Monday, September 26, 2005

A little punk rock, and a whole lotta leather...

Okay, first things first: the Green Day Concert ROCKED! (Hi, I'm 15 again) My sister and I had SO MUCH FUN! It had been 11 years since the Dookie Tour - when we saw Green Day 3 times in 1 year. I have to admit that I thought my concert-going days were over. I had all but hung up my concert-going hat. But when my sister called me in January telling me about the "American Idiot Tour", how could I say no?

A lot has changed over the past 11 years - including my wardrobe. 11 years ago, I was still in art school. I was certainly more conservative than most, but I still sported my Doc Martins, black tights, cut-off shorts and long shirts almost daily. Saturday's concert was outdoors at SBC Park. It had been a gorgeous day, but I figured it would be smart to do the San Francisco layer thing. My first instinct was to wear my light-weight down jacket. Until I realized that it's Pink. I can't wear pink to a Green Day concert! They wouldn't even let me through the gates! (I later found out that my sister had the same realization when she considered wearing a pink shirt). I eventually came to my senses, and threw on a black, long sleeved t-shirts, dug out one of my favorite old shirts (brown plaid) and strung up my old faithful Doc Martin boots. Now I was concert ready! ;)

This photo was taken at the Xbox Booth at the concert. Apparently, Xbox is Green Day Central - whatever that means. Anyhow, they had a photo booth to have your photo taken at the concert, and they'd post it up on the web for you within the next couple of days. I figured, "Xbox? Green Day? Photo from the concert? Why Not?!"

Our timing was impeccable. (well, impeccable if you're a mid-30's fan, who doesn't really have any interest in seeing the 2 opening bands) We were about 5 rows from our seats, when the lights went down, and Green Day started to blare through the speakers. The concert itself was very cool - especially since Green Day is a local band, and this was their homecoming show. The first few sets were off of American Idiot then they sprinkled through some older stuff from Dookie, Kerplunk, and Insomniac.

Some random thoughts about how concerts have changed since I've last been:

  • It's been at least 8 years since I've been to a big-arena concert. People used to bring lighters, and hold them up and sway them during ballads. The lighters are still there, but now, people are also holding up their cell phones (glowing).
  • Security checked our bags upon entering: no water bottles, outside food, or cameras. That certainly doesn't stop people from taking photos with their camera phones, though!
  • As I said before, it's been 11 years since I last went to a Green Day concert. Back then, my sister and I noticed that they drew a very diverse crowd: families with small children, teens, 20-somethings, 30-somethings, and older. This year, I noticed the same thing - only we were "elevated" the to 30-something crowd that we used to talk about! (!)

So, that was Saturday night.

Yesterday (Sunday) we decided to get out and enjoy the sun, and trekked over to The Folsom Street Fair. It was a gorgeous day - mid to high 70s, and just perfect weather for walking around naked. (don't worry, Mom & Dad, I was not walking around naked) :)

We go to the Folsom Street Fair nearly every year, so I'd guess I've been at least 6-8 times by now. You know you've been too many times when nothing that you see phases you at all. Fully naked people, people performing sexual acts in public, "shocking" outfits, etc., whatever It's the Folsom Street Fair! What do you expect?

You also know that you've been too many times when Pete points out "masturbation man" and notices, "Oh- he's lost weight since last year".

And on that note, I'll leave you with a photo that I took yesterday, and one of Dick's favorite lines that he says every year at The Folsom Street Fair:

"Not a real cop."

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