Concert Crazies

Yesterday evening, Tom and I had the opportunity to see Bryan Adams in concert, acoustic, with his band (consisting of one pianist).  I have to admit, I was very excited to see him; he did, after all, provide the song for our first dance at our wedding.  Even though I have loosely followed his career, and enjoy many of his songs, it became very clear to me yesterday evening in the ladies' restroom of the Ritz Theatre in Tiffin, OH that I am not an "ultra-fan" of any singer or band.  I had the unfortunate luck of overhearing a conversation between two 30-somethings regarding their fear of spontaneous combustion of tears and fainting spells when Bryan Adams would come on stage.  Apparently, upon their exit of the restroom (according to Tom), they were also inquiring about whether or not he would see them from the stage. 

The Ritz Theatre in Tiffin is a very nice, intimate venue.  Once we were ushered to our seats, it became apparent the women in the restroom were not the only concert crazies we would encounter.  A woman three rows ahead of us, who appeared to be over served before she arrived at the theatre was wearing a concert t-shirt from 2005 and continued to put down 4-5 beers in the 30 minutes before the concert began, then spent most of the concert asking the people in her row to let her out or back in as the proceeded to purchase more alcohol. 

I have not been to many concerts, but I am starting to notice patterns in the culture of the concert crazies.  Going back to when we went to Kamp KOME in high school, the concert crazy is characterized by inappropriate standing at random times and exhibits extreme hostility towards those who inform them that they are inhibiting the view of all the rows behind them.  There is also the characteristic dance of the concert crazies--often involving head nodding, swaying, and random finger pointing.  Inappropriate random "woo-ing" as soon as the artist begins to speak between songs is also a symptom.  I am starting to believe concert crazies also have a form of Tourette's Syndrome--causing them to yell out their favorite song titles, verbal expression of affection (I LOVE YOU!), or even inappropriate thoughts (TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS!). 

As much as I love music, and as many times as I have "loved" bands or individual artists, I can honestly say that I have never done any of the above.  Even though the concert crazies were annoying, yesterday's show was great.  It was wonderful to see someone who is honestly talented, unplugged, without sideshows.  I was, however, slightly disappointed that he did not sing our song, but I was still impressed by the fact he played for two hours without intermission.