I think it’s safe to say that if you were a 90′s kid, you can remember the song “Ice Ice Baby”. We all rocked the parachute pants and hideous neon colored clothing. Some of us even shaved designs in the side of our heads…
When I found out that Vanilla Ice was going to be playing after last nights Rays game, I’ll admit I got a little excited. I told Dave and he went online and bought tickets for me, him and our friend Bob.
The game was fun, even though we lost. After the game, the staff quickly set up the stage for the concert. The ushers let anyone who wanted to go on the field. It’s neat being on the field. You don’t realize how big the stadium is until you look up in the stands from that point of view.
The concert was…pretty hilarious. There was a smoke machine, a drummer named Clint Eastwood (for real yo) inflatable Halloween decorations and clown dressed in a Santa Claus costume that kept spraying the crowd with bottles of water. Vanilla played his 2 hits (Ninja Rap and Ice Ice Baby) and some other stuff that was pretty terrible. The crowd got into it though and after a few minutes, everyone was kickin’ it old school.
He sure looks a lot different than he did in the 90′s, right?
Last night was most definitely the best night of the summer. I got off work at 6, Dave picked me up, and we headed down to Ybor for the Gogol Bordello show. And wow, what show it was.
Since the band wasn’t going to be on stage until probably like 9:00, Dave and I got dinner beforehand and drinks at the bar across the street from the venue. We were meeting my 2 friends from college Rambo and Grant. Rambo met us at the bar and Grant didn’t show up until Gogol had played there second song. I hadn’t seen them since graduation, so it was nice to catch up and just hang out together.
Most people have probably never heard of this band, so I’ll post a video from youtube of them on Letterman for anyone that actually reads this. They call themselves “Gypsy Punks”. I’m not really sure what that means, but I like it nonetheless. Just watch…
Ok, so imagine that for over an hour. They didn’t stop once. They’re one of those bands that you have to see live to appreciate. Yeah, they have some good albums, but their live show just blows them away. It was insane. The whole place was dancing and having a good time. How could you NOT dance to music like this? One of the coolest things about them is the mix of people they bring to their shows–old, young, black, white, hippies, punks–they were all there having a good time.
After the show we went back to the bar across the street and had a beer. We laughed, talked, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Grant still has a few more quarters left of hell. Rambo and I both agreed we are glad we never have to step foot in that place again. Rambo finished his teaching certification and is on his way to getting his masters. Dave’s friend, also named Dave, showed up. I’m so glad he’s able to come hang out with us again. Somehow in the half hour we were at the bar I lost my voice, probably from the people smoking, but I didn’t care. I was having an awesome time.
Sometime during the night I had this awesome revelation about how great my life has become. I’m almost 26 years old and can still go to concerts on a Monday like I’m in high school. I have the most amazing man in my life that is the most laid back, fun loving person I’ve ever met. He’s good to me. He has a good family. My family loves him. Minus the few pounds we want to lose, we are in good health. We both have jobs that we enjoy. We make enough money to be able to not only go to a concert on a Monday night, but get dinner and drinks beforehand.
And my friends. Wow, my friends are amazing. They’re hilarious, talented, and so into what they do. I feel so lucky to know these people. All of them are amazing.
Last night it just all came together. Everything has just fallen into place. For the past few months, I’ve felt like I’ve just been going and going without stopping. You know that phrase, “sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses?” Well that’s what I did and I realized I haven’t been happier in my entire life.
My sister got tickets to the No doubt reunion tour that happened Tuesday night. I was super excited to go since I’ve loved No Doubt since I was in 7th grade. I seriously used to blast Tragic Kingdom all the time. Gwen Stefani was, and still is, one of the coolest chicks ever. Paramore was opening for them, which is one of the few newer bands around that I actually like, so I was excited to see them as well. It was going to be a night to remember…and it sure was that.
We left for the concert Tuesday night as soon as I got off work at 6:00. Basically, the entire ride is interstate-I-75 to I-4, first exit off I-4 and you’re there. BAM! Straight shot. A car ride that should have taken 30 minutes tops ended up taking us 2 1/2 hours. I seriously have no idea what the hell was going on that night, but the traffic was freakin’ ridiculous. When we hit traffic on 75 close to the I-4 exit, I figured there was just an accident. But once we FINALLY made it to I-4, there was nothing, and I realized then that everyone was just going to the concert. My sister was freaking out. “WTF is taking so long!!! OMG, this sucks!!! OMG I’M GONNA KILL MYSELF!!!” Her friend Angelina was with us and was trying to calm her down, which was making her more pissed off. She didn’t get gas before she drove there because she figured a 1/4 tank would be enough to get there (which would have been under normal circumstances) and while we were stuck in traffic on the interstate her fuel level warning light came on. “OMFG, we’re gonna run out of gas!! IF WE RUN OUT OF GAS ON THE INTERSTATE I’M GOING TO KILL SOMEONE!!!” Chrissy seriously has anger issues. I tried to calm her down:
Me: Getting pissed off isn’t going to move the cars. There’s nothing we can do so just chill.
Chrissy: STFU. WE’RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF GAS AND I’M GOING TO CRY IF WE MISS NO DOUBT!
Me: We’re not going to run out of gas. Chill out.
While we were sitting in traffic waiting to get in, we could hear Paramore playing. We FINALLY got to the entrance and realized it was closed off. The cops were letting people out, but not in, redirecting the traffic around the block. Chrissy stopped to get gas and Angelina and I went to pee. We finally figured out how to get in to the place and made it just in time for No Doubt’s set. Chrissy finally cheered up.
No Doubt was pretty awesome. They played a lot from Tragic Kingdom, as I had hoped for. The band looked amazing. It seemed like they were just so happy to be together again touring. They were letting fans on stage. They were singing they’re old songs. I’ve been to a lot of concerts where the bands just played their set and left, not really seeming to care. They looked genuinely happy and excited to be on the stage. Chrissy took a few pictures, but I don’t think she uploaded them anywhere yet for me to steal.
The way back was much less stressful than the way there…except for the fact that we couldn’t figure out how to get to our car. All the gates were locked except for one, so we had to backtrack, along with a bunch of other people, halfway across the venue to get out. With that said, I won’t be going to a concert at the Ford Ampitheatre again.
