So Long, Concerts?

Throughout my life, I’ve attended some pretty great concerts.

Yes, they were ALL rock concerts, because that was -- and remains -- my favorite kind of music.

Several of my favorites come to mind: the Denver Pop Festival in 1969, where I saw one of my favorite bands of the day, Three Dog Night (“One is the Loneliest Number,” remember?) Although had I chosen a different night of the three-day festival I could have seen Timeless Guitar God Jimi Hendrix instead (Jimi who?)

I just wasn’t tuned in to his music at the time but adore his stuff now…

Let’s see: There was a 1970s-era concert at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City that featured The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt (wow), a 1991 concert in North Carolina of the newly-reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd band just starting their comeback tour, a wonderful mid-90s concert by Paul McCartney and Wings in Boulder Stadium, and Neil Young playing at beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheater under a full moon.

Those were just a few of the incredible concerts I’ve attended over the years.

But I’m thinking my live concert days may be behind me.

And it’s not just because I’m getting old -- I mean, older. No, it’s much more than that.

Let’s start with ticket prices. If any of you remember Woodstock (man, I would have loved to have been there), tickets for the three-day concert cost less than $20. That’s less than $7 per day!

Tickets today can range into the hundreds of dollars for decent seats. And in today’s world, who sits in a seat? I’ve gone to concerts where everyone stands the entire time, where you just hope your seat is behind someone shorter than you.

Then there’s driving to the concert, parking, standing in lines to get inside the venue and lines to use the restroom, overpriced food and drinks, etc., etc.

Yeah, right, Grandpa. You ARE getting OLD!

OK, I admit it. I just don’t have the stamina to go up against these obstacles like I did when I was younger.

But more than all this is the fact that -- even going to a FABULOUS concert like those previously mentioned -- memories of these awesome events soon fade over time -- especially if you’ve previously imbibed something to make the concert even more fun.

Had I attended concerts totally straight, I might have clearer memories of them today.

But hey -- c’est la vie…right?

The final thing that now keeps me from actually attending a live concert and instead watching my favorite bands on YouTube is the fact that most of my most beloved performers no longer perform. They have pretty much “aged out” of their concert years.

I still love rock music and likely always will. But these days, concerts are seen on my Big Screen TV while sitting in very comfortable seats.

And no too-high bozo blocking my view.