I'm a Rocker Chick!

I'm a rocker chick. O.k. not your big haired, tight tank top wearing, beer swilling, tramp stamp sporting, kind. More of your suburban, red wine sipping, gourmet chocolate eating, Pashmina wearing type. The only ink I have is from a Sharpie--those things really are permanent.

I'm proclaiming myself a rocker chick only because I have been to TWO concerts this week and it is only Wednesday. My wedding anniversary is today and my husband and I gave each other the gift of music. On Monday we saw Coldplay at the Shoreline Amphitheater and last night we saw Big Head Todd and the Monsters and Blues Traveler at the Mountain Winery. Both shows were great and as you can imagine were totally different.

Coldplay, of course, was a sold out huge production. Amazing light shows, old world backdrops, yellow balloons floating from out of nowhere, and a finale that included thousands of paper butterflies filling the sky with a multitude of colors. For this show, we were able to score lawn seats last minute and joined friends for a wonderful evening in the very fun and social outer regions of the venue.

I did get a glimpse of Chris Martin (in the flesh) when he somehow magically appeared on a make shift stage out in the cheap seats. He sang two or three songs for us and then as quickly as he appeared, disappeared back to the $200+ per ticket seats, where concert goers were able to read whatever he had scrawled on his arm band.

Thankfully, there were huge screens (out there where the grass grows), that enabled me (and the rest of my let's have a picnic friends) feel like we were actually at a live concert. A live concert, where you watch an amazing video with thousands of others--one that includes cool graphics, split screens, and very loud speakers. I'm really not complaining, it was great--we were all able to sing and dance to our hearts content and did not have to worry about anyone telling us to sit down.

Our Tuesday night musical adventure was at the Mountain Winery. This is a much more intimate venue that caters to the older set (my age and up). Their line up includes mostly 80's and 90's bands that bring back college memories as well as many "remember when we were dating and saw blah, blah, blah..." conversations. I love this venue. Every seat in this beautiful outdoor theater is great. Their general admission bleacher seats are close enough that you can see the performer's facial expressions. Video screens are not needed here.

For this concert we had awesome seats! We were in the front row on the left-side (if you face the stage) and it was terrific. We were right by the band's beer cooler (that unfortunately was guarded from any crazy, beer thirsty concert goers). And I gotta say, I LOVED being in the front row. We were so close that when the bass guitarist sang to the crowd, I could have sworn he was singing to me. That when John Popper, played his harmonica, I could see the spit flying in the air. The only downside here was that when the show was over, it was over. There were no encores this night. Blues Traveler played too long and due to a city noise ordinance, they quite literally had to pull the plug.

Going to these back to back shows made me realize that I must be getting old because I much prefer the smaller venue that features semi-washed up musicians over the mega-venues that host the latest and greatest bands. Who needs to be one among the tens of thousands of fans sitting way out in the nose bleed section when I can be up close in personal with a band that brings back many fond memories and is equally talented?