"I got Kat class and I got Kat style"

AWESOME concert on Sunday night. Four bands for a whopping $9.71! Can you BELIEVE that?!!! And just look at this band line-up: Gin Blossoms, Stray Cats, The Pretenders, and ZZ Top! It was just amazing!

First off, T2 and I have general admission tickets which are for the grassy area in the back of this amphitheater. But we plop our blanket down towards the front of this grass area only to find that we....

a) can't see the band (this is the Gin Blossoms performing my favorite "Hey Jealousy" (no, no ... I SWEAR) ... but my video aiming was off because I couldn't SEE them due to distance, metal bars, and viewing from bright sunlight into shade):



but(t) (ha!) b) unfortunately, CAN clearly see this:

And this was after he had pulled his pants up! Bleck!

So after the Gin Blossoms finish, I notice the chick in front of us clamber over the wall separating us "Lawn Peon" Concert-Goers with the "Actually Have a Reserved Seat" Concert-Goers so that she could better take a picture of the Stray Cat stage setup, which was currently taking place. Then she clambers back. But all I'm thinkin' is .... "hey, no-one stopped the chicky from clambering over to the reserved seats ... so what's to stop T2 and I from doing the same ... only, we don't clamber back!?".

So that's what we did. We looked right, we looked left, we left the blanket on the grass as a viable "ahhhhh shucks, we was just going up there to take a picture" cover story in case we needed it, and we were off! Man, I tell ya ... stuff so dorky like that and yet it gets my heart a'poundin', I tell ya! (I'm such a goody-goody!).

Anyway, SUCCESS! No sirens blaring, no armed po-po coming to whisk us off to jail. Bupkus! So we casually (yet probably very obviously) meandered down to a section of empty seats and plopped into two! Whoo hooo!

And shortly thereafter, our view went to this!

Not as close as I'd like to have been .... but hella better!!! And not one butt crack in sight!

And the Stray Cats were AWESOME! They were the band I was looking forward to seeing the most as I've never seen them before! And who didn't love "The Stray Cat Strut" back in the day! Whoo hooo!

Here's a couple of mini-videos for your viewing pleasure. They don't quite capture the energy as I would have liked .... but you get the gist:






Man, the sound! The energy! That Lee Rocker on slap bass! HOLY MOLY! Sign me up each and every time these guys come to town! Too much fun!

Next up ...... The Pretenders. But while the roadies were busy changing out bands, T2 and I figure we should probably go rescue the blanket. So we walk out of the amphitheater as if we are ticket holders, then headed back into the general admission lawn section. The blanket was still there ... whew .... but extra security personnel were also stationed around (boo!)

Sneaking Back Into The Reserved Seating Area Take #1: We roll the blanket up as small as possible (not easy with an extra thick wool blanket) because we know that walking into the reserved seat area with a big ole blanket full of wet blades of grass ... looks a mite suspicious! Wait til Security Guard #1 is looking the other way, hop over the wall, and head down the ramp. Unfortunately, as we turn the corner we find Security Guard #2 right there and looking right at us. So without missing a beat we casually change direction and head right on out the doors of the amphitheater as if that was our plan all along. Foiled!

Sneaking Back Into The Reserved Seating Area Take #2: We mull a few minutes outside the doors deciding how we want to handle this when ... shazam .... Security Guard #2 walks out and away from her guard post. One quick glance at each other and T2 and I rush back in and safely back into two other empty reserved seats! WHEW! Time to sit back and enjoy!

Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders. Well, I'd like to tell you that they rocked the house and all .... but I have to admit that I didn't really pay much attention. There was a cutie-patootey single man sitting in front of us who seemed very content to chat with us the whole time. I can tell you he had beautiful eyes and a nice ass ..... but I can't tell you which songs The Pretenders played. Oops!

OH, but once I found out that Cutie-Patootey-Boy travels 45 out of 52 weeks of the year, doesn't really have a "home" since he travels so much (ie he couch-surfs), and still seemed hung up on his ex (the big 'red flag').... I did manage to refocus on the stage and snap this picture of The Pretenders for you.......

Chrissie had some pretty swanky boots! (umm, you can't really see them in this picture so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it! :))

Anyway, last, but certainly not least ....it was time for ZZ Top! Now, I'd seen ZZ once before .... but it was eons ago back in Cali and I went to the concert with my best friend at the time Viki, our good-looking coworker Art, Art's barrel-chested Navy Seal buddy, and about 4 other of the Navy Seal buddy's Navy Seal buddies. Uh yeah ........ can you say "heaven"?? So I KNOW my ticket stub says "ZZ Top" .... but to this day I have NO idea who the opening bands were or what songs were played! (The only song titles which come to mind anytime I think back on that concert are: "Flex for me, baby, one more time" and "Good God that tight t-shirt shows those rippling pec muscles to perfection!". ZZ Top songs?? No?!) Anyway, lordy, lordy, that was one helluva concert regardless of any bands playing music at all!!

This time though .... I had the chance to take a listen. And they are just too cool for words! An absolutely phenomenal show! Here's a couple of pics. (Sorry they are so blurry but I still haven't mastered taking photos while bouncing up and down in time with the music! ;))

These guys are just a hoot! And the guitar playing was amazing!! I took more video!

[dagnabit!!! Neither this new Blogger video thingamabob nor YouTube will run this video! WTF?! It meets their file size guidelines! @$#^&*($@%#@!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINE!

Sorry, folks, here's what it went like:

She's got leeeegsss, [*insert cool guitar rift*]
She knows how to use them [*insert cool guitar rift*]
She never beeeegsss, ....

(not the same??. Sigh. Oh well. I tried.)]

For one of the songs, ZZ Top brought out both Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders for a group jam. Here's a quick peek!

[See above. (grumble, grumble, grumble). I will try these video uploads later and see if the persnickety video uploaders are then in a better mood. F!]

All in all .... a fantabulous time! Thanks T2! I make the motion that all future concerts involve all fab bands instead of one good band and a couple of crappy opening bands. And that they all be less than $10! Can I get a "hell yeah"?! :)