Tom Petty

So we went to the Allman Bros/ Tom Petty concert on Sunday. I was pretty hyped up about it. I haven't been to SPAC in a few years, and the last time I did it was for the Pink Floyd Laser Light show...which is another story in and of itself, and to see a legend like Tom Petty was a thrilling concept.
The day was perfect, a nice balmy 80, everything green like summer should be. My sister (the saint) came to babysit the kids so jake and I could go out. We left an hour early in the anticipation of parking issues. Little did we know...
Traffic off exit 13n was a bear. A lot of very inebriated teenagers yelling expletives out the window, way too many police ( how nice of them to give the child molesters and rapists a free day) guarding entrances and taking up room on medians. It took us over 2 hours from our house (exit 11 of the northway) to SPAC. The concert was supposed to start at 6pm, so I was getting anxious. The place was a zoo. Instead of finding the aging pacifistic hippies I expected, we were surrounded by punk teenagers in G-unit sweatshirts and backwards hats. The air was literally thick with the pungent odors of pot, cheap booze and tobacco. Every ten seconds we were pushed aside by people who had left their manners at home. (at one point I was actually pushed very hard into the lap of the guy next to me) So our view was completely obstructed, and we were jostled so much, i could have come home and given lucas a milkshake.
The Allmany brothers droned on for much too long. Don't get me wrong, I like the Allman brothers as much as the next guy, but there is only so much I can listen to an opener when I am there for the meat and potatoes. They ended up not getting off the stage until 9:30, and Tom got up after 10. At this point, the park was getting pretty chilly, I had a headache from the fumes, both of our hands were sore from being stepped on, and having ashes flicked on them. Frustration overtook my excitement, especially when we realized as Tom began to play that we could hear nothing. We worked our way closer to the stage, but to no avail. Every time he spoke to the crowd, we strained to hear and heard nothing but mumbles. We recognized the song not by hearing Tom, but by hearing the rest of the crowd belt it out. (which I do have to admit, hearing 25,000 people singing Free Falling was pretty enrapturing) We left early. Stevie Nicks was supposed to make a surprise appearance, my idol, my woman, and we left before seeing her. Because even if she had come on, it was 11:15, jake had work the next day, Julia had to be relieved so she could go home, it was getting very cold, and we wouldn't have been able to hear her anyway. So it was with heavy heart that we trudged back to bewilderingly look for our car in the sea of SUVs, Minivans and lowered Dodge Neons with fancy wheels. I felt old. I felt like maybe we have passed by the time in our lives where risking a contact high and getting trampled were adventures. We came home, jake fell asleep and I nursed Lucas. And that felt good. So next time he comes to town, I will be equally excited, but I will fork over the extra 40 bucks a ticket to sit inside.