his name is

KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID!!

Kid Rock that is. Jack and I went down to Lakeport to see him in concert last weekend and we had a total blast! the really good news? it wasn't too loud -so I guess that proves we aren't too old, right?! {whOOp-whOOp!} as a matter of fact, I was kinda surprised by how diverse the audience was -there were kids, about 12 years old (parent of the year awards going out, there) right up to oldsters in their 70's.

I gotta admit, I like me some KR, but I wasn't sure what to expect at one of his concerts... headbangers? ghetto rappers? he's been known to hang with Hank Jr. so, maybe some good ol' boys...?? I dunno, but I was excited because this was a weekend away, without kids (cereally... can't remember the last time we've gone away w/o kids) and we walked on the wild side.

starting out, our friend tells us he'll leave our tix at the golf course, we can pick them up in the pro shop. cool... we decide since we're there, we'll just eat dinner at the golf course restaurant and head on over to the concert. we have a little bit of trouble tracking down the tickets but finally get them in hand and decide we'll just sit in the bar to eat, hoping it'll be faster than being seated in the dining room. the hostess is great and realizes that we're kinda in a time crunch so she gets our orders right in and gets us started with our salads.

meanwhile, there are a handful of peeps bellied up to the bar, among them, these 4 older gals. they're playing liar's dice and apparently, one of the gals is a newbie to the game, so there's lots of coaching going on and they're having a good time. I think it's safe to assume they've probably been there for a good part of the afternoon. dice are flying and it's getting wild.

over at our table, Jack and I are cracking up, listening to these gals shouting their bids and slamming their dice on the bar as we scarf down our salads. we exchange a few quiet little comments about how cute it is that, at their age, these gals are out, partying down. and then, you know how you hear someone say something, and it sounds like it's coming your direction but you don't know anyone else there, and what they're saying doesn't seem to apply to you so you assume they're talking to someone else?? yeah, but then... there it is again: "hey -you like tequilla??" so we both crane our necks around and sure enough old bird #1 is turned around on her barstool asking US if we like tequilla LOL! not wanting to seem lame beyond our years (I mean, c'mon... we're going to a freaking Kid Rock concert!) we both nod (probably not very convincingly) yes ...oh, us, yeah... hells yeah! and before we know it we have a couple of overflowing shot glasses along with some wedges of lime and a giant salt shaker plunked in front of us as we, (okay me) get that deer in the headlights look...

okay, at this point, I feel it's important to share the fact that, as much as I joke about needing to get my drink on, I actually very rarely drink, and when I do, it's usually nothing stronger than a margarita or a Smirnoff Ice, which is on par with a wine cooler -NEVER straight up liquor. NEVER. well, at least not since my bachelorette party, nov. 1989 -when, after way too many Kamikazi's, I filled up the map pocket on the inside of my friend Terri's passenger door with the contents of my stomach ...it wasn't pretty, and I haven't forgotten.

I was afraid to make eye contact with Jack because I have a bad habit of laughing hysterically when I get nervous ...so, I grabbed my glass, Jack and I did a quick cheers and tossed 'em back. -and I'm happy to report that I didn't puke or even fall out of my chair.

at that point old bird #3 turns to old bird #1 and says "c'mon, leave 'em alonnnne, they're trying to eat their dinnnennenner". then, old bird #2 starts yelling "who'sh turn ish it, anywaysh?"... and so it went. as we were getting ready to pay our bill, old bird #3 comes over to the table and invites us over to her house to hang out and bbq with all of them and their husbands, not that she normally just invites people over, she says, but it might be fun to have some new people... then she goes on to tell us they got there (to the bar) by boat so she's got to give us instructions to get there by car (at this point we'd already told them about 6 times that we were going to the concert) so we just smiled and thanked them and then ran like hell...

got over to the concert, which was at an outdoor venue, stood in line (forever) to show our ID's (as if my gray hair and wrinkles aren't proof enough) for wristbands so we could get drinks. then stood in line to get in. while we were in line we actually ran into a couple of friends from out of the area so we hung out with them for awhile while the opening band (Rehab) played, and we stood in line (forfrickenEVER)to get drinks. funny thing ...while we were standing there I actually had a guy grab me and pull me out of the way because his very LARGE and tall and big and sweaty-and very drunk friend, was about to fall on me. LOL ...I'm telling you, it was crazy.

we finally went to find our seats, and omg... we had such awesome seats -8th row baybee. honestly, I wouldn't have wanted to be any closer because, even with all the security, the crowd has a way of surging forward and it becomes more like a mosh pit and when it's 90 degrees, I don't want to be squished up against a bunch of sweaty strangers... ick ... I'm just sayin'.

so, the stage goes dark and where u at Rock, where you at? starts playing and the crowd goes wild. Kid comes out, dressed all in white, with his trademark aviators and he's looking just like the bad-ass dude you see on tv or CD covers... and by the end of the night he's in black jeans, no shirt (yyyeeeeaaooow!) and he's just this amazingly talented guy who puts on a helluva show. I was really surprised at how down to earth he was -the show wasn't full of chest thumping and macho posturing, which honestly, coming from him woulda been kinda haaawt... but he does show what a diverse performer he is when he jams on the electric guitar, then jumps in and plays the drums... he even hops up and does some old school scratching on the turn tables.... Rev Run (from Run-DMC and Runs House on MTV) comes out and he and Kid rock some of the old Run-DMC hits.

there were some mellow moments during the show, no doubt strategically timed so that old folks like me could catch their breath and maybe puff on their asthma inhalers before they keel over... like when Kid sings Picture, (the duet he did with Sheryl Crow) with one of his backup singers (who, ironically, looks like Sheryl Crow) and then when he sings Amen while a slide show of patriotic pictures shows on the big screen behind him... that was really cool. I also really appreciated that he got out there and did his thing without spouting off one way or the other about his political views... I saw an interview recently, where he said something to the effect that, that's not what he's there for... he's knows singing and song writing, not political science, he's here to entertain and just because he's a public figure it doesn't make him qualified to tell people who they should vote for, that's up to them to decide.

something else that really impressed me, because of how great he sounded, was the fact that there is no backing track... all the stuff we heard was live. I'm usually not a crazy about live shows because often times performers have so much engineering done on their studio stuff, when you hear them live they really sound like crap... but that definitely wasn't the case for this show.

*technically* no cameras are allowed at the show... but once it starts there's no way security can keep up with everyone who's whipping out their cell phones or point & shoots... so, that said, I'll leave you with a few of the pics I managed to get. ah, goooood times!

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and finally... a pic of us old (sweaty) folks.