BloG #32: Recent & Upcoming Concerts 4 My Guilty Pleasure

Okay, I'll admit. My musical tastes fall into the somewhat lame category. I said somewhat. Not totally. Compared to many, I'm quite MOR in my tastes. But then, I see others & wonder....

So, the last couple years have been quite cool for those of us who had an appreciation for super groups that disintegrated in the mid 80's. In fact, many including me, finally gave up & thought these reunions just plain would never happen!

I'm speaking of course of The Police & Van Halen. These 2 ruled the roost & no other band were in their league at the time of their demise. Unfortunately, I just never got my act together to get to one of their shows during their ascendancy to oblivion.

I did make it to see Sting & David Lee Roth a couple times each over the next couple years, but as fun as it was, I always left wishing their bands that made them famous were still on the stage with them. Did get to meet Steve Vai following one of the DLR shows. Still have the autograph. Was amazed how physically small he was in real life. He was very kind & patient as he spoke with us.

The Police had just struck out on their first tour in 24 years, and I got a floor seat at the Pepsi Center in Denver June 7,'07 on Sting's side of the stage. Sat next to people who flew over from San Diego just to see the show. Our section sang every word of every song & loved every moment of the show. I finally got to experience a Police show live without a TV screen providing the perspective for me. Cool!!

Then, February 1,'08 saw the Van Halen reunion I had waited so long for, minus Michael Anthony, due to biological VH family member Wolfgang replacing him. If that's what helped bring Eddie to getting back with Dave & wearing a smile while doing it, then more power to em. My cousin had just moved to Colorado & was in the midst of a nasty divorce, so what better way to take his mind off of the bs than to 'Dance The Night Away' with a few decibels behind some great tunage. Their smiles were infectious & the music felt so good.

October 26,'06 saw my family head to an AARP convention in Anaheim, CA. And if you're not totally laughing your ass off at this little deal, you're just not paying attention! We noticed Elton John was going to be playing for this event (omg, I AM getting old!!) & the ticket prices were such that we could order enough for the whole family to go. Normally, when I see him one ticket is more than what we paid for 4 for this show! So, despite sitting amongst many who weren't necessarily his biggest fans, we had a great fall weekend in Cali. Even got some sun & surf while it was snowing back home in the CO mountains.

This weekend on April 4, we are going to see Elton solo in Colorado Springs. I am hoping the average attendee age will be somewhat lower than the Anaheim show. I love being able to take my daughters to see Elton, b/c I hope that they can get a glimpse of what once inspired me to keep going in music all those years ago. Amazingly, I still get inspired when I see him now.

Next comes Chicago. Elton John & Billy Joel will be playing two nights at Wrigley Field. I'll be there July 21. I saw them twice together January & April,'01 in Salt Lake City & Denver. Great shows & worth revisiting again. Price is sky high, but what an opportunity! I go by the thought that these guys aren't getting any younger. If you have any desire, see them now! Youth is fleeting & once it's gone, well....

I actually got to meet Jeff Hornacek (Iowa State alum.) of Utah Jazz fame at the Salt Lake show. Still have that autograph too! I've also met Ben Stiller, Rosie O'Donnell and John Elway at various Elton gigs. Still have the autographs of all but Elway, even though i was the one who had a pen to loan him for all the signing he did. He had nothing better to do since he was waiting for his then-wife Janet at the facilities following the show. As for Rosie & Ben, I was sitting arms reach away at a Vegas Red Piano concert. 6th row aisle in front of Elton.

Anyway, many other past concerts could be cussed & discussed here, but my fingers are wearing thin along with possibly your patience, so we'll save some of it for a future writing. I will mention before closing that the U2 Red Rocks concert in '83 was more incredible than the movie & we were so lucky to actually be there. More on that in the next writing about this topic.

Meanwhile, wish me and the 7 other people I'll be going with this weekend lots of fun at Elton solo in Colorado Springs.

Cheers!