I have some news to share with you all, and I hope you won’t find it too shocking. I am no longer a teenager. What? This isn’t news to you? Well then can someone explain to me why the 80’s are back? I have been looking at the lists of touring bands and an awful lot of them were there in the 80’s to help ease me through my own teen angst. This summer alone, I have missed the chance to see some of my favorite bands from back in the day.
Why did I miss them? Good question. I missed one or two because of my crazy summer travel schedule. I missed a couple of other in protest of ticket fees that increased the price of the ticket by 40%. The last few shows I missed because the venue had no seats or just a few seats up by the bar. This last one was just poor planning the part of whoever picked the venue.
The people who are most likely to see these bands are the people who grew up with them. Those same people now range in age from late 30’s to mid 50’s. Almost all of us have jobs. Some of us have kids and none of us have the energy we used to. With all that in mind, who has the mojo to stand in line to get in, stand around waiting for the opening band, stand during the opening band, stand waiting for the band you came to see, stand (and possibly even dance) to the music and then trudge home and resume one’s life? At least with a seated venue, we could sit down between sets. That would make the whole experience much less taxing.
If I sound like a crotchety old lady, it’s because some days I feel like one. It isn’t that I am so old, because I’m not. What I am is more judicious with my time and energy. I have responsibilities that I didn’t have when I was a teenager. And although I still love their music, I no longer prioritize seeing my favorite musicians live over everything else in my life. Just writing that last sentence makes me sad.
Not sad because I am no longer a teenager. I am thrilled to be past that stage of life, and I truly enjoy being a grown up. But sad because gone are the days when the most important thing in the world was going to see musicians perform.
*The photo is of my best friend from high school, Rachel Gorney, who passed away last year. Even though I hadn’t seen Rachel in years before she died (she lived in Paris), to this day I can’t think of going to a live show without thoughts of her popping into my brain. It just seemed appropriate that she adorn this post.