That said, if that music satisfies me in a wholesome satisfying way, my dessert is my hair metal: Motley Crue, Poison, Kix, Cinderella, Scorpions, Warrant, Ratt and Quiet Riot to name just a few. And my absolute weakness, my chocolate lava cake indulgence, is Def Leppard. I fell in love with them back in high school when my boyfriend's friend found out that I was interested in hair metal and turned me on to them. Then college hit and like many of my female counterparts, "Pour Some Sugar On Me," became my anthem. Oh college...
But as that song grew old on me (and I grew too old for it) I found more of their songs that I loved: "Rock of Ages," "Love Bites," "Hysteria," all had the best of my classic rock deep harmonies and throttling hair metal guitar screams. And yet, despite my best efforts, I kept missing them when they toured.
Until last week...
My brother's birthday just so happened to fall on the same day that KISS and Def Leppard were performing in Tampa. My sister and I decided to surprise him with tickets and take him there for his birthday. We were pumped- we had seen KISS before and they always put on an enjoyable show, but I was thrilled to finally see Def Leppard. They were opening for KISS so I was determined to get there early so as not to miss a single single.
I had purchased tickets on Groupon for Drew and me. Lindsay kept planning on getting a ticket for herself, but since all we were getting were lawn seats, I assured her there was no rush. After all, they're just lawn seats.
So the day arrived and after a few pit stops to the gas station and a delicious pre-show dinner of Wendy's, we pull up to the Florida State Fairgrounds. A long line of cars worried us, but after a little maneuvering we drove into the a vast field filled with every kind of car. We sat for a while sipping our drinks and chatting with the two fifty year old guys hanging out next to us by their car. We found out they were from Boston and the taller of the two of them had seen every great classic rock band perform.
"Except Zeppelin. Still haven't seen Zeppelin, but in a few years it will be their anniversary so there's hope!" he said.
"I'd like to think so, but I heard in an interview Jimmy Page said it would never happen," I said.
"They will. Trust me."
I said I was just excited to finally see Def Leppard, whom I have been wanting to see for years.
"Oh, you will NOT be disappointed. You name the song, they will play it. And it will be awesome."
I started getting giddy. Meanwhile, my sister asked the guys if they thought there would be any danger of them selling out of lawn seats. She had been anxious ever since we were parked and though we wanted to tailgate for a while, we knew we had to get to the box office eventually.
"Oh sure. Yeah, no worries about that. But uh, just so you know...the box office and entrance is ALL the way over there," the tall guy said pointing far in the distance towards some buildings. "And it sounds like the last opener band just finished so Def Leppard should be coming on soon."
We thanked them and waved as they began their own trek to the stage. After a few more minutes of tailgating we figured it was about time for us too. As we began to walk the long dirty road, we slowly began to realize just how far this walk was going to be. We kept passing more and more rows of cars and people everywhere all making their way to the same destination. A few times some men would call out "Tickets, tickets here. Buying and selling." We figured it was just scalpers trying to sell their actual seat tickets, not lawn, so we passed them and continued on our way.
After several heat-stroke inducing minutes, the three of us finally made it to the entrance. We let Drew wait off the line and hang out while Lindsay and I waited.
"Man, I just really hope they don't sell out..." Lindsay kept saying.
"We're fine. We want lawn seats. It's not like they can sell out of lawn seats," I said.
Finally our turn came and we walked up to the counter.
"One lawn seat please."
"Sorry, sold out. The cheapest ticket is one in this section for $60," the woman behind the glass said.
Our hearts and jaws dropped. Immediately, Lindsay jumped out of the line before I could even think and began racing back the way we came, yelling that we needed to find one of the scalpers. As she took off I explained to Drew what was happening, just as my ears recognized the opening to "Foolin'" They were on. Def Leppard was on. And I was out, missing it. I tried to hold down my frustration as I chased after her. We were nearly halfway back to the car when an idea suddenly dawned on me.
"Lindsay, why don't we just pool all the money we have and get the seated ticket? That way you can at least get inside and then sit with us?" It meant going back on the box office line, but it was our last chance.
Lindsay began running back to the box office again, breezing past Drew who had finally began to catch up to us. Once again, I tried to explain the game plan and kept running with her. Poor Drew was trying so hard not to appear frustrated. It was so hot out still and this wasn't going the way we had planned. I waited for Drew to start to follow as Lindsay began blowing up my cell phone.
"I'm next in line!" she said excitedly.
I told Drew just to make his way to the box office and I sprinted, clutching my bags and blankets to me. I got to her side just as another window opened.
"One of whatever is the cheapest, please," Lindsay said.
"Ok, so lawn?" the woman asked.
We were dumbstruck. We told her we had just been told lawn seats were sold out!
"Oh they just released more," she said nonchalantly. Just then one of the workers got my attention.
"You might need this. You dropped it back there," he said gruffly, holding out my ticket! I thanked him, and the Concert Gods, for what could've been the final blow to a stressful evening.
I was livid that we had made that jog at a cost of two songs, but elated to not have spent more money than we meant, so I figured it was a wash. The Birthday Boy got himself a beer and at last the three of us found our own little patch of lawn. We set ourselves up just in time to enjoy the rest of Def Leppard's set, and though it was a long time coming, in more ways than one, it was so well worth it.
So often these older bands have the impossible task of trying to sound the way they did back in the 70s and 80s, when they were at their musical prime. I have been burned by other bands before (I'm looking at you, Klaus Meine of Scorpions), but Joe Elliott still brought his chops and they were goooood. Their harmonies blended magically, from melodiously sweet to teeth gnashing tough, and Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell sent shivers down my spine with shrill shredding. The best was probably the drummer, Rick Allen, who's bionic arm received more cheers than anything, not out of pity, for the man needs none. He tore it up better than any I've seen, especially on "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Armageddon It". I was more than satisfied. I was stuffed.
The night could've ended there, and I would've been a happy lady. Of course, it wouldn't be me without more inanity happening, such as breaking my glasses and fighting traffic for almost an hour on the way back.
Still, it was a great night. Drew seemed happy with his birthday and Lindsay saved herself some bucks at the concert. And as I laid my head on my pillow that night, the echoes of heart-pounding drum beats and falsetto voices lulling me to sleep, I smiled.
Until the next tour....
How about you? What bands/musicians are on your bucket list?
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