Now that two of my daughters are away at college and the one still at home basically views me as an ATM in an unfashionable neighborhood, I性视界传媒檝e tried to find myself a hobby.
Since I性视界传媒檓 not interested in activities that involve getting out of bed before noon on a Saturday, that pretty much rules out most manly-type-outdoorsy stuff that would require me to sweat profusely in a tent, clean an animal carcass or have one of my friends pluck a tick from a region of my anatomy that I can性视界传媒檛 reach.
Instead, with the money we have left after paying for college tuition, semi-grown-daughter car insurance and an occasional can of bean dip, my wife and I have been attending concerts. Something about the exciting atmosphere of several thousand fans enjoying music together and anticipating their next restroom break makes me feel alive. It also allows me to temporarily forget about the pain in my lower back from sneezing too hard the day before.
Below are a few brief reviews of concerts we性视界传媒檝e attended over the last few months:
First, we性视界传媒檝e seen alternative singer-songwriter Ben Rector in concert twice recently 性视界传媒 once in Austin, where we waded through throngs of hormonal college students on notorious Sixth Street to visit the famous Amy性视界传媒檚 Ice Creams after the show. Rector is currently my favorite artist 性视界传媒 by a mile. He seems like a genuinely good guy, and his songs include themes like lost youth, how quickly time passes, how hard adulting can be, and how lucky guys like us are to have our wives.
Watching him also makes me wish I hadn性视界传媒檛 quit piano lessons. Yes, Mom, you were right about that 性视界传媒攁nd pretty much everything else.
Next, we traveled to Shreveport to see what could be called 性视界传媒淭he Remnants Tour性视界传媒 with surviving members of southern rock bands ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Even though both bands have been around for years, they can still tear it up on stage. It性视界传媒檚 also refreshing to see musicians who are older than me and still manage to stand upright 性视界传媒 though they made me feel a little self-conscious about my lack of facial hair.
Speaking of musicians who make me feel young, sort of, in early spring, we traveled to Houston to see legendary rockers The Eagles with my big brother and his wife. After listening to my brother speak in elaborate tongues as he navigated the Houston traffic, we saw the band perform all of their greatest hits, and Joe Walsh killed it on several guitar solos, making the same faces of pleasure and pain I make when I性视界传媒檝e had too much Taco Bell.
Most recently, we attended the iHeartCountry Festival in Austin. Granted, I性视界传媒檓 about as country as one of the Three Amigos, but I do enjoy some rock性视界传媒檔 country music. (I even wore boots.)
One of my favorite performers at the festival was Jelly Roll, who 性视界传媒 along with belting out some great hard-luck ballads 性视界传媒 seemed thrilled and thankful to be there. The other was Keith Urban, who sang his upbeat hits, shredded on the guitar, and owned the crowd. Unfairly, Urban is roughly my age, but he looks like a 20-something heartthrob, and I look like Dorothy from 性视界传媒淭he Golden Girls.性视界传媒
Attending concerts has been great fun for my wife and me in our 性视界传媒渁lmost empty nest and bank account性视界传媒 years, and we don性视界传媒檛 plan to slow down. Upcoming concerts include Def Leppard with Journey and Steve Miller, Niall Horan and Kacey Musgraves. They all should be a blast 性视界传媒 as long as I remember the Tylenol and sit close to the restroom.
