The Music was Like, Omigod, Totally Awesome!

Yes, I was a teenager in the 80’s.  No, I was not a “valley girl” and did not speak that way.  I was, however, recently brought back to the 80’s as I attended a local summer concert.

I have always loved attending outdoor concerts in the nice weather, and I have been aware that many suburbs host summer concert series.  This summer, rather than just thinking about them and attending perhaps one, I would make a real effort to enjoy more outdoor live music.  I had a plan. Instead of going to the different community websites and printing out their summer concert schedules, I printed out blank weekly calendar pages and started filling in the dates with various concerts from various nearby towns.  I have absolutely no excuse to not hear live music at least several times this summer! Each week, area concerts are scheduled 3-4 days per week! I can now just look at my schedule and find a local concert!

My first concert of the summer was a WINNER!  My husband and I attended a concert by an 80’s cover band, Sixteen Candles.  I had heard of the band in the past, but this was my first time hearing and watching them perform. This took place in a beautiful venue in Wheeling, Illinois, just a short drive from home.  I had never actually been there before; I realized that I was missing out! I have already entered the Wheeling Park District summer entertainment schedule into my good old fashion paper calendar of summer concerts!

We arrived a little bit after the concert started, so we planted ourselves not in the main area but a little bit higher on a hill.  This was perfect! We had a good view, we could hear the concert clearly without having speakers blaring right at us, and, I would not be too distracting.  Before he had made other plans, I invited my son to join my husband and myself. He did not want to come because he said that I would be bouncing around and dancing too much and that it would embarrass him. He would have been correct.  When I hear 80’s music, I NEVER SIT STILL!  I was bouncing in my seat all night. Near the end of the evening, there were fewer people around us, so I was out of my chair and dancing (can you really NOT dance when you hear “Footloose” or “Take on Me”? ) without worry of obstructing anyone’s view or knocking into anyone.   

The band did a fantastic job covering a wide range of songs from the 80’s, taking you to “Africa,” “Rio,” and “Funkytown;” saying that “You Can Call Me Al” and that “Everybody Wants to Rule the World;” telling you about “Jack and Diane” and “The Summer of 69;” and more!  Every song was a great 80’s tune (IMHO), and it was a perfect start