Our STP Concert Experience 8/16/10

My ears are still ringing, and I've only had 4 hours of sleep but it was so worth it!

We arrived in Milwaukee at 6:30pm, and were able to find our usual free parking spot when we attend concerts at The Rave. If we would have arrived any later, I think we would have had to pay for parking or hike a bit farther.

We found a rail spot, in front and to the left. It turned out to be perfect, no crowd surfers kicking me in the head, no mosh pit crushing my lungs and feet, and I had an unobstructed view of Rob. :) He has the best guitar rock stance! 

I decided to wear my Birkies this time and it paid off. We were on our feet for a total of about 6 hours, and I'm happy to report no Plantar Fasciitis this time around. When DS11 insisted we do our daily morning walk, I thought I would be hurting, but after that first 1/2 a mile, my feet felt better. Either they loosened up or my exercising kicked in those pain endorphins.

Unlike most concert participants, DH & I do not drink. We know this only leads to having to go to the bathroom which means losing your prime front spot concert real estate. So when the show wrapped after midnight, we were beyond thirsty, and not to mention hungry having skipped supper. We amazingly found a Wendy's open at 12:30am, and I think it was the best tasting Diet Coke I have ever had in my life. Today of course, it back off of soda and NutraSweet, but last night, it was so tasty!

The STP show had two opening acts who were pretty good, but I was more than ready for STP to begin their set. The band seemed very together this time around, no technically difficulties or personal difficulties either. It was a much better show than last March, a perfect date night, despite the cotton ears I am now suffering.

STP TONIGHT!!!!

Its date night and an exciting one at that. When DH gets home from work, we'll be heading to Milwaukee for the Stone Temple Pilots concert.

I should be more excited, but I just finished reading Fall To Pieces by Mary Forsberg Weiland and its left me with a lingering sadness. Mary is/was Scott's wife. Scott is the lead singer for STP. The book tells of their struggles with drug addiction and the breakup of their marriage.

One thing I'm taking away from reading her autobiography, I'm making sure my children have good nutrition. If we don't put into our bodies what our brains need to function the chemical imbalances can leave our brains damaged. Even before the drugs go in, prescribed or not, we should evaluate how whole, nutritious foods can help us first.

Reading about how drug addicts take prescribed drugs to keep them off of the illegal ones seems crazy to me. Take this drug because it will keep you from craving another. It doesn't make any sense! Isn't that trading one for the other? I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies are happy because they make the profit not the street dealers, but this answer doesn't really help the individual overcome their chemical imbalances.

In Mary's book she writes about how as a baby she was fed Carnation Evaporated milk, not breast milk or formula and how she had access to drink all the grape cough syrup she could get her hands on. I can't help but wonder if this damaged her brain development, leaving her prone to her mental illness.

I can understand how a person may need drugs for mental illness, perhaps for the rest of their lives if their brain is incapable of making the necessary chemicals and hormones on its own, but I have to wonder how many of these people suffering with mental illnesses could have been helped if they had healthy beginnings?

I'm going to make a larger effort to encourage my boys to eat more healthy. I did nurse them and when they were little guys, they ate fruits and veggies. Of course now that they are older they have more power to choose what's going in their mouths. Besides the usual broccoli, carrots, corn and apples, I'd like them to eat more a variety of fruits and veggies.

I'm going to ask them to become "garnish" chefs, having them be responsible for the veggie preparation for our meals. I'll bring in more different kinds of produce and tell them they have to at least try it once. I'll count this towards our "health and home economics" portion of our unschooling. :)

I better get chores done here and shower so I can be ready when DH arrives home.

Stone Temple Pilots!!

Start:	Aug 16, '10 8:00p
Location:	The Rave - Milwaukee

Happy Birthday to me!!! I can't wait for another awesome date night with DH! I better start putting money away for the hearing aid I'll be needing in the future.

Our STP Concert Experience

It had been almost 2 years since DH & I last saw Stone Temple Pilots in concert. Our hopes were high and for the most part, the night did not disappoint.

