My son turned 16 on Jan 13, and that is the very date that AC/DC played in St. Louis. I don't particularly care for AC/DC, but my son does, and we share a passion for rock & roll and guitar playing, so I asked him if he wanted to go.
"Yes" was all he said (paraphrasing "The Weight", for you Band fanatics out there).
In case you're wondering, I like hard rock from Zeppelin to Cream to Hendrix to Zappa to Living Color, and I love great music and great guitar playing of pretty much any type (classical, clues, jazz, folk, rock, Latin, some combinations thereof, etc.). AC/DC has never been on my radar, for some reason, however.
I didn't take a camera, big or small, because I figured that it wouldn't be allowed. However, just as people broke the rules with the Chuck Berry concert we took both boys to (and brought in SLR cameras with big flashes), they also brought in plenty of cameras to AC/DC. I don't know if it was against the rules, I never asked.
Did I mention that the concert was held where the St. Louis Blues ice hockey team plays? It's called the Scottrade center (now, anyway). The place is pretty large, but not like a football stadium. We were in the very top row. They were the only seats available when I went on line to check.
So, the show was not emotionally engaging for me, but I could tell that my son really enjoyed it, especially after the band warmed up. There were a few songs that I did enjoy, and I didn't dislike any of it, it just left me cold.
Speaking of cold, did I mention it was colder than a (fill in your favorite) that night? We didn't want to be burdened with jackets and "stuff" inside the arena, which meant that we were seriously cold after walking the three very long blocks from the decrepit parking garage to the concert hall. My hands were like ice. The walk back wasn't cold at all, though. I don't know if this reflected a temperature change, a change in the wind, or just adrenaline (that would be stealth or contact adrenaline in my case: I loved seeing my son have a great time, and that was pure pleasure; the music was, for me, just OK).
I did have my camera phone with me, so I took the shots included here, all of which were edited/developed with Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. They are a bit odd, but I think the give a flavor of the evening (that's a giant big screen "TV" you see in some of the shots). More details accompanies each photo.
All text and photos Copyright © 2009 James K. Bashkin
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Comments: 17
One thing I used to be amazed by was some friends who memorized the set list and talked about the sequence of songs after the show. I often knew all of the songs, and had detailed memories of the performances, but couldn't ever write down a set list in the car on the way home. Our minds process information in lots of different ways, but the emotions are the most important part of these experiences (along with the music, itself), I think. Scott, I'm sure that those memories will be there for your daughter for her whole life- great choices to take her to hear the music!
Vikki, concerts can be pretty expensive these days, which is a problem for many of us, as is finding the time. Luckily, we have some smaller venues in town that still get top-flight national acts, and tend to be pretty affordable. There is also music on the streets in some parts of town. AC/DC and the venue they played in didn't fall into the small, affordable category, but a 16th birthday only happens once, and it was well worth it.
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