I don't have all of my ticket stubs, but I do have quite a few...
Nope, I didn't suddenly curl up and die. I got new bedroom furniture which precipitated a round of painting the walls and moving stuff around and… well, you get the picture. I was busy!
Friday night we attended a concert for which I've had tickets in my possession for eleven months now. It was supposed to happen last November but then one old man got sick, then the other old man got sick and…well it was rescheduled.
I have been an Elton john fan since I was fourteen years old. I mean, a big time EJ fan. The first concert I ever attended was the Elton John Band performing at the Chicago Stadium. I went with my two best friends, Lynn and Carol, their mothers, and Lynn's brother Tommy. My friend Carol's Tanta (Aunt) Frieda had a nephew who was working his way through medical school by scalping tickets. (In Chicago it's not about who you are, it's all about the friend of a buddy who knows a guy…) He was able to get us main floor, third row center seats and generously charged us face value.
We ponied up $8.95 a ticket. A man seated next to us using a zoom lens on his camera told us we were 17 feet away. It was the best concert I've ever been to.
A few of the photos from the 1977 Elton John concert I attended. he jumped around a lot more then.
Over the years I've seen Elton a number of times, and in 2001 my older brother bought me a pair of tickets to see Elton John and Billy Joel during the Kansas City stop in their Face to Face tour for my 40th birthday.
That concert was awesome.
I also drove from Kansas City to Chicago with The Kid and my friend Shelley to see Bernie Taupin's (Elton's lyricist) band Farm Dogs perform at the House of Blues. I was able to tick off an item on my "bucket list" of "Meet Bernie Taupin" before I die.
Bernie Taupin with Slave Driver from 1999 or so.
That's how dedicated (and insane) of a fan I am.
Several years ago we took The Kid to an EJ concert, and before the encores she was telling us, "It's a school night and we should be leaving because I have to get up early tomorrow morning."
I laughed at her. She's not a fan. I should have omitted her ticket and used the extra money to get us better seats. She is however, a Billy Joel fan, and that's all my fault. We used to cruise the gravel roads of Platt County, Missouri in a Le Baron convertible with the top down and the stereo cranked, blasting Billy Joel tunes out into the universe. Her slightly warped version of a bucket list (it's good she's starting young) included "See Billy Joel before he dies."
I guess, given the age difference, it's all a matter of perspective.
Billy Joel
So we went to the concert last week and it was phenomenal. I expected that, being that they are two consummate performers.
Elton John
The Piano Men
What I didn't expect was the variety of people in attendance. We noticed an elderly gentleman (70's or so) being assisted up the stairs by another gentleman in his 50's. The Kid sat next to a woman who looked about 10 years older than myself (she was alone) and the two of them danced the entire night, a 16 year old and a 60-ish lady, having a grand time together.
The Kid and her new friend bustin' a move
.JPG)
So that's why I've been MIA. Sorry, but once in a while I have to ditch the internet, and deal with real things.
5 comments:
"See BJ before he dies" got a huge snort outta me. I heart your Kid.
It sounds like you had a blast! And I'm not at all surprised that all ages turn out for their concerts. Good music is good music, and doesn't come around often enough.
and just for you, my verification word is ... puppy!
No, I'm not making that up!
I completely understand the whole dealing with real life thing. My first ever concert was Nine inch nails. (is it nine, inch nails or nine inch nails? I never did figure that out)
(1) Glad that The Kid got to see EJ and BJ before they stop doing their thing. (2) I think I was at one of those 1988 or 1989 Poplar Creek concerts, why didn't you stop by and say hello? (3) Saw the Face-2-Face show in San Jose a couple of days before your show in SLC... went to see EJ but enjoyed BJ more than I expected to. (4) GREAT to see Davey and Nigel on stage with Elton, the music would not be the same without them. (5) We 45-55 year-olds make for a pretty cool concert audience, don't we? I got to see Steely Dan last fall in San Francisco, and I couldn't help but think that if my fellow audience members were the people that I'd be hanging with someday at the old folks home, that wouldn't be so bad.
How awesome! (Though I'm lost how there is not one EJ song she likes.)
One of my favorite concerts was when my parents and brother picked me up from the airport (I was flying in from school) and we went to see Roger Waters.
Post a Comment