Almost thirty years ago REO Speedwagon performed with Journey at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in New York and I wasn't allowed to go. Granted I was only eight but I still couldn't understand why I had to go to bed early while my older sister and brother were out living it up at their very first concert. It was 1982 and both bands were just beginning to explode on the scene yet the closest I could get to feeling that heat was occasionally listening to my sister's albums, (I preferred Journey), on her prized bean bag chair when she wasn't too busy locking me out of her room while talking to her friends on her non cordless phone. I didn't even get a token souvenir t-shirt.
Well, I guess what they say about reliving your past to set things straight is true, as I've been noticing that my appreciation for classic rock has been growing as I've been getting old - maturing. I used to attribute it to getting tired of the junk they usually play or to working out more,(I like to listen to the radio when I do), but I think there's more to it that that. True, they do take me back to my childhood, but this time the words have a meaning that resonates in a way that wasn't possible before. At 6, REO Speedwagon would have been lost on me as the only person I thing I really cared for outside my immediate family was Kermit the Frog, but at nearly 36, I can now relate to the words in a way that I couldn't before and gain some insight too.
Not many artists these days can even sing let alone produce songs with any real lyrics, so when I heard that this iconic group was playing tonight, (along with Eddie Money), I knew I had to go. I may have had no say in the matter before but this time I do and I don't want to miss out again. I need to find closure if I'm ever going to "Roll With the Changes," and if I wait around another thirty years they probably won't be here.
