Bon Jovi, the Big Easy and gray hairs

The Bon Jovi concert was pretty cool.  I'm not exactly "into" Bon Jon... don't get me wrong.  I like his music.  I just don't have REALLY STRONG FEELINGS like some people (ahem, my friends) do.  I think the problem is that I wasn't cool enough in the 80s to be into the popular music.   Jon's songs don't so much remind me of the good ole eighties as they do frat parties freshman year of college.   The only new songs of his that I know are the ones on the radio.  I really do love the "Who says... you can't go back" song that is the theme song of the NJ Tourism commercials.  Now that makes me feel nostalgic.

I had been led to believe Daughtry was opening, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Mr. Daughtry and his self-named band before.  My coworker asked me if Daughtry was opening last week and I said "uh... yeah" because I didn't want to admit that 1. I had no idea who was opening, and 2. I had no idea who Daughtry was.   After a quick Google search and the help of my brother's CD, I realized I knew a few of the songs from the radio.  OK.

Then Joel looked up the concert and told me that in actuality, the All American Rejects were opening.  AWESOME.   Is it weird that I love them?  Like, a lot?  And that I was sort of more excited to see them than Mr. Bon Jovi?

Is it also weird that I just depend on other people to organize things and I have no idea what is actually going to happen until I show up?  That's just how I roll.

Unfortunately, we got distracted by the sangria and tapas we were having pre-concert and we missed nearly all of the opening act.  I got to hear Move Along while we were waiting in line for beer, so it was OK.  That's really the song I love them for.  In fact, I'm not sure that I know any of their other songs.  And our seats were so far up that I wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway, so hearing the song in the beer line = good enough for moi.

Here's a picture of Jon.

That's him, I promise. 

Unfortunately, even when I zoomed in all the way, I still couldn't see how white his teeth were.  Sorry, guys.

And here's a picture of what I saw during the ENTIRE CONCERT.

These ladies DID NOT SIT DOWN AT ALL.  I have a problem with this.  My friends tell me that I'm the one that's in the wrong here, but I really don't see how standing up during a show demonstrates your superior love for the performer.  Sure, stand up and clap when he comes out.  Jump up and dance during your favorite song.  But for the majority of the show, SIT YOUR ASS DOWN.  People pay for seats at a concert, not a square foot of cement to stand on.   But because they decided to stand up, I had to stand up.  For three hours. 

(You know what else pisses me off in the exactly same manner?  People who put their seats back on airplanes.  I know that, again, I'm in the minority here, but I think it's just RUDE. If one person puts their seat back, that means that the person behind them has to either suffer in a teepee-like formation for the duration of the flight, or put their seat back as well.  And then the person behind THEM is faced with the same dilemma.  RUDE.)

(It's possible I've been traveling a bit too much lately.  Ya think?)

Jon puts on a great show.  He played the new album from start to finish, which I guess would have been awesome if I were more familiar with his new stuff.   Then he played the old favorites.  Then he played some more.  And more.  For three hours.  (My feet really, really hurt).

And then it took us two hours to get to my friend's apartment in Harlem because the subway line wasn't running and the Path was late and blah blah blah I didn't get to sleep until 4am.  It's possible I'm still a teensy bit cranky from lack of sleep.  I took two naps today.  Enough said.

Yesterday I flew directly from Newark to New Orleans for work.  I actually got to see a bit of the city (unlike last time) on this trip, and that was really nice.  The 75-degree weather was also pretty awesome.   

I am not at all impressed with the Sheraton for a bevy of reasons that would be very boring to list out (wireless internet is spotty!  Ozarka brand bottled water tastes funny!  No shower cap in the bathroom!  See?  BORING), but I did get a room with a kick ass view. 

I'm going to have to get up at dawn, seeing the sun rise over the  Mississippi while I groggily try to find the shoes packed at the bottom of my suitcase is a pretty good consolation prize.

The view straight down was not at pleasant for someone with a teensy fear of heights, so let's not talk about that.

(32 floors up, window DIRECTLY on the side of the building, in case you were wondering)

We went to the Orleans Grapevine for dinner last night, and it was great.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere was adorable.  Tin ceilings, chandeliers, and stuffed flounder.  Yum.   Today I had a lot of free time, so I did a lot of walking around and had lunch at a cute little coffee shop whose name I can't remember.  I was going to treat myself to some beignets, but I am feeling particularly unhealthy after all this travel (which automatically means less-than-healthy eating, for me at least) and I thought I might not fit into my pants if I stuffed three giant donuts down my piehole.  Of course, I don't think that the turkey and bacon wrap sandwich I got instead was exactly Weight Watchers approved, but at least I can tell myself that some actually nutrition was included in those calories.  (Just not in the bacon.  Or the ranch dressing.  Both of which were delicious.)

I finished reading Water for Elephants (which I really liked), and then walked along the riverwalk.

When I came back to the hotel (oh God, I just accidentally typed "home" instead of "hotel"), I was taking a picture to document Operation Grow Out Brassy Highlights, I found this bad boy:

That is a bona fide gray hair, people.  So much for being 23 at heart.

I think that is enough links and pictures for one day, dear internet, so I'm off to pack up my hundred pounds of crap and get some sleep before my 8:25am flight tomorrow.    Happy Veteran's Day to all, and to all a good night.

Comments

[alyndabear]

Three hours of the Jovi. Oh, that is so awesome. I hate people standing, unless it's for particular songs OR if they're in the standing area.

And I'm with you on the pissy plane-seats thing too. Shits me.

[Marriage-101]

How did you manage to cram TWO of my favorite things in this post. First, Jon Bon Jovi. LOVE him. I've had dreams about him! Okay, so maybe just one. And I've also seen him perform with 8th Row tix! That was in 2001.

And New Orleans is where hubby and I celebrated our 1 year anniv. this past May. Did you go to Cafe DuMonde? That's my favorite place. Mostly because I can just sit there and look at the St. Louis Cathedral.

[Isabel]

Okay, so when we saw Bon Jon years ago we were on the second to the last row. Seriously. And dude, I could still see his glowing white teeth. It was spooky.

And the standing at a concert...ALWAYS happens. It's just the cold hard facts.

Sorry about the gray hairs. But um, welcome to the club.

[Laurel]

I agree with you wholeheartedly. SIT DOWN during concerts. DO NOT RECLINE on the airplane. Seriously, just because you can stand/recline, it does not mean you SHOULD.

[Danielle]

Whatever you do, do NOT pluck the gray hair. Hard to resist the temptation, I know. It's not that several will grow in its place. Just one will grow back. And when it does, it will be very short for a while and stick straight up out of your head. Trust me. It's not pretty.

Also I hate the standing at a concert. HELLO. You have a seat. Sit in it. So I can see. Every concert I've been to I've stared at someones ass for 3 hours.

[Melissa]

Was the coffee shop in the quarter? The picture looks a bit like Rue de la Course. But it has been awhile since I've been to New Orleans.

[Erin]

I agree with you 100%....sit down during concerts! What is the deal with the standers???

[janet]

So I might not have gray hairs, but I totally am an old lady because I really hate going to concerts where I am so far from the performer that I can only watch on the screen. In that case, I'd rather just rent a concert DVD at home or something! (Girl time is fun, though! :) )

[PstLyfDiva]

Oh the airplane thing gets me. I always have the urge to thump the reclining oaf in the ear.