My summer concert plans are a disaster so far. I entered the summer with grandiose plans to see about 10 performers, some old & some new. Those plans were quickly derailed, crashed and burned not unlike any weekend “to do” list I have ever made or any financial plans for retirement I have ever structured. The culprit? As always … an evil-doer using the alias of “family obligations” has been identified, arrested, tried & convicted for viciously murdering my summer concert plans.

I had wanted to kick-off my summer concert plans by seeing Lord Huron headline at a festival. They are an up & coming indie band that I really enjoy.

My oldest daughter gave me one of their CD’s. She would certainly want to see them. Nope, despite being a big fan, she had no interest. My friends had no interest since they typically cannot be enticed to a concert unless it is a Beatles reunion with an original line-up featuring both Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe. But of course I can count on being able to drag my wife to a concert that she has absolutely no interest in attending, right? Nope, those family obligations rise up in the form of a daughter’s dance recital rehearsal. I refused to be a total loser and attend a festival by myself (Yay, I am alone and festive!), so I succumbed to having my butt caressed by the couch monster at home.

Despite the lackluster start, I figured I could recover and get my concert plans back on track when I saw tickets still available to see Steely Dan, a old fave of mine that I have never seen. Once again, news of this concert opportunity spread among family and friends generated about as much interest as a Bay City Rollers reunion tour. Wait, what? Never mind, the Bay City Rollers are already reunited and touring.

 

 

Sigh! But I had an ace up my sleeve, a more casual friend who is a known Steely Dan fan, bordering on stalker. Once again the heinous family obligations rose up, this time from his side, requiring his attendance at an out-of-town family reunion.

Then doubt crept in. These dudes (major dudes for any Steely Dan fans) are old. Their vocals were never the best in their prime. What will they sound like now? I saw 2/3 of the formerly golden-throated warblers called America in concert a couple years ago, and if I could have found a pencil to puncture my eardrums, I would have. If America sounds so bad, how bad will Becker and Fagen sound? So I grabbed caution from the wind and passed, preferring to remember their original vinyl sound complete with scratches rather than their potentially scratchy voices of today.

At that point, I needed a new concert plan. What I came up with was a plan to see 5 concerts for ZERO dollars. That’s right, 5 FREE concerts. I’m not talking about money for gas, train fare, a Mott the Hoople Reunion Tour 2016 commemorative t-shirt, or overpriced hot dogs and beer. I’m just talking about admission … $0.00. I successfully launched that plan over the Independence Day holiday weekend.

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