A couple weeks ago, Ryan surprised me and did something a little out of character. He heard on the radio that Night Ranger, Foreigner, and Journey were coming to the Erwin Center in Austin and on a whim, he bought tickets.
Now, going to a concert together is not that unusual for us. We've been to quite a few, in fact. But our tastes run a little more towards Norah Jones, Michael Buble, Chris Tomlin, and Harry Connick, Jr.
So I was a little surprised that he actually purchased tickets to a concert featuring some of our favorite bands from the 80's. I mean, this is not really the kind of music you just relax, sit, and take in. Plus, the potential for seeing adults in their 40's and 50's trying to relive their youth was going to be quite high.
Anyway, last night was the big night.
But there were definitely a few differences in going to a concert at my current age versus when I was a teenager.
For example, we opted to miss seeing Night Ranger in order to have time to eat. Now that I'm in my 40's, eating can sometimes be a highlight of my day. And I get quite grumpy when I miss a meal so we weren't going to let that happen. So Night Ranger was sacrificed for a piece of yummy salmon, something that would not have happened had I been 17.
Another difference? I had been planning on purchasing a concert t-shirt. But upon arrival, there were two strikes against the shirt. One, the line was really long and two, the shirts were between $30-$40. I quickly decided I didn't want a shirt bad enough to stand in line and for that price, I could get a cute pair of shoes or a "real" shirt at the mall. To heck with the memory a concert tee might bring - another difference between my younger self and my older self.
One more difference that I'm almost embarrassed to admit - at one point, I found myself actually wishing for some earplugs. My ears were buzzing and it was just so loud, especially during Journey. I know, I know. I've officially crossed over into the "old folks" territory. Sorry, kids.
To prove I was actually there and that parents can cut loose, here's two pictures I took with my phone.
This is Foreigner:
And here's Journey:
All in all, it was a fun night. And while it was fun to relive the music of my youth, I definitely don't want to be a teenager again.
42 is just fine with me.
Now. Where'd I put those earplugs?
I must admit that when I first read that you were going to the concert, I was a bit envious. What fun memories I have of those groups! Ryan totally made deposits into the love bucket by surprising you with this and I have no doubt that you both had a great time together. However, when I read about the volume and the desire for earplugs, I decided that this 40 something will be quite content to download a few favs. from iTunes and listed at a more desired volume. ROCK ON - or in our case... rock on :)
ReplyDeleteOK - I totally cracked up at ROCK ON - no, rock on I'm definitely at the lower case stage!
ReplyDeleteThat's hilarious! I recently told our neighbors that concert was coming to Houston and we all agreed we should go! Unfortunately, it's tomorrow night, and we didn't get tickets. :(
ReplyDeleteOf course, if we had been going, I would take some earplugs, at your recommendation!
And, by all means, I would also EAT before!!
E.
I was at the concert as well. It was AWESOME!! I was there with my husband, my 12 and 16 year old sons, and my brother. We had an amazing time, and I really love Arnel Pineda, the new singer for Journey. He really was fantastic! I also forgot my earplugs, so I rolled up bits of napkin and shoved them in my ears and it worked like a charm! My oldest son is a musician and is very determined to protect his hearing, and he had his specialty musicians earplugs. They allowed him to hear everything clearly, but at a lower decibel.
ReplyDelete