Sunday in the Park...

So wwwaaayyy back on Valentine's, Chris surprised me with concert tickets to see REO Speedwagon and Chicago.  I'm not much of a concert goer.  There are people and people and lots more people.  

Plus alcohol.  

Chris knew all that so he got us tickets on the lawn.  Which is around fewer people and has the added benefit of not being so loud we can't talk to each other.  

So this was our view when we got there:

Yes, yes, there is a stage under there.  I swear.  

By music time, it looked like this:

Honestly, I wasn't entirely convinced we would be able to go.  It is marching season, after all.  But the schedule was kind and he was free to go.  

Although he did have the added pressure of his fantasy football draft to do while at the concert.  

It was a struggle but he powered through.

We smuggled in food but purchased a water and a coke for the cost of a semester of college.  Why not?  I got my fill of people watching.  We were the youngest folks there by a decade.  Or two.  The group of people next to us were discussing their high school graduation year.  Numbers like '81 and '84 were thrown out there.  I felt silly because they actually heard some of these songs on the radio as NEW.  Not on some 80's station.  

Feeling young was not an all bad thing.

But most everyone there was hovering around 50 or 60.  Makes sense.  My dad deserves the credit for raising me properly with a love of music.  Long car drives (which in my childhood were mostly the 45 minutes to our grandparents or the two hours to Auburn) (aka driving from one side of Dallas to the other) were dominated by my dad's music.  He used to tell us we could pick the music when we started driving.  But then we started driving and he reneged on the deal.  Apparently, what he had meant to say all those years was we could pick the music when we owned the car.

Now he gets frustrated playing Candy Land with my daughter because she keeps changing the rules.

Pay back.  So sorry for ya.

No, I'm not.

The absolute BEST moment of the night happened right off the bat.  When the lead singer of REO Speedwagon came out on stage on CRUTCHES.

Y'all.

He said he hurt his ankle the night before in OKC.  He ran one way but his ankle didn't get the message.  He zigged when he should have zagged.  

I mean, you know the 80's was thirty plus years ago and he was probably in his 30's when they finally had a hit single.  And these guys GET AFTER IT on stage.  No doubt, what they do is a work.out.  But this was only a five week gig.  Unless he'd been training for it, I can totally see how his ankle would have launched a protest close to the end of their run.  

Didn't stop me from finding the situation hilarious.  

I know.  It's a character flaw.  And I hate it.  

All in all, the night was great.  The lawn was a great spot, the music was really good and the encore was "Saturday in the Park," and "25 or 6 to 4."  Which Chicago killed.  

Thanks for taking me, babe!  Upped our yearly date quota.  To maybe three!  Assuming we can still go out when we're home for Christmas.  Fingers crossed!