My wife and I went to a concert the other night. First one at the new home of the Minnesota Twins, Target Field. The performers were Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney, and a couple warm up bands, big deal and sold out for months with scalpers doing quite well.
It’s my last concert, at least in a venue like that. The stage was in center field, and our “great” seats were in what they call the Club Level along the third base line. The Club is nice because you have both seats in the stands and an air conditioned area glassed-in with numerous bars and food options, and stools along the glass for viewing event.
This particular evening was beautiful except for the heat, which was only just tolerable. Our seats were in the middle of the third row. Pretty good I thought, though the seats are not designed for guys who need to lose a few (okay 25) pounds. We arrived during the break between the opening acts and Tim McGraw. All good. And then the music started.
- Two bars in to the first song, I realized that I had forgotten to bring my earplugs. I am sure the surrounding neighborhoods knew there was a concert there.
- Tim McGraw was on stage and he is really short, roughly 4 inches tall as best I could tell. He looked taller through my binoculars but it was a lot easier to simply watch the giant screens on either side of the stage.
- I am not sure why but as soon as he started playing, the women in front of us all had to stand. Kind of made watching the big screen necessary as these were not small women.
- I sat through a few songs and then decided that I needed a reprieve and so left my seat and headed into the Club (not to return to my seat).
Inside the Club, I found a stool, not hard as I was the only one there. With a beverage, air conditioning, unobstructed big screen to watch, I picked up bits and pieces of the songs when the doors opened and I could clearly hear over the music playing in the Club. Okay this will work. I spent the next hour wondering how much I would have to like a performer to stand in front of the stage for 4 hours, like sardines in a can, in the heat, unable to hear myself even think.
McGraw finished up and after what seemed an eternity Kenny Chesney took the stage. At this point, it’s about 9:00, two hours gone by. I’m ready to leave. Then I made the mistake of asking an employee when the concert was to end and was told 11:00. Uhggg.
My wife is the big country western music lover (and I like it just fine). Kenny Chesney is one of her favorites. So she was devastated when she came up to my perch after just a few songs and told me that she had stayed as long as she could as she really didn’t feel well at all. I was very sympathetic but high fiving in my mind. The concert was over for me.
From now on give me a small venue with the has-beens or newcomers. As for the big stars, I will be content to watch them on HBO or On-Demand, in the comfort of my home and the volume just how I want it!
Out of Bounds 