Most of the show was amazing, but things fell apart at the end. Scott seemed to be forgetting lyrics and his band mates were not too pleased. At one point, they stopped playing while Scott continued to sing, seemingly unaware the music had stopped. They returned for one encore performance, but Scott messed up that as well. At the end of the show, Scott exited one way, the band mates the other.

We had prime real estate on the floor, about 3 rows from the stage. Most everyone around us was cool, but when the show began, the morons showed up and took over. The mosh pit got a little rough. At one point, I remember something hitting me in the head. It was a foot. The pain was very brief and we continued moshing until the smell got to me. Apparently last night's drunken morons don't wear deodorant and being mashed up into those stinky pits, it was distracting me from the music.

We moved back a few more rows and found the cool crowd again- those who wanted to enjoy the music and the performance. It didn't take long though before one poor soul was shot out from the moshing in front of us. He was way too wasted. I felt bad for him. His friends should have had his back, but he was lost and confused. He could barely stand up and did fall several times.

Mr. Stoner began to piss off the people in our area and eventually Boulder Man showed up. I have never seen such a human. DH says he was like something out of Lord Of The Rings, Orc like in size. I watched in amazement as Boulder Man picked up Mr. Stoner and threw him back, like he as a piece of waded up paper. Everyone around thanked Boulder Man and we all went on to enjoy the rest of the show.

I don't understand why anyone would spend the money on concert tickets only to get so wasted. How can you remember the show the next day? Why not save the money and get wasted at home, without having to bother anyone in the process?

After the show, I worried about Scott. He is such an amazing performer. I think he has the perfect voice for his genre and he moves way better than Jagger. When he's on his game, he brings something incredible to every song. STP has such an amazing catalog of music, and no one can sing it like Scott. His performance last night has me worried his demons are still around. I don't understand how someone so talented can't rise above it all and succeed.

On the drive home, we stopped to wash some of the concert residue off of us. (Beer spilled on my arm, sweaty moshing, legal and not so legal smokiness...) I stepped out of the car and to my surprise, my left foot wouldn't cooperate. The pain was intense. A few hobbling steps later I recognized it. My plantar fasciitis was back. I guess my feet weren't used to rocking out. The rest of the drive home, DH & I joked about being old.

We stopped for late night burgers at a Wendy's drive through. Why do burgers, wrapped in foil and eaten in your car at 1:00a.m. taste so good?

All in all, our date night was excellent. The show, the people watching, the bonding, the burgers. I'd love to do it all over again, even with the injuries. I'm wearing my Birkies, so my foot will heal quickly. I don't notice the bruise on my head from being kicked by Crowd Surfer Dude, unless I brush my hair.

Stone Temple Pilots ROCKED!!

First Off- Mommycore- I owe you an apology. Scott is a ROCK STAR HOTTIE!!!  His 6 pack is gone as well as his hair, but he wasn't emaciated either. How do I know this you ask?

Once again God smiled on me, and I ended up front row, up against the stage rail. I had been second, standing behind a dude half my age when I guess he decided he couldn't wait anymore. That's another benefit to staying sober. I don't drink at concerts and therefore do not need to pee!

I mentioned to DH its odd that now as I approach 40, I've been front row at the past 3 rock concerts we've been too. How have I pulled this off?

Oh... I caught another guitar pick as well!!

One more brag..... I TOUCHED SCOTT! You see he's quite the entertainer, climbing around, moving all over the stage. Well, he jumped down and walked right up to me. I placed a hand on his tattooed shoulder. It was bony as I expected, yet strangely, he felt cold to the touch. Maybe he is part lizard to be able to move that way.

Its amazing how many incredible songs STP has. They are such an under rated band. After the concert was over, I turned to DH and asked when's the next show. Sorry Ashlynn. I will be crashing your concert fun with Uncle Popcorn if STP returns.

So now I have to get back to the mom business today. I'm sleep deprived but not really hung over. We have to head into town on errands; picking up a card game we had ordered, filling up a popcorn tin for someone who may be reading this, and DS9's doctor's appointment. I also have to pick up computer parts so DH can fix mine tonight. This Dell is so slow.

Have a great Friday!