Monkling's Blog

… you’re too old. Apparently that saying is absolutely right. Last night we were at Mohegan Sun to see Styx & Boston. I had gotten Frank the tickets for his birthday. When we were heading over, we guessed, correctly, that much of the crowd would be middle aged people. I’d say at least 75% were 50+ with a few younger and older mixed in.

The concert itself was good, but there were a lot of strange things about it. Like I said, it was so loud. So loud my ears were ringing. And I am not really into that feeling where everything inside you just vibrates from the sound waves blasting your body.

Then there were the band members. Sure I know they’re gonna be old but guys in their 50s and 60s with long hair and tight pants, jumping around like they’re 20 years old just doesn’t do it for me. I’m not quite sure what I expected. I mean I didn’t think they were going to come walking out in suits or anything.

Let’s move on to the audience. I’m sorry but I just found it hilarious that all these 50 & 60 year olds were standing for the entire concert, jumping around, dancing, acting like they were teenagers. Hey, if they have that kind of energy & they’re not hobbling around on a bad foot, I guess that’s a good thing, eh? While that was a bit weird, there were 2 things I found very weird.

One was this guy who had to be about 60. He stood the entire time with his hands in the air, swaying. He kept turning around to everyone around him, motioning them to do the same. Yeah, in your dreams. Maybe if he hadn’t been a guy, I might not have found him so bizarre but he was just plain weird.

Then there was the woman who moved to stand by our seats when the other people near us left. She was beyond thrilled to find out a band member was from Maine. (Does that mean there aren’t too many people from Maine in bands??) But that’s okay. She can cheer her home state. The weird part was her standing there dancing around with her belly hanging out. Maybe her blouse shrank?

In my opinion, there is something slightly disturbing about so many people all gathered in one place, all trying to act like they are 30 years younger than they actually are. That so did not take place at the Carrie Underwood/Keith Urban concert.

A couple of years ago, I went with my friend, Lou, to the Grand Olde Opry. We were going there to see this group that she really liked but that I had never heard of before: Rascal Flatts. I hadn’t listened to country music in years but it sounded like a fun trip and I’m not one to turn down an opportunity to have fun.

Anyone who’s familiar with the Grand Olde Opry knows there isn’t just 1 performer. There’s a whole mess of them, some who look like they’re 105 years old. I can’t remember if it was before or after Rascal Flatts came on but they said something about this being the first performance there by this next singer and a young girl comes out.

This girl is good. We liked her music, she had a good stage presence & a good voice. After she was done, we both looked at each other and said, “Okay, we’re gonna get her CD!” It turned out the singer was Carrie Underwood. Yes, neither Lou nor myself ever watched American Idol or we’d have known who she was.

When I saw Carrie Underwood was going to be at the Garden tonight (that’s Madison Square Garden, for all you out of state people) I wanted to get tickets. I was pretty sure it would be sold out because any time I have the slightest interest in seeing a concert, it’s always sold out. Not this time.

I emailed Lou to tell her I was going to see Carrie Underwood & some guy. She emailed me back. What guy? It’s not Keith Urban, is it? Why yes, that is the name of the guy. I have no idea who he is. The next day there were CDs in my mailbox because if I was going to see this guy, I needed to be familiar with his music. Okay, maybe they didn’t arrive the next day but it seemed that way.

I have been told I’m going to love this concert. I expect I will – just as long as I get there without getting soaked. I have this knack for picking days when the weather isn’t too great. Actually it’s my sister’s fault. Last time we went to a concert, we went with Janet & her husband. It was not just raining. It was a monsoon. During the concert, they lost power. Yep, now I will forever have dark storm clouds following me when I go to concerts.

Kim did one of those MeMe things and mentioned how she saw every single Hall & Oates concert. (Yeah, you have to scroll all the way down before you see that. ‘Someone’ can get very verbose, unlike me.) Then she mentioned the dreaded song: Maneater. I am going to explain why I hate that song.

Back in the olden days when Frank & I were dating, sometimes I would drive. I figured it was only fair to share the driving since every time we went out, he had to drive down from the Bronx.

I had a teeny, tiny silver Honda Civic back then. This car was so light that when it died on me (as it often did) I was able to roll down the car window to reach in to hold the steering wheel and steer it while pushing it. Thank God I never was in an accident in that car because it would have folded up like an accordion. (Yes, the fact that it was small has relevance to this story.)

When I am driving and I need to look behind me, I don’t just use the mirrors and/or turn my head. I twist my entire body to look behind me. This involves swinging my right arm around and resting it on the back of the passenger seat. Someone always managed to be in the way whenever he was in my car as a passenger. I can’t even keep track of how many times Frank got whacked in the head. You would think the guy would have learned to duck after the first couple of times.

During this time period, that Hall & Oates song, Maneater, was popular. Someone changed the words and title to ManBeater. I can’t hear that song without thinking of that.

Tonight I went with Theresa to the mall because she wanted/needed to buy a coat. Since Frank is off visiting his mom, we took her car and she drove. Now we have this rule – whoever is driving is in charge of the radio (except that when Frank is driving, he usually lets me play whatever I want). That meant Theresa got to try out her new device for her iPod and was playing a bunch of new songs she just loaded onto it.

“This is called Flashback to the 90s,” she told me. Yeah, like she is so old and the 90s were so far away. The girl was born in 1988. Then that song by Meatloaf came on, “I Would Do Anything For Love.”

Now here is what we wanted to know. What the heck is it that he won’t do? We were discussing this after I incorrectly said, “That wasn’t from the 90s. Wasn’t that in the 80s?” Turns out I was wrong. Then, according to a Wikipedia article, the that is identified. I am, however, way too sleep deprived to comprehend what they are saying in that article. I’ll have to go read it after I am able to get 8 hours sleep.