Never Too Old

I did something this weekend that I have never done before…I went to my first rock concert.  Yes, you heard that right…I have never been to a concert before.  What concert was my cherry concert?  Paul McCartney.

Two of my girlfriends live for Paul McCartney.  I think between them they know everything about the Beatles, Wings and they know more personal information about Paul than Paul’s mother does.  They are nothing but walking Beatles Wikis.  So when the tour dates for Paul’s Up and Coming Tour were posted, Brenda and Suzanne were all over it like white on rice.  When they asked if I wanted to go to the concert, I had to admit that I had never been to a concert before.  I think if it were possible, they would have fallen on the floor trying to pick up their jaws.  How is it that I had never been to a concert?  I don’t know.  It just never seemed to be a priority.

It wasn’t like I didn’t have the opportunity.  Growing up near Champaign, IL there was never a shortage of concerts to attend.  My parents went all of the time.  They were even at the famous concert when Loretta Lynn collapsed on stage.  My brother went a lot and Tom (my first husband) even asked me to go to a Fleetwood Mac concert in high school.  I declined.  Maybe I was scared…or maybe I just wasn’t that interested.

Brenda and I grew up in Tolono, IL, a small town 10 miles south of Champaign.  It was also home to some of the members of REO Speedwagon.  In the mid ‘70’s before they made it big, they used to play in a condemned building in downtown Tolono.  Brenda used to ride her bike over to listen to them from the sidewalk below.  I should have known then she would one day be a rock-n-roll encyclopedia.

Ok, maybe I have reached the advanced age of 46 without seeing a rock concert, but I have been to the ballet a number of times, and the symphony…including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Tom and I used to go to the theater all of the time.  I saw Jerry Lewis in Damn Yankees, Sarah Jessica Parker in Once Upon a Mattress and Matthew Broderick in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  I have spent my fair share of time with my butt in a concert hall, but never for a rock concert.

When Saturday rolled around, I was ready.  More nervous that excited.  It was fun to see Suzanne and Brenda excited.  After dinner and drinks we made our way downtown to the Sprint Center.  Our seats were 22 rows up from the floor to stage right.  I was amazed at the graphics of the concert.  There were so many old pictures and home films from the early days of Paul, the Beatles and of Wings.  I was also surprised at the crowd.  It ranged from people in their 70s and 80s to kids of five or six.  I expected people standing in front of the stage dancing in a cloud of marijuana…but there was no pot in sight.  I was a bit disappointed.

Paul played for three hours and it was a great three hours.  I knew less than half the songs he sang, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment.  My favorite song was Back in the USSR for obvious reasons.  Paul commented on visiting Russia and how fabulous the crowds were in Red Square.  He told the story of many Russians commenting that they had learned to speak English by listening to the Beatles…that included the Minister of Defense.  Now that’s scary!

So, I survived my first rock concert.  It was fun and memorable.  I didn’t get high on pot, but my ears rang for quite a while afterwards.  Colby thought my first concert should have been Poison or White Snake, not one quarter of the Beatles…but I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.

A HUGE thanks to Brenda, Suzanne and Paul for a great first time!!!!  First concert that is!