Rock ON !!!

I’ve always wanted to go to a rock concert eversince I arrived in America. I believe it would in some way complete my “american experience”. Having moved to the Tampa Bay area proved to be pretty convenient considering there’s always some renowned band performing over the weekend.

Amol and I went for a Bon Jovi concert two weeks ago. The closest thing to a “rock concert” that I’ve ever been to was a Daler Mehndi concert in Pune. Amol was one notch higher coz not only had he been to a Daler Mehndi concert, he’d also been to a Sonu Nigam concert. Given the strong history of our attendance at live performances, we weren’t too sure how to go about the Bon Jovi concert. There were so many issues to take care of.

What do you wear? You’ve got too many options…do you sport a “I haven’t washed my clothes for a year” look… do you rent (coz there’s no way I’m buying) one of them tight fitting leather pants to gel with the regular audience at a rock concert…do you just dress up in plain old good boy clothes… or do you dress head to toe in Bon Jovi apparel…Bon Jovi t-shirt, Bon Jovi cap, Bon Jovi wrist band, bon Jovi sneakers, Bon Jovi handkerchief, Bon Jovi socks, Bon Jovi underwear, Bon Jovi this and Bon Jovi that…remember the Joey episode from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. with the Porsche thing going on for him? Well lets just say we almost pulled off a Joey. We figured the good boy look was definitely not an option coz it wouldn’t fly with our wannabe "rebel on the road" theme, so after much deliberation we figured it was best to go as ourselves i.e. two ignorant first timers at a rock concert with an air of arrogance coz we have graduate engineering degrees. (Yes, I’m aware we’re so full of it…so what you going to do about it???)

Have you tried singing along when you don’t know the words to a song? Been there done that…and sucked big time to add to that. So when our man breaks into a:
I wake up in the morning And I raise my weary head…
The 20,000 plus crowd goes:
…I got an old coat for a pillow, And the earth was last night’s bed
And I go:
La la umm la la low um um na na red
The song continues…with Bon Jovi singing
I don’t know where I’m going, Only God knows where I’ve been
The entire crowd thunders:
I’m a devil on the run A six gun lover A candle in the wind.
Of course not to be left behind, my version goes:
I’m a la la la na la la na na la a paddle in the rain.

It was pathetic. And to think I call myself a fan. I'm just glad the camera didn't zoom in on us and plant our faces on the huge screens for everyone else to see...that would have been extremely embarassing...especially if the footage made its way to a particular Late Night show with Jay Leno. But hey…no harm was done (except to my ego) and nobody died…so alls well that ends well. Plus we got bragging rights…so it was worth it.

On a serious note, Bon Jovi is a phenomenal performer. The concert was mind blowing. The special effects were out of this world…and Richie Sambora was insane.

Having survived a Bon Jovi we figured it was time to take on something different. So yesterday Amol, yours truely and a few other friends went for the Coldplay concert. Having been to a rock concert just a few days back we knew how the game was played. We arrived at the venue an hour late coz from previous experience we were aware that some small town looser band opens for the top dogs and this lame performance lasts for almost an hour…till the crowd is sick of them and boos them off stage. The place was pack. Everyone was spread out on the lawn. There were no seats…it was a first come first served thing...all you needed to reserve an area was to throw a blanket or something on the grass and then that would be your area for the night…pretty neat concept. Though our lack of exposure to outdoor concerts meant that we weren’t prepared for such hostile takeovers this time. I promise next time we’ll be well equipped with king size comforters and pillows.

The first few songs were slow and drew luke warm reactions from the crowd, but the moment they hit “Speed of Sound”, everyone went into a screaming mode . The last song for the night was “Fix You”…it was perfect.

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

The highlight of the concert was when Chris Martin slipped on stage and fell. Now THAT I’m sure was a Kodak moment…though I missed it coz I was busy noticing the pretty Indian girl standing in front of us who a few seconds later fell off the chair that she was standing on. (NO I did not offer any help...her brother did the honors...I just stood there laughing. They must've been very close considering their lips locked every 15 minutes...but let me not get into it)

Overall a pretty awesome experience. Beats a tunak tunak tunak Daler Mehndi anyday.