching at this concert was worth the price of admission alone. Sneaking in a small bottle of Captain Morgan to add to my Diet Coke only added to the festivities. Drunken men air-guitaring in their seats and thrusting their hands into the air with horns up was commonplace, as was ratted hair with hairspray and spandex skirts on the women. Rock on for them having a good time, and adding to the entertainment for the rest of us. :)
By the time we got there, Styx had already taken the stage and we found our spot on the lawn to watch the concert unfold. Their set was about 6 or seven songs, the only one that I knew was 'Come Sail Away'. Foreigner took the stage after that, and their set was about the same length, with 'Hot Blooded', 'Cold as Ice', 'Feels Like The First Time', 'Double Vision' and 'Urgent' among the ones I recognized. Flashbacks, BAD flashbacks of ice skating and the disapproving look my father gave me when I went on my first Couple's Skate popped into my head. Ahh, adolescence.
Def Leppard took the stage, and they had a new bass player, one of the guys from Whitesnake. I only know this because the lead singer guy introduced all of them. They still had their one-armed drummer, and he was awesome. Both the lead and bass guitarist had their shirts unbuttoned and were completely topless by the end of the show. The lead singer had gained about 50lbs from his heyday back in the 80s (with the music video for Love Bites), but he still had that same awesome screechy voice. They played some songs from their new album, as well as old favorites like 'Hysteria', 'Rock of Ages', 'Photograph', 'Rock On', 'Pour Some Sugar On Me', 'Animal', 'Love Bites', 'Foolin'' and 'Two Steps Behind', and surprised us with a cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Back in Black'.
Loved the Def Leppard set. I have to admit, as much as the whole culture of this music is NOT me in any way, I was still rocking out like a mulleted freak on the inside.
Rock it, baby. Yeah.
So I forked over $20-some for a ticket and went to the Def Leppard/Foreigner/Styx concert.
I knew what to expect, I think. I've been to Monster Truck rallies, and I figured that the same crowd would be there. I was right, in many respects. Predominantly white, lower middle class. Average age 45. Many of the women wore too much makeup for their age and clothes that were a size too small for their frame. The men were smoking cigarettes and thought that the Beer Garden's choice of Bud & Bud Light for beer was ideal. A large majority of the concertgoers drove pickup trucks or Camaro/Firebird/Trans Am combos. A pan of the crowd close to the stage revealed more than one set of artificially constructed mammaries.
The people-watching at this concert was worth the price of admission alone. Sneaking in a small bottle of Captain Morgan to add to my Diet Coke only added to the festivities. Drunken men air-guitaring in their seats and thrusting their hands into the air with horns up was commonplace, as was ratted hair with hairspray and spandex skirts on the women. Rock on for them having a good time, and adding to the entertainment for the rest of us. :)
By the time we got there, Styx had already taken the stage and we found our spot on the lawn to watch the concert unfold. Their set was about 6 or seven songs, the only one that I knew was 'Come Sail Away'. Foreigner took the stage after that, and their set was about the same length, with 'Hot Blooded', 'Cold as Ice', 'Feels Like The First Time', 'Double Vision' and 'Urgent' among the ones I recognized. Flashbacks, BAD flashbacks of ice skating and the disapproving look my father gave me when I went on my first Couple's Skate popped into my head. Ahh, adolescence.
Def Leppard took the stage, and they had a new bass player, one of the guys from Whitesnake. I only know this because the lead singer guy introduced all of them. They still had their one-armed drummer, and he was awesome. Both the lead and bass guitarist had their shirts unbuttoned and were completely topless by the end of the show. The lead singer had gained about 50lbs from his heyday back in the 80s (with the music video for Love Bites), but he still had that same awesome screechy voice. They played some songs from their new album, as well as old favorites like 'Hysteria', 'Rock of Ages', 'Photograph', 'Rock On', 'Pour Some Sugar On Me', 'Animal', 'Love Bites', 'Foolin'' and 'Two Steps Behind', and surprised us with a cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Back in Black'.
Loved the Def Leppard set. I have to admit, as much as the whole culture of this music is NOT me in any way, I was still rocking out like a mulleted freak on the inside.
Rock it, baby. Yeah.