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Bryceʼs ink bator
Notes from the Publisher ... Fostering ideas , conversations and arguments .
We just got out of town for a night to go see Green Day and The Smashing Pumpkins with Rancid and the Linda Lindas at American Family Field in Milwaukee . We had tickets to Green Day ’ s Hella Mega Tour in 2020 that was bumped to 2021 due to COVID but never ended up going as things weren ’ t really quite settled from COVID just yet , and Christy wasn ’ t comfortable with the crowd ( not that she ever likes a big crowd ). So , we gave the tickets to friends . Well , it ’ s round two , and this time we were good to go … or were we ?
It turns out , we ’ re pretty old , or so we feel . We picked out tickets specifically because we wanted a comfy seat for the five-plus hour event , and the last thing we wanted to do was stand up for the whole thing . I mean , I love the music , but come on . So , we got seats similar to where we had tickets to see the Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field in Chicago , right by the third baseline dugout with the stage in the center of the outfield . The infield was fenced off so no one could walk there . Well , this time our ticket sightlines were a lot worse than they were at Wrigley . This is most likely due to the fact that Wrigley is a magical place where dreams come true , and the no-longer Miller Park is … well , not .
The biggest perk to the seats was that the guys from Green Day and at least guitarist James Iha were hanging out and watching the opening bands from the dugout next to us , so we kept seeing them pop their heads up or step out onto the field for some selfies which was fun . But I think the stage show would have been a lot more fun from a higher vantage point .
My polite and reserved library-designing wife is actually a massive 2000s-era emo punk music fan , so of all the bands , she was actually most excited to see the gruff looking guys from the band Rancid do their thing , and they did not disappoint . We wish their set could have been longer . Even after seeing Green Day , the Rancid song “ Ruby Soho ” was the one stuck in my head the next day .
The ultimate insult to my creaky old knees was that once Green Day hit the
stage , everyone in the ballpark , even in our section far from the stage , was on their feet . And they stayed on their feet for over two hours . Well , not everyone , but the people right in front of us certainly never sat down all night . So that was awesome . Luckily , I could see the jumbotrons in between them even when I took sitting breaks . But I ’ m glad that they enjoyed the show for all of us . Yeah , I ’ m old and grumpy , but hey , I sat back here for a reason . So we didn ’ t love that so much .
What I did love was that our hotel had a shuttle to and from the show , and man , that was the best thing ever . Fifteen minutes after the show , we were on the shuttle and on our way back . Compared to paying $ 35 to park a half mile from the park in your own car and fighting that traffic , this made our hotel investment so much more valuable . Even if our otherwise very nice room smelled like it may have possibly been the scene of recent a murder by cologne overdose . I think someone was doing pitching practice against the wall with bottles of Brut by Febergé . My poor wife who is very bothered by strong fragrances was at least tired enough after the show that she just suffered through it . But I could still smell the room on my stuff after we got home . Only the glory of that concert shuttle saved them in my book .
In the end , I feel like I ’ m kind of done with stadium shows . To get close enough to enjoy seeing the band themselves and not just the screens and the light show , you have to subject yourself to the frantic energy of people half your age and with 10 times your energy . And no matter what you spend , unless you can get a seat in row one of a section , there is no guarantee you ’ ll actually get to kick back and just watch and listen to the show . Or , I guess we have to stick to seeing bands where everyone else in the crowd is probably at least as old as us and just as interested in sitting down after the first song .
But that ’ s nothing against Green Day . Their performance and the whole production was simply amazing . They played two of their most classic albums , Dookie and American Idiot , in their entirety . And yes , Dookie is 30 years old . THIRTY YEARS OLD ! How did that happen ? The years are flying by . So , I guess I should shut up and just go enjoy my favorite bands while I still can and , more importantly , while they still can . I just need a nap and some ibuprofen … if only I could take ibuprofen . At least I was able to sit between sets and , of course , enjoy a $ 12 brat with a $ 6 bottle of water ! That ’ s rock and roll , baby ! •
4 365INK MAGAZINE August 29 – September 11 , 2024 Issue # 468 DUBUQUE365 . COM