Journey-less Journey Concert

Last night me and Leah headed out to Riverport (I refuse to call any venue "Verizon Wireless Amphitheater" because there are 10,000 of them all over the USA) for the final concert of the week. This was a crazy week for me, three shows in one week. This was the "biggest" show, and nothing drove this home more like the crowd. The line of cars on I-70 East was crazy. For some reason we decided to go a little later than I normally like to go, this was a mistake.

By the time we got to the front gates, the sky was black and scary. Leah brought her superman blanket (I foolishly bought lawn tickets) and I brought my big black umbrella. Well, when we got to the gates, security wouldn't let me bring my umbrella inside. They said it was too big. So, with fifteen minutes till Cheap Trick were supposed to take the stage, I opted to THROW MY UMBRELLA away...rather than waste twenty-minutes walking all the way back to put it in my car. The crowd was huge (it was sold out). By the time we got to the lawn area, it was jam packed. We found a small plot of grass, that wasn't too wet, and sat down. A few minutes later Cheap Trick started their set.

Cheap Trick. I love this band and was very excited to see them live...they sounded great--but man were they old. I mean, scary old. I know this not because I could actually SEE them from the stage, but rather from the numerous giant monitors. The close-ups were not kind. Another sign your band should think about hanging it up: everyone is wearing hats. Why, oh why are you guys all wearing hats??? Is it because you're all going/are bald??? Yes.

Guitarist Rick Nielson had a bunch of really cool guitars (all Gibson), they were all shiny. One had this great picture of The Beatles on it. It became kind of a joke because every song he had a new (outrageous looking) guitar. For the most part, the band played all their hits. They played "Hello There," "Surrender," "I Want You to Want Me," "If You Want My Love," "Dream Police," and yes..."The Flame." I was really hoping they'd skip "The Flame" but they didn't. Yikes that is a lame song. But the old people in the crow liked it, so whatever.

Overall, I enjoyed Cheap Trick, but I was a bit disappointed...I guess I'd have enjoyed them more if it was 20 years ago.

Anyway, after Cheap Trick was Heart. I wasn't expecting much from Heart. I'm not sure why, they're a pretty rockin' band. Maybe I was just being sexist...you know, they're a "girl" band. Heart blew my frickin' mind. Seriously.

It was the original 70's lineup of Heart, and for the most part, they all looked pretty good. Nancy Wilson is smokin hot (still). Ann Wilson is a "big girl" now, but she still looked pretty good, too. We'd heard on the radio on the way over to the show, that the band almost didn't make it because of Ann's throat issues. I was worried, fearing they would suck. But they didn't suck, they were AWESOME. Ann sounded fantastic, which for a band like Heart (who has just a virtuosic singer) is key. Like Cheap Trick, they did the Greatest Hits show...with a few surprises. "Magic Man," "Straight On," "Never," and "Barracuda" were no-brainers--but then near the end they threw in an awesome, phenomenal, knock-your-socks-off cover of The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me."

Despite being the second band, Heart actually came back for an encore! They played "Crazy On You" and another really awesome cover--Led Zeppelin's "Going to California." After seeing them, I'd say that Heart is probably one of the best bands I've seen live. I'd seen them again in a heart beat (pun intended).

At this point, it hadn't really rained on us yet...but we'd felt a few sprinkles. This, compounded by a large, drunken crowd WITH our crappy seats made me make an executive decision: I decided to skip Journey. I wasn't feeling very well (I'm fighting a cold) so we bailed. On the way out we stopped by the main gates and I got my umbrella back!!! We found it in a giant pile/heap of confiscated umbrellas.

So, that's the story how I went to a Journey concert and skipped Journey.