There was an Eddie Money concert in town 30 or so years ago and the wife and I were supposed to go. Well, we DID go....we just didn't stay. Why?
Because the parking was so horrible that I refused to stay.
Some things never change. I must have been killed in a parking lot during a previous life.
Who doesn't go to a concert because the parking is bad? We were very young so I don't know why I already had been cursed with this parking lot affliction but I had it bad. The parking was worse than a drunken stampede and I couldn't stand the thought of trying to escape this melee while surrounded by thousands of drunken drivers....I refused to park and I drove home. Done. No Eddie Money for us. No more talking to me from the wife for the rest of the night.
I had to hear about this for 30 long years--rightly so, I must agree. Thirty years is a long time.
I never thought I'd get to pay that debt off but then it happened: Eddie Money came to the area to put on a concert. Eddie Money! This was my chance. We ordered our two tickets to paradise and waited for the debt-pay-off.
Here's a photo gleaned from the Internet to illustrate what Eddie looked like back in the early 1980s.
We went to the concert as scheduled, with no park lot traumas in site. I was giddy at the chance to repay the debt. I made the wife stand in front of the theater so I could take her photo with Eddie's name on the marquee. We entered and took our seats, soon noticing first that we were the youngest people in the crowd. A scan of the crowd confirmed that the place was packed with 900 white, middle-aged fans.
To say it was unreal is an understatement beyond compare. At one point, the wife turned to me and said, "Pinch me. Is this really happening?"
The wife took a gander and asked, "Why are so many people wearing Chicago Bears jerseys?" I hadn't noticed, so I turned toward the crowd. Yup, lots of Bears paraphernalia. I answered that Chicago Bear fans are year round fans. (Sounded like a good answer.) Her little Green Bay Packer soul got a little nervous. I assured her no one could tell she was a Packer Backer.
I was wrong with why there were so many Bears Jerseys. It had nothing to do with year-round loyalty....it had to do with the opening band.
Quite to both of our surprises, the opening band was "The Chicago Six," best know for being comprised of players from the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears. I kid you not. (They technically are now the Chicago Three, but who's counting?) Out comes Dan Hampton, carrying the bass. Out comes Otis Wilson, ready to sing. And, then.....Steve McMichael stumbled out onto the stage, carrying an old acoustic guitar.
In case you're wondering: No, the Chicago Six are not going to win a Grammy.
Actually, it was quite fun. I'm not sure if Steve was drunk, stoned, goofing around or had been hit in the head one too many times....they said he played 'rhythm guitar' but I don't think there was a lot of actual guitar playing going one. A cheer erupted from the crowd when Dan explained that Walter Payton used to be their drummer.
If you have the chance to see the Chicago Six & you are a Bears Fan & you don't have to pay: go.
Here's a blurry photo of Dan on the bass. He looked pretty good, considering his participation in a brutal sport for many a year. You could Dan and Steve kind of gimped around. I imagine they are ALWAYS in some kind of pain. Otis looked pretty spry. He was fine as a singer but played a lousy tambourine. No offense, Otis.
Finally, the moment we'd been waiting for--for THIRTY years--arrived: Eddie Money took the stage. Good-bye, debt! Hello, Eddie Money! I almost burst into tears. Such a weight was removed from my shoulders. He could have just stood there and I would have been fine.
He sounded great. It was very entertaining. It was a great venue to hear a concert. We really did enjoy it, even though there were many a "pinch me" moment.
My photos sucks. It's a camera phone thing. But, you get the idea. Eddie's in the middle. We were about six rows back.
There is no polite way to say this: Holy Cow, Eddie Money is old!!!
Which leads to the next statement: Holy Cow, we are old!!!
Don't tell anyone, but the wife and I are old enough to know all the lyrics to Eddie Money songs and to own his albums. ALBUMS. Not CDs. Albums. I own his albums. Old!
I've gotten used to going to concerts where the light show and stage happenings are a very integral part of the show....so, when Eddie Money's stage was comprised of a sheet with his name on it, I was pretty surprised. What a spoiled brat I have become.
He played all his hits. He played the harmonica. He played the sax. He sang with his daughter. He did some little spins in place. In many ways, it was worth a thirty year wait.
Or, maybe not. Hard to say.
Here's another bad photo. Someone should tell Eddie that he shouldn't wear blue with black...he should wear blue with orange. After all, this is Chicago and he was following the Chicago Six.
Eddie was looking a bit rough. Okay, really rough. At one point I commented to the wife that he reminded me of my Aunt Julia. I'm not sure what that was all about but that's what I thought.
Who cares if he looked rough? He sounded great.
The only issue was that I was standing in beer. Someone a few rows back spilled their beer and it had rolled my way. I had my good gym shoes on so I was a little bitter. I couldn't dance in beer. I'd ruin my shoes and splash suds everywhere. Very disappointing. Very disgusting.
Eddie wouldn't have minded standing in beer. He would have danced in beer. Eddie would dance in a beer-soaked parking lot. He certainly wouldn't let an unruly parking lot keep him from attending a show.
Thirty years. I hope the wife feels the love.
No comments:
Post a Comment