Rocking Out Like It’s the ’90s

After spending Saturday working at the property, I had just enough time to get back into town for the Xfest.

My friend Amy was in town, and she had a couple of extra tickets because her sister had a couple she couldn’t use. She had asked if Greg and I wanted to go, but Greg had too much to do at the property. So I ended up going with Amy, her two boys, and Stephanie and David.

The lineup was Dorothy, Stone Temple Pilots and Godsmack, so I was pretty excited.

When I got back from the property, I didn’t have much time to get ready. I changed, freshened up and was just about ready when Amy showed up to pick me up.

We got to the concert and found some friends of Stephanie and David’s who had already staked out a spot where we could sit.

Rock concerts are always a good time.

There’s just something about live music—the energy, the excitement, everyone singing along and just being surrounded by people who are there for the same reason. Even when you don’t know everyone around you, there’s this weird little sense of community.

I will say, though, rock concerts are a LOT different now than when I went to them in my teens and 20s.

There wasn’t nearly as much craziness. There was a small mosh pit, one person crowd surfed, and there wasn’t even the smell of marijuana floating around.

Instead, there were fruity-smelling vape pens.

And there were no lighters being held up in the air during the songs. There was actually a woman standing in front of me who had a picture of a lighter on her phone and held it up during those parts of the songs. It was too funny.

But honestly, none of that mattered. It was still a really good time.

I will say, my long-term memory isn’t always the best. I completely forgot that I had seen Godsmack before.

It wasn’t until they played “Voodoo”—the one with the snakebite line—that I suddenly remembered I’d seen them before. Apparently, I can remember the song lyrics but not the song title or the fact that I’ve already seen the band!

We sang along to songs I’ve known since I was in high school, and it was fun hearing them live again. We stayed through the entire thing, all the way through Godsmack’s encore.

By the end, I was pretty tired.

I’d already spent the entire day working at the property, had barely eaten anything and had been standing for most of the concert. My feet were definitely ready for bed.

Apparently Amy and her boys were hungry too, because after the concert we made a quick stop at a grocery store. It was almost midnight, but we grabbed a few things to eat before she dropped me off.

When I got home, I pretty much went straight to bed.

It was a short visit with Amy, but I’m really glad I was able to join them for the concert. A lot of those songs are ones Amy and I grew up listening to, so it was fun sharing that experience together.

We were even laughing about how Amy wanted to start a band when we were in high school. She played trumpet in band, but at one point she switched over to the snares because she wanted to learn to play drums.

That didn’t last very long.

Our love for rock never died all these years later we were still standing there singing along to the music we grew up with.

Just without the lighters, the mosh pits and probably a lot less energy than we had in our 20s.

Never miss a nice sunset.

Big J is a staple here. He’s been on the rock radio station for 20+ years. He was coming to concerts for the radio station when I was in high school and he’s still doing it.