Saturday, June 28, 2003
Okay, yesterday I left work at 1pm so I could pick Tiff up by 3pm and drive up to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to see the Styx/REO Speedwagon/Journey concer, which was scheduled to start at 6:30.
In case you're wondering why we drove all the way up there for the concert, here's the back story. I told Tiff a while ago that if REO Speedwagon came to town, I'd take her to see them. At the time, I didn't even know if they were still alive. Turns out they were and scheduled to come to Pittsburgh on June 28th, today. This was a few months ago, but I had already bought tickets to the Clarks concert. Tiff was disappointed, so I looked up the other places in the area they were playing and the one at the Blossom center in Cuyahoga falls was the best option.
So we started off towards Ohio and making good time. We got to our exit off of the Ohio Turnpike an hour before the show was going to start. As soon as we got off the turnpike, we hit concert traffic. Eventually, we got to the entrance to the amphitheatre with about twenty minutes to spare. We just had to drive to a parking space. The road led us to the entrance gate and then back around. We took a windy road and finally ended up in a parking lot a half hour later that was surprisingly near the entrance gate. So we ended up missing a little bit of the first act, Styx, but it was a pretty good show. The only guy I knew, Tommy Shaw, I only knew because he was in Damn Yankees (the band, not the broadway show) . Shaw looks like he's the father of David Spade. The bassist for the band was wearing plaid pants. He did some singing and a couple times walked into the audience and played and sang. The fact that they only had two security guys following him and he never got hasseled by fans tells you something about their popularity. The show was pretty good with the highlight being everyone, except Tiff, singing along with "Come Sail Away".
By the way, our seats were bleacher seats in the very last row of the pavillion. They were also higher than the lowest part of the lawn, so some people on the lawn got a good view of my butt all night.
The alcohol policy for the venue says they card anyone who looks under 40. Apparently look 40 because two out of three times, I did not get carded.
REO Speedwagon was second and they played the only song I knew of theirs about ten minutes into the set. The lead singer looked like a gay Rod Stewart. He told a funny story about a visit to the Playboy mansion and a playmate confusing him with the lead singer of REM. He also made a big deal in announcing they would play the whole first side of their High Infidelity album in order. I kinda knew that was their title of their best album, but I couldn't name a song on it.
Journey was the final act. The lead singer looked like a mix of ex Journey singer Steve Perry and Kenny G. They started off with a upbeat hit, Seperate Ways, and did a good mix of their fast song.
Overall it was a really good show and I advise people to go see them if they can get the tickets for free or cheap and have nothing better to do that night.
In case you're wondering why we drove all the way up there for the concert, here's the back story. I told Tiff a while ago that if REO Speedwagon came to town, I'd take her to see them. At the time, I didn't even know if they were still alive. Turns out they were and scheduled to come to Pittsburgh on June 28th, today. This was a few months ago, but I had already bought tickets to the Clarks concert. Tiff was disappointed, so I looked up the other places in the area they were playing and the one at the Blossom center in Cuyahoga falls was the best option.
So we started off towards Ohio and making good time. We got to our exit off of the Ohio Turnpike an hour before the show was going to start. As soon as we got off the turnpike, we hit concert traffic. Eventually, we got to the entrance to the amphitheatre with about twenty minutes to spare. We just had to drive to a parking space. The road led us to the entrance gate and then back around. We took a windy road and finally ended up in a parking lot a half hour later that was surprisingly near the entrance gate. So we ended up missing a little bit of the first act, Styx, but it was a pretty good show. The only guy I knew, Tommy Shaw, I only knew because he was in Damn Yankees (the band, not the broadway show) . Shaw looks like he's the father of David Spade. The bassist for the band was wearing plaid pants. He did some singing and a couple times walked into the audience and played and sang. The fact that they only had two security guys following him and he never got hasseled by fans tells you something about their popularity. The show was pretty good with the highlight being everyone, except Tiff, singing along with "Come Sail Away".
By the way, our seats were bleacher seats in the very last row of the pavillion. They were also higher than the lowest part of the lawn, so some people on the lawn got a good view of my butt all night.
The alcohol policy for the venue says they card anyone who looks under 40. Apparently look 40 because two out of three times, I did not get carded.
REO Speedwagon was second and they played the only song I knew of theirs about ten minutes into the set. The lead singer looked like a gay Rod Stewart. He told a funny story about a visit to the Playboy mansion and a playmate confusing him with the lead singer of REM. He also made a big deal in announcing they would play the whole first side of their High Infidelity album in order. I kinda knew that was their title of their best album, but I couldn't name a song on it.
Journey was the final act. The lead singer looked like a mix of ex Journey singer Steve Perry and Kenny G. They started off with a upbeat hit, Seperate Ways, and did a good mix of their fast song.
Overall it was a really good show and I advise people to go see them if they can get the tickets for free or cheap and have nothing better to do that night.
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