Review: Journey / Def Leppard Still Rock

Talk about an outing where everything went right.

On a whim, I decided to attend the Journey / Def Leppard concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC to locals). SPAC is situated in the middle of a huge lush park in Saratoga Springs, NY. A quick jaunt up the Northway (I-87) and I'm there. With a bit of ingenuity, I manage to avoid a 45 minute wait in a long snaking line on the highway to get parking, spending about 15 minutes instead. The road to the parking area is through the park under a canopy of pine trees. It's still dusk and I soak up the ambiance. They say to stop and smell the roses...it is equally enjoyable to roll down the windows and smell the pines.

I park with relative ease on a huge grass field, then face the task of getting a ticket. SPAC has a combination indoor/outdoor venue. Indoor is a two-tier setup that holds thousands. The rear of the amphitheater is open to a sloped lawn section where people sit on blankets in a semi-organized free-for-all where no one has assigned seats and it is first come first serve. Thousands more can be seated on the lawn, with views of the stage from the front of the lawn, and views of video screens in the back of the lawn. This night, there is probably 20,000 in attendance.

As I wait at the back of a line of about 50 people, a man offers a group of us an inside single ticket. Hey, I'm interested! What's the price? He paid $55 but will let it go for $35. Lawn seats are $25...I figure it's worth the extra $10 so I don't have to wait in that long line. It's a deal.

I wander to the ticket takers, hoping I haven't been duped. I'm probably too paranoid. It turns out the ticket is good and I make my way down a path through the people on the lawn. The seat, by some standards, isn't so great. I'm in the last row but not far off center. It's actually great for me. While I never ever leave my seat, I always like to have an easy "escape route" just in case. This is the same reason I prefer to sit on the aisle in a movie theater.

I'm stoked. I saw Journey here 25 years ago. Times change but yet they stay the same. The songs are the same and the high energy was definitely the same. These guys rock. But the blue fog of pot smoke hanging over the crowd, common of most concerts 25 years ago, is gone. No one is noticeably stoned or drunk. No one vomits. No one is even the slightest bit unruly. There are a couple of small beach balls being batted around but no marshmallow fights. The crowd is the same only 25 years older. And I notice the feelings that the lyrics evoke are quite different. The songs are the same but my life experiences are more complex. Now when they sing about missing their "City By The Bay," I can better relate since I've spent so much time in San Francisco and miss it myself.

Okay, for Def Leppard fans, a live experience of "Pour Some Sugar On Me" is the reason to see these guys in concert. They power through the show, which seems like a greatest hits CD, with three guitars and the drummer driving the vocals. Like Journey, the crowd knows the words and sings almost every lyric. We aren't disappointed as the final encore is PSSOM. I'm happy. The crowd is ecstatic. "Don't forget us," lead singer Joe Eliot finishes, "and we won't forget you!"

Now it is Sunday morning -- I'm hoarse and my ears are still ringing. A 'SPAC'tacular night!


Consider this etiquette / social behavior question: If you purchase an extra ticket from someone outside a venue, and end up sitting next to them inside, do either of you have any obligation to have further contact?

If you had purchased the ticket from Ticketmaster, the point would be moot, as you've had no prior contact. It just seemed odd to me that the person that sold me the ticket (it was a single ticket, I was alone, and I sat right next to him) not only never spoke to me, but never even looked at me for the next 4 hours.