a) really, really into the band, or
b) really, really into some alcohol and/or illicit drugs
to enjoy myself at a concert. Otherwise, it's just terrible. I've made the argument that going to a concert when you're not 100% into it is about an awful of a night as you can have. I would rank the Aerosmith concert at the Alerus in 2001 as one of the worst nights of my life. Fo' serious.
However, Robert Randolph is on the very short list of concerts I would be enthusiastic to go to: (it's on top of the list, in fact)
1. Robert Randolph
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Clash
4. MC Hammer
5. Vampire Weekend
6. Zack Attack (and that would mostly be for the opportunity to ogle the shit out of Kelly Kapowski)
As you can see, only two of those musical acts are currently intact in their original form, although I'm fairly confident I can hire MC Hammer to perform at my Sweet Twenty-Six birthday party in a few weeks.
In fact, if I remember right, I have not been to a concert in almost 6 years. I'm not counting WeFest, because although I was technically there in both 2004 and 2005, the number of girls who slapped me in the face or otherwise physically abused me (3) is higher than the number of concerts I actually attended (2.) So I've got that going for me, which is nice.
My top concert memories:
Styx, 2003
My girlfriend at the time gets to go on stage and introduce the bands, but this does not lead to me meeting Styx, which is incredibly disappointing and probably played a small role in our eventual breakup....we are all only 20 years old, but we run into Jake's mom there, and she keeps us adequately supplied with booze the entire night, while getting housed herself....she eventually enjoys a long, slow kiss with Paul in front of Jake....not a great night to be Jake, but probably top 5 greatest nights of Paul's life.
The Monkees, 2000
This was at the state fair or something, and is uneventful except for the fact that Podge and the other 16-year-old girls we were there with were invited backstage to "party" by Davy Jones (age at the time: 55)....I tried to caution the ladies as to why, exactly, they were being invited back there, and they promptly blew me off....half an hour later they were back, creeped out of their skulls....guess what happened.
Styx, 2001
There's nothing like the first time you get to see your heroes perform live....we collectively put together a strong, strong effort in the "drinking in the car from Grand Forks to Fargo" department....when Styx finishes their set, plus a couple encores, without playing Mr. Roboto, I am almost inconsolable.
Snoop Dogg, 2001
General admission at the Civic Center, so I ended up in the third row for $17...felt completely comfortable in my whiteness, even as I was shouting lyrics to "Gin and Juice" at the top of my lungs....probably because I was at least 230% higher than I ever had been in my life up to that point....marijuana is a hell of a drug.
Speaking of pot smoking, one of my favorite rappers of all time, Ol' Dirty Bastard, died 4 years ago today. I'm proclaiming the next week to be Ol' Dirty Bastard Appreciation Week, and the only music I will listen to will be ODB and/or Wu-Tang. Ummm except when I'm at the Robert Randolph concert. Dammit, ODB Appreciation Week is ruined already.
