Tuesday, April 01, 2008

 

But I like it, I like it, I liiiike it!

OMG. I have got to learn to start paying better attention to what Dr. ER is saying. She "won" the tickets to see Bon Jovi, all right. She "won" a Ticketmaster auction! Holy Jersey garage band! Look at the price. Your eyes are not tricking you. Times it by two.

Gah. Oh, and gah. One more thing: Gah.

BUT (this is a big BUT): This was Dr. ER's lifetime dream concert experience.

The last time she went to a concert (not counting a honky-tonk venue or three with me over the years) was to see AIR SUPPLY at the municipal auditorium in Wichita Falls, Texas, in the '80s. Neither of us had ever been to an arena show. The closest I'd been was to see Three Dog Night in the '80s at the rodeo grounds in Fort Smith, Ark.

We took ear plugs, and used 'em. Hey, we know about sound decibels from NASCAR races. And we were on the front row, man. I could have touched the speakers.

It was a blast. Dr. ER was so happy she cried. She is conked out over there on the bed, trying to recover from her total wild-abandon dancing, in time to get on a plane this evening for Carson City, Nev., then back tomorrow evening (I'm going to either drive up to Laramie, Wyo., or down to Colorado Springs, while she's gone, haven't decided.)

Chris Daughtry is great, played 45 minutes. But he and his guys have 25 years to go to get as great as Bon Jovi, who played 2 and 1/2 hours. Our seats were just about directly in front of Sambora's place on stage. Hugest happiest room full of people I've ever been in.

Big highlight for me was Bon Jovi's touring fiddle player-vocalist, Lorenza Ponce! Had to do a little googling to find out who the hot-as-a-firecracker gal was on stage, but wow! Hot! And she played the 'lectric violin somethin' fierce, too. I will be picking up one of her four albums.

I thought about takin' a bottle in, but decided to leave it in the car -- Robitussin.

At the end, one of the floor men saw me stumbling and swaying and said, "You all right?" I said: "Dude. Too much to drink on an empty stomach. Water. And Robitussin." He looked suspicious but laughed.

Of course, we were on our feet for most of 4 hours, and me feeling sicker than I have been in years. Mr. Phentermine and Ms. Robitussin helped a lot, dried me up and gave me an energy boost, and I was drinkin' water the whole time. At 9:50 p.m., I was all in. Had to sit, and stayed sat until 10:20, which was OK since Messrs. Bongiovi and Sambora were behind us in the audience on a side stage.

Then I got another wind and lasted standing for another half hour, collapsed in my seat, but then by sheer force of will got up for "Dead or Alive."
It was over just after 11 p.m. Freezing cold outside and on the ride home; I thought I was gonna die. Made it back to The Hole -- that's what we call Dr. ER's little place in Boulder -- and I absolutely absorbed some chicken noodle soup, milk and powdered sugar doughnuts, then collapsed into a fitful, horrible night of "sleep." Do I know how to party or what?

Dr. ER is happy. I'm happy 'cause she's happy. And I think the worst of my affliction came last night. Here's hopin' Dr. ER sidesteps it, 'cause Thursday we're headin' to a lodge at Estes Park and it would suck if she were sick!

--ER

Comments:
Fantastic! I was hoping you'd say "April Fools" on the tickets though.
 
Ah, no. This was our race this year. We go to a NASCAR race about every other year, and all told that costs about as much. No race this year, now.

Plus, I'm figurin' that if you reverse amortize those ticket costs over 20-odd years of not going to concerts, it works out.

:-)
 
When I was in HS, tickets went from about $10 up to about $14. I said if they hit $20, I'd never go to another show. This past summer, I paid $125 for fairly good but not great seats to see Rush (that price also included far better parking, but still . . .).

I think Paul McCartney charging up to $1000 a pop is criminal - even he isn't that good - but with insurance and inflation and other etceteras, I suppose the cost of tickets is about on track. Buying tickets on auction, though, no matter how good (OK, I suppose if this was the chance of a lifetime I might consider it) - that's an invitation to paying too much.

