I thought I was destined to never see this band. I had tickets to their concert when I was in 7th grade. It was Tesla and Poison. At 12 years old, I couldn't believe that my parents were letting me go. I was beside myself with excitement and glee. But mostly because I was going and not my older sister! She had never been to a concert and the fact that I, the little sister, was going to see a HUGE show like this one, was enough for her to hate me for the rest of our childhood.
The poetic justice of this whole event came when the concert was cancelled the day of! I wanted to scream, to cry, to kill myself! My sister was overjoyed. The tickets were $25 dollars and I remember getting a full refund but keeping 5 bucks to myself and lying to my dad about it. I told him they kept five bucks for the processing fee and only gave us a refund of $20. Sucker! He was a dick anyway.
I digress.
I was excited to see Tesla at the Roseland on February 2nd. I'd waited a good 20 years to see them. I was overdue. And what do ya know? They CANCELLED!!!
They were snowed in somewhere and had to reschedule! And what day did they reschedule for?? March 6th. Last night. My son's 8th birthday!
I decided it was destiny that I was NEVER going to see Tesla live. I was never going to hear "Love Song" or "What You Give" live. Never sway along with my 80's hair and butt-rock vibe while swigging Miller Lite with my fellow butt-rockers. My sister was joyous.
And then I decided that I could do birthday stuff with my son all day, take him to his dad's house, and- at long last- see Tesla. (Does that make me a bad mother? NO- I got him a Wii for his birthday!)
I arrived at the 21 and older show around 9, went upstairs, got a drink, saw my ex-boyfriend, hid behind three hot guys, and waited. My first thought was how awfully bright it was. Every single light in the place was on. They stayed on until after Tesla took the stage and were into their first song. Odd.
I listened to the conversations around me and found out the reason every single light in the place was on. It seems that everyone else was very excited to see Tesla as well, and after a few Miller Lite's or Long Island's or shots of Jack, decided that they should get into random fights. Nothing like a bunch of 80's rockers kickin' each others asses at a Tesla show.
Tesla was fantastic. The singer was slender. The guitarist looked 12. I thought maybe they were pulling a Van Halen and he was a son of one of the band members. If I was at all interested in the accuracy of the shit I write, I might check it out online and see who he is. He was hot. I hope he's older than 12.
The best part of a show like this is Number 1: It was sold out. Number 2: Every single person in the audience was singing along to every single word of every single song. I love that! I love audience participation. It's like a Tom Petty concert. Or a Stones show. Everyone knows every song. It makes me happy and it makes me smile alot. And it makes me be nice to the bitches in front of me who keep bumping me with their big asses and spilling their beer on my toes.
I was waiting for the ballads, of course. When they started "Love Song" with the two acoustic guitars, I was a little faint. Oh yippee! They nailed it. By the time I remembered that I had a brand new super-cool digital camera with video in my purse, they were already finished with the song. I am so lame sometimes.
I pulled it out just in time to catch the next huge ballad, "What You Give." In more of my infinite wisdom, I had forgotten to bring the two gig memory card and was able to record an entire four seconds of the song before the standard memory card was full. I should be whipped for lame shit like this.
Anyways, below you will find all four seconds of that song. Totally awesome, I know. In the future, please note that I will bring the large memory card and an extra so that I can record (illegally!) a song I think you might enjoy.
I left after that. I was tired and I still needed to make it over to Berbati's Pan for the second half of the No Quarter show. I made it as far as Dante's- where I parked- and decided to skip No Quarter. I was wearing sparkly gold high heels and my feets were hurty. I jumped in the Expedition, didn't speed or tailgate, and was home in bed by 10:30.
If you would like to share with me your thoughts about the Tesla show, please email me now, alinford@entercom.com
Please note that if you do email me your comments, I will use them in my next blog and I will quote you, perhaps in a sarcastic manner, perhaps not.
If your name is Mike Phipps and you are lonely in Mississippi, please text me now.
