Recapturing the "Old Days"

Thursday night I went on a “date” with eldest daughter. Her sweet sixteen was actually last night, but she wanted to go to a rock concert for her birthday. Thursday had to do. We originally bought three tickets…an extra for a friend; unfortunately the friend brought home a substandard progress report from school last week, so his parents pulled the plug. It was too late to find someone else to go.

Well, we had a good time. It was the start of the 2008 tour for REO Speedwagon, Styx and Def Leppard. Strange thing though. The last time I last saw REO in concert was thirty-one years ago. The last time I saw Styx and Def Leppard in concert was twenty-five years ago. Back then the majority of the audience was my age...ish. This time, the majority of the audience was…my age.

Seriously! Most people attending were between the ages of forty and sixty! Actually, this made for a well-behaved crowd (roughly 10,000 attended). Many of us “old folks” brought teenagers, but we still vastly outnumbered the “youngsters”. It was really different seeing old rockers on stage with significantly shorter and grayer/whiter hair. Music was still good though.

Being the first real rock concert for daughter, she was shocked at the volume. Def Leppard really blasted the Greensboro Coliseum…just like I remembered. When the aroma of “wacky tobaccy” drifted up to our seats, she cast me a horrified stare. Yep, just like I remembered.