Glad Sambora made it. Poor guy.
 
Wow. Really? Seven Hundred and Four dollars? Were your seats hovering above the stage, with an open bar?
 
LOL, Rich, this was a mama is happy so I'm happy deal. Dr. ER thinks she mighta got Richie Sambora's sweat flicks on her. Priceless.

Auctions: If you know what you want, and are willing to pay an auction-market price for it, it's the way to go. ... But the poor saps who paid ONE THOUSAMD DOLLARS to be "on stage" and touch the dude -- they're the crazies. ... It's all relative.
 
I'm glad for Dr. ER and for You as well. I know how had she works. A blow out every now and again ain't a bad thing.

Those tickets do however bring up an analysis of the concept to "win". Some might say that losing in this case might have been winning.

But hey, flung sweat from an icon, a once in a lifetime event.
Hope you get well and she stays well.
 
read, "I know how hard she works"
 
If you decide to head to Laramie, as a historian you'll want to visit this out of the way place.

Take exit 329 between Cheyenne and Larimie on I-80. It is the Vedauwoo exit. Go under the interstate south to the monument. You will be on the original route of the UP Railroad.
The monument is to the Ames Brothers who invested in and finally lost their wealth building the UP. They made shovels (you can still buy Ames shovels) Just NW of the monument is the famous old town site of Sherman, Wyoming. Just North of that is a little fenced in grave yard. Stop by WalMart and pick up some flowers for the grave of the little girl buried there, and place them there for me. If you go that way that is.
 
Ames Brothrrs, OK. "Shovel" monument, OK. RR history, OK. ... Whos' the girl?>?
 
Um ... Dr ER just called and said she "bumped into" a $5 slot machine in Carson City and it shat out $1,900. The concert and the weekend in Estes Park are paid for.

Fricking amazing.
 
She is just living right this week, isn't she? Yay Doctor!!! Holyyyy cow!
 
We feel much the same way about Rush in this household. Adventure Boy (our 15-year old) went to his first concert at age 14. We brouoght him to see Rush.

Now, he's bought his own bass guitar and he's teaching himself to be the next Geddy Lee. :-)

Music feeds the soul.
 
Say, what kinda mojo she be using on the hoodoo. What'd she do, hang a cow's tounge on the porch, bury a goat in the apartment parking lot? Bring some of that magic back with you.
 
ER asked:
"Whos' the girl?"
Just one of the many lost souls sacrificed to the god of progress. There are others there as well. I just picked out the girl for my own.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/WYLARames.html

http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/sherman4.html
 
Son, you're living right.

Enjoy the snow.
 
Though I would've loved to have had those seats for Bon Jovi, I don't have the means by which to pay that kind of price for the tickets. Of course, had I had the foresight to know my beloved would have cashed in while in Nevada, I woulda jumped at it.

A few years ago, I dropped $100 per ticket for my then fiance to go to the Aerosmith-KISS concert ... and to take her dad. She was sorely disappointed in our seats, which were in the rafters of the arena, but stage level. She didn't understand why I didn't fork out another $50 per to get better seats.

Now you can she why she's an ex.

I guess that's another reason why I so enjoyed Garth in K.C. in November. Between the food, the drinks, the gas, the tickets, the parking, our total bill was still just less than $120 for two of us with pretty good seats. The folks behind us who had flown in from Chicago for the show paid a scalper $700 per ticket, and there were three of them. Throw in the cost of the airline travel, the rental car, the downtown hotel, etc., and I REALLY liked our deal.
 
Wow, ER, sounds like y'all had a blast. Glad you're getting better, and glad Dr. ER bumped into that slot machine!

Am rather partial to the Springs as I've got family there, but think you might enjoy Laramie more. Hope you have/had fun, either way.
 
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