On a whim, I dialed into a radio station to try & win tickets to see Van Halen. "It's 5:00 on a Friday...people will be on their way to their cars and fewer people will be calling in...right?" RIGHT! I won. So exciting.
I was never a "fan" of Van Halen per se. I liked the songs that they played on MTV and I ooh'd and ahh'd when David did the back flip and then a front flip. I was shocked along side my mom when she realized that he didn't really do a front flip. "They just played the backflip in reverse!" We were devastated.
Anyway, here I am with 2 tickets. The obvious choice is my dear friend, but she couldn't make it down to Indy on a Wednesday evening. BUMMER! There was only one other friend that I knew that liked them. Thankfully, he was able to make it. It was also nice since he works close to the radio station & was able to pick up the tix too :)
It was hard to come to terms with the opening act. It was an odd juxtaposition from one genre to another, unless that genre was simply "the 80's."
Kool and the Gang.
I know, right?! It was just hard to fathom, but then I read that this was at the personal invitation/request of Diamond Dave himself. He had seen KatG in London last year and liked what he heard.
We weren't too hurried to make it there for Kool and his merry Gang, but we did hear a few of their songs. Quite frankly, I was expecting James "JT" Taylor crooning "Cherish" and "Joanna" - We were dreading the finale which was unarguably going to be the dreaded "Celebrate." I was pleasantly surprised - they avoided the ballads. "JT" - the dreamy lead in the 80's - isn't with them any longer. But, with the their playlist, it didn't really matter. I had completely forgotten that they did "Jungle Boogie" and "Get Down On It." I think we heard 4 songs in total. ("Too Hot" was also played). Sadly, I knew all the words to their songs.
Then...the boys took the stage! I had to laugh...Wolfgang and Eddie Van Halen walked on stage together...I thought to myself "wow, Eddie's beefed up...and Wolfgang is a bit scrawny..." It was about 5 songs in when I realized I had them switched...Alex still looks like he's 80 (sadly, such an unattractive man...).
David was a great showman. We had to laugh at the fact that he forgot a couple of lyrics to some of their more famous songs...like "Jump" (yes, there are only like 5 words to the song...). What I realized is that David is proof that an unattractive man can still be sexy. I have no idea how or why. He's effeminate, does quasi yoga moves, and is weird, but it somehow works. Now, would I go off someplace with him? Not for all the brown M&Ms in the world, but he just has appeal.
His voice was strong ~ even when he lost the lyric ~ and he interacted just enough. He appealed to the crowd by referencing his being a Hoosier.
There are few times as of late where I truly feel like a prude. The fellow attendees were definitely mixed. There was a woman getting so into the music that she was convulsing out of time. She almost looked like she was having a seizure. At one point, the seizure caused her to straddle the man she was with...
At one point, I leaned over and said to my friend, "I think someone is smoking POT?!" His response, "Duh." He then proceeded to point out about 4 people. One had just exhaled. There was a cloud of smoke hanging above us. Ugh. I thought that pot was suppose to mellow people out? "depends on what is mixed in with it." Ick.
The sound system was tough. There was a lot of distortion, but it was a rock concert, so I dealt. All-in-all it was a really fun night!
Plus, it was free...all on a whim!
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