pearl jam

it became painfully obvious to me that alas, i am starting to get "old". i know, i know. but when you have a 15 yr old client ask "what's that?" when you tell them you're going to pearl jam on the weekend, it makes you think. even more so when you say in shocked disbelief "pearl jam. the band!" and she says "i've never heard of them". ugh. right.

not that it mattered. we had tickets to see them play and we were pumped! i mean, yes it's a bit 1990's but heck! it's pearl jam. and ben harper was opening for them. great combo!

so at 5:30pm on saturday, i hoped on the train to the city to meet up with john (who's been diligently studying for exams) and strolled into the large soccer stadium to watch the concert...from our (plebian) standing room location. the night started out well- what with the venue not being full- but by the end of the night, i needed to go. standing still on plastic grates for 4 hours is painful. literally. the show was amazing though, with pearl jam playing for 2.5 hours!

and now for the real blog part: my ranting about concerts and festivals.

first, i think that all events that have standing room only areas need to be cordoned off by height. at 5'5", i can see nothing. nothing. except the backs of sweat heads and if i'm lucky, a jumbotron showing me select clips of the band playing. tall people never get it. they just think you're complaining. but it's really not fun to pay exorbitant ticket prices only to stare at the back of some guy.

second, though i would not consider myself claustrophobic, i seriously hate crowds! sweaty people bumping into me, smokers puffing away beside me, beer being spilled on me, etc. it just makes me want to freak out and hurt someone.

third, i get incredibly irritated when people can't clap to a beat: is it that hard? really?! i also despise when the guy beside me sings out loud during the whole show. "dude, i get it. you think you rock. but in fact, you suck and i'm here to listen to eddie vedder and the rest of the band, not you. shut the f- up!". i can understand when it's a "whole crowd sing-a-long" but the whole show? urgh.

fourth, couples who snuggle and make-out for the duration of the show (or even for a small part of it, for that matter) drive me nuts. it's not ok at a bar or on the street corner, so it's definitely not ok here. and yes, i get it, you probably first made-out to "betterman" but unfortunately this is not your bedroom, you are not 18 and i have no desire to see this.

fifth, as an addendum to the fourth thing, i also cringe when couples sing to each other. and get really into it. hate to break it to you buddy, but she'd rather be listening to the band then to you. you're not that good.

sixth, i'd like to know what freakin' beat people are dancing too? cause it's certainly not the one the band is playing. this is more at festivals, when (drug-filled?) pseudo-hippies hit the grass and bounce around like they're a kid with ADHD on a sugar rush. i have had this complaint since my young, love-filled days as a groupie, when i had to bite my tongue watching crazies freak out on the dance floor whilst (sorry chris) my dead-hot husband rocked out on the bagpipes...

and last, but certainly not least- the outfits. pearl jam (or any other band i'd pay money to see) was being held outdoors, in a soccer stadium. the plastic was hard and uncomfortable to stand on and the seats, i'm told, were incredibly uncomfortable. can someone please, *please*, tell me why girls feel the need to dress up? and i mean little cocktail style dresses with heels. seriously. lots of them. i almost wanted to buy a beer and toss it on them , highland games style. if said beer hadn't cost 9$ (and had a 300m line-up to purchase), i probably would have considered it.

ok, so there you have it. a list of my concert-going beefs. they are the primary reason i don't go to festivals and they are also the reason i will be buying seats, not standing room, from now on. apparently i'm getting old. meh!

xo