80's music rocks

The Foreigner/Bryan Adams concert Tuesday night in Jacksonville was completely random, fantastic fun. I think I should state for the record that I'm not a concert goer by nature. I've always been a bit of a concert snob, actually. I was forever thinking that the ticket prices were too high or that the act wouldn't be that good, or that it was a school night. I don't know what compelled me to change my mind about the whole thing. Maybe it's the fact that I can actually afford tickets now, or that I realize that no one ever sounds as good in concert as they do in the recording studio, or that I actually don't have a bedtime and there will be no exam tomorrow, or any other day for that matter. So with nothing to stop us, Shaun, George, Laura and I sent the kiddos to grandma's and set out for an evening of excitement and good ol' American rock and roll (only as it turns out Bryan Adams is from Canada and half of Foreigner is British, hence the name "Foreigner" - you learn something new everyday).

The evening started with a raucous performance from Foreigner. I've always wanted to use that word, raucous, now I actually have a reason to use it. Thank you, Foreigner. I was really amazed at how old everyone looked - and I don't just mean the band. I spotted about five people there under the age of 30. The guy in front of us brought his 8 year old but I have a sneaking suspicion that he was only there to see Bryan Adams. I think there was only one original member of Foreigner on stage and he looked positively geriatric - think of the professor from the "Back to the Future" movies, only instead of a lab coat, this guy was wearing a shiny satin shirt and skinny man-pants with white sneakers. Even the handful of babes that rushed the stage for the band's performance looked old, probably the same ones that were down there two decades ago, still scantily dressed. I wonder if it had the same effect. The band, for what it's worth, actually sounded good, really loud, but good. They played their biggest hits, the ones I know all the words to, fun stuff like "Jukebox Hero," "Urgent," "Hot blooded" and my personal favorite, "I Wanna Know What Love Is." We all sang along and laughed at our silliness. It was fun. You just can't beat '80's music.

Bryan Adams was a bit more laid back. He looked surprisingly well-preserved, especially compared to the previous band. Still having most of your hair is helpful. The show was pretty good but then I've always been a fan. I remember listing his song, "Please Forgive Me," as my favorite song in my Senior yearbook. "Please forgive me for listing that as my favorite song," that's what I'm thinking now. I was far too young and knew so little of the world and the music in it. I realize now that he actually has some much better tunes.

Eventually, the concert came to an end, that was good because by that time we were all a little sleepy. We loaded up in Laura's minivan and headed to the house stopping for bottled water along the way. We experienced a bit of a high school flashback, we got pulled over for speeding along the way - only this time we got off with a warning since we were in the school van and also because George is a probation officer (things you just don't have going for you in high school). And that was the end of our adventure. I was happy to be home and in bed by 12:30, content with the understanding that I was neither young, or wreckless, or needing to unwind. I guess nothin' can last forever.