With all the talk about 9/11, I get really testy listening to all the politicians go on about how great they are, but aren't doing damn thing to protect the border. I'll stop this rant right now, but if you want to read an excellent blog entry on what is wrong with politics, I would highly recommend one by Frank Staheli - On 9/11, I Nominate Newt Gingrich for Dogcatcher.
Now on to the important stuff... A good friend took the wife and I to the Def Leppard concert on Friday night. We started the evening off at Biaggi's in the Gateway - Excellent, Excellent food - although personally I would not order my dish again (Some pasta name San Marco - It wasn't bad, just not my cup of tea, plus I was trying to load carbs for the Triathlon the next day, so my choices where limited) Anyway, the service, the atmosphere and everything were dead-on.
We got to the concert right as Foreigner started playing. I knew more than I thought I would, although you have to be a little creeped out by 50+ year old men singing for all the Dirty Girls to come down, because they are Dirty Boys (Yuck!!)
They were on for about 40 minutes following which there was a break while they set the stage up for Styx. Did I mention this was out at the Usana Amphitheatre?
Let me set the scene for Styx... I know "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto" and I saw an unplugged show they did for PBS on TV last year. I figured they were kind of a mellow group. That was all shattered when they came out on stage. Their entrance was phenomenal, the sound perfect and they rocked and entertained like no-one else I have even seen - except perhaps Cowboy Mouth. I'll be purchasing a few Styx CD's this weekend I think.
The final act was Def Leppard - The only group of the three that I am really familiar with. By the time they came out, the seating was packed, it was dark, and I was starting to have a headache and feel a little rocked out (I'd been up since 4am as well which didn't help).
They were pretty good. The lighting was great as where their video effects. The sound could have been a little better managed, and it seemed all they did as the concert went on was increase the volume. About half way through, the drummer to a break and the remaining 4 members of the band grabbed accoustic guitars and sang a few songs on the ramp leading out from the center of the stage. At this point, with the headache and all, it was very much appreciated and the balance for this portion was really good to.
The final song for the evening, excluding their encore was "Put some sugar on me" Which was a good thing, because I think the wife would have been pretty upset if they had skipped that one. All in all though, they did a good job, but I think Styx had a better show, if only because their sound was better managed.
Leaving the concert appeared to be the biggest challenge of the night. We parked in the premier lot, which cost a fair bit, but was supposed to make it easier to leave. The problem was all the drunken morons which parked in the same lot. Not only did I pick up a few new words for the vocabulary, but I was shocked at the attitudes of people trying to leave... I think if everyone had been patient and taken their turn trying to get out, things would have gone smoother for everyone.
2 hours later, we arrived at the in-laws house to spend the night... I pounded some Ibuprofen, set about 8 or 9 alarms, and settled in for about 4 hours of sleep.
Check back tomorrow (or later today if I get bored!) for the saga of my first Sprint Triathlon.
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