The Concert

The concert was incredible.

Heart knew we were there out of nostalgia, and they owned that shit. Ann Wilson's voice is just as good as back in the day. Nancy's was a little strained, BUT she sang only "In Dreams," and her guitar playing and karate kicks showed her to be in fine form. They played only one new song, concentrating the rest of the set on the stuff they knew their fans would want to hear.

The ultimate Heart fan sat five rows ahead of my sisters and me. He knew every word to every song and wasn't shy about fist-pumping to the sky or playing air drums. He wasn't faking on the lyrics either. None of that make your mouth form general shapes and come in strong on the chorus for him.

I was fist-pumping along with him- tongue in cheek, mind you- until a change came over me. I started to become invested, and sarcasm was replaced by that pure passion that overtakes concert-goers. All of a sudden, I needed to hear "Barracuda" and "Magic Man," and my pointing and air-drumming were decidedly pure of heart. And when the band obliged me and played the songs, it was a dream come true.

Def Leppard was amazing, and although I never thought Joe Elliot was cute before, I did when he took the stage (although I don't understand why men wear V-neck t-shirts; the look doesn't suit most guys). The band didn't play any new stuff (do they even have new stuff?) and kept the energy pretty durn high during the entire show. They also played all the songs I wanted them to play: "Pour Some Sugar" and "Rock of Ages."

Tangent: Does everyone have songs that they need the band to play when they go to concerts? Is this a thing? Because my sisters do it, too.

There was the Ultimate Def Leppard fan directly in front of Emma, who was dancing up on her. My sister Ella also had a guy (not an ultimate fan) dancing up on her, which is par for the course: she always has these guys dancing with her at concerts. The UDL fan in front of Emma kept giving her lingering high-fives and turning to sing at her. I really thought he'd make a move and try to kiss her, which would've been just...Eww. Then he started dancing up and down the row until Good Sister-in-Law (who's also a bit of a badass) shut him down by telling him he was in the way.

Here's the weird thing: during the encore, UDL fan kept shouting, "Don't you forget about us, and we won't forget about you." Which was puzzling until the band finished the song, and as they were taking their final bows, Joe Elliot said...the line. Mystery solved, and UDL fan's status remained unchallenged.

Before the concert, due to the magic of the occasion and much beer, we all bought tickets to the Journey/Night-Ranger/Foreigner show in August. We know Steve Perry isn't touring with the band (but his replacement sounds just like him minus the douchiness. I imagine the Night-Ranger set will be wicked short, and my question is whether they play "Sister Christian" at the beginning or end. Hell, they could play the song at the beginning AND end; I'm sure no one would mind.

Apparently, this is the summer for revisiting- nay, reliving- the 80s. It's a shame I threw out my Flashdance sweatshirts and Converses.