Chicago

My phone rang. “Want to go to Starwood tonight to a concert?” asked my honey. Starwood is one of those huge outdoors amphitheaters where groups hold concerts for hundreds of spectators.

“My boss has two tickets he can’t use.”  That explained it, an opportunity to smooze the boss.

“Okay, sure, we can go,” I heard myself saying. It wasn’t until later that it occurred to me that I didn’t even know who was playing.   

“Oh, God, please don’t let it be a rock band.”  Surely, his boss wouldn’t have tickets to see a rock band, would he?

Naturally, it was a rock band.  Thank goodness, it was not hard rock, but an older rock sound popular in the youth of the baby boomer set, Chicago.

We went early to find a good parking place and get to our seats.  So did everyone else.  Old people don’t like to hurry.

We went through the lines where little old ladies had their pocketbooks searched.  The little old ladies didn’t look much like terrorist types, so I figured they were smuggling drugs. I didn’t see anyone get busted for their arthritis medication, however.

We then watched as the old folks had I.D.’s checked for the purchase of beer.  Imagine the astonishment of the old people who were being carded for the first time in over 30 years.

When the concert finally started, it consisted of black guys in purple jumpsuits with electric guitars and ancient white guys with horns.  The first group was called Earth, Wind and Fire. They were loud, really loud.  You can only imagine the size of the speakers needed to reach all the way to the back of an outdoor theater. We sure wouldn’t need a hearing aid tonight.

The sound blew my hair straight in about 10 minutes. The level of excitement seemed to increase with the volume. Naturally, my seat was right behind John Travolta’s grandfather, who stood up and danced through the whole performance.

When the main group, Chicago, came out, there was much clapping and cheering in appreciation of the band’s reputation and the standing ovations lasted throughout most of the concert. The sound was so intense it vibrated through my body and I could feel as well as hear it. By this time I knew my hearing would be gone for at least a month.

We stood up through most of the concert to be able to see, pitiful considering the price of the seats. The rock groups had amazing stamina for old guys, playing all evening with only one break between bands. My stamina, on the other hand, was not so hot and my feet were killing me.

Chicago played all the old songs that they made famous, one hit after another.  I must admit that they are as good as they ever were, maybe better, in spite of their age and numerous changes from the original band members.

Large screens were set up on either side of the stage to project their wrinkles in graphic detail and remind you just how long they have been
playing.

The group has been making music for 35 years and has sold 120 million records.  They became famous in the 60’s and 70’s for a sophisticated style of playing rock 'n' roll with horns, creating a uniquely different jazz-rock sound that propelled them into fame in the world of pop music and eventually made them a legacy.

So, that was my exciting weekend.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a concert, and will probably be a long time before I go again.  The older I get, the less I seem to enjoy crowds and traffic, regardless of how hot the tickets are.

However, it is nice to know that a few groups from other generations are still capable of drawing huge crowds, and also that we old fossils can still almost hold up through an entire rock concert.