I love rock 'n roll, part 2

I love Joan Jett.

Let me tell you about the first time I saw her in concert. I can say "first" because now I have seen her "twice." It was in Dixon, CA, and for those of you not in the Davis / Sacramento area, Dixon is one of the capitals of Hicksville, USA. I got word that Joan Jett would be playing the May Fair, which is just a county fair or something, but it's a big deal in Dixon. I don't remember much about that day except that we waited in line for some silly ride for about an hour. When we got to the front of the line, the carnie let some of his friends cut in front of us. Then he told us the ride closes at 6, and left. It was 6, apparently. I'll leave out the details, but angry words and a neon purple & green toy octopus were thrown at the carnie by two punk rock girls in the front of the line. The carnie didn't look back, but definitely picked up his pace, afraid that we would come after him.

There was nothing else to do now but go wait for the show to start. We sat in the horrible bleachers until a cute girl in a hoodie came out on stage. I might mention that the crowd was there to see REO Speedwagon. JJ just happened to be the opening act. My friend & I screamed our heads off with excitement, and the Blackhearts started rocking the place up. It was very clear that they didn't want to be in Dixon any more than we did, so they played songs like "Fetish" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog." The crowd was completely confused, and I think, a little scared. Schmiz & I rocked out, and were the only ones in the crowd standing up.

When she finished her too-short set, we really tried to stick around for REO. By that time, however, we were sitting in the shade (still on metal bleachers) and were cold & hungry. For some reason we hadn't eaten much carnie food. So we left. We were happy.

Last night was completely different. For one thing, we were not the only ones there to see JJ. There were far fewer hicks, though there were still some. One really fat guy smelled so bad that you could smell him coming from several feet away. We had a drink before showing up, and another drink at the Bowery Ballroom. It was a good way to kill time. We met a guy from a band called Love Equals Death, that just got signed to Fat Wreck Chords. They are on tour with JJ's opening band, but they weren't playing tonight. The opening band was a nice little punk concoction called Time Again. They were fun, and it brought me back to my old days in Fresno going to punk shows all the time.

Then JJ came on, and it was great. I had to chop a few people's heads off so I could see, but it was worth it. She played hits like "Bad Reputation" and "I love Rock & Roll" and "the Theme From the Mary Tyler Moore Show." The last 5 or so songs were strung together as one non-stop rockfest, and the crowd was so pumped at the end that I actually saw a few people explode. She did an encore and then we left. I had been singing my little heart to all the songs I knew, so my throat was a little sore. Nothing I couldn't handle. Then it was off to pizza and bed, bed, bed.

Now I'm tired at work. But I'd rather be tired at work because I did something fun, than fresh as a daisy because I sit at home and be lame.