Concerts

I’ve been to several concerts and they’ve all been good experiences. After all, I don’t need to see anything, or not very much, at a concert. I think my first concert was Bob Dylan but I don’t remember much beyond that except, I think it was outside.

My parents like Billy Joel, Elton John, Queen, older artists like that and they must’ve brainwashed me because now I like them too. I do like Kelly Clarkson as far as newer artists go but really no one else. I like her music, I have four of her albums, but I wouldn’t go see her in concert. There are no male artists coming up that can replace The Piano Man, the Rocket Man, the Boss and the like.

I think it was in 2000 that all four of us went to a Face2Face concert at the Spectrum in Phila. The Face2Face part was the fact that Billy Joel and Elton John were both playing that night. They played together for 30 minutes, then separately for an hour and a half each and ended with another 30 minutes together.

I could see the stage but not them; I could hear them and that was enough. They did a duet of Piano Man, among others. Then Billy Joel did his bit; then Sir Elton John. Sir Elton and his band were really loud but it was alright because I was sitting. He played Rocket Man and many others. After their playing time at the end, they played an encore but I forget what it was.

The next concert we went to was the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I had previously heard their Carol of the Bells rendition on the radio and I think we had some or all of their CDs at the time of the concert. Their music is along the lines of Rock meets Christmas carols and they also have two non-Christmas CDs, only one of which had been released at that point. The concert was neat; there were flashing lights and many other effects. They have many instruments and vocalists; one of the instruments is an electric violin. I can’t see most of the performers but then again, I don’t need to. I came away with a TSO shirt, which was cool.

Next concert was to see Meatloaf. As I said, I prefer the artists of the previous generation and have little time for those of mine. The concert was very nice, not as loud as TSO. As much as I like TSO, the live concerts are a little loud for me. I like them very much but I think the slight aversion to extremely loud music comes from my reliance on hearing.

The most recent concert we went to was a Manheim Steamroller concert on November 12. I got to like Manheim from going to the movies around Christmas and them playing Manheim’s rendition of Deck the Halls. I liked the concert very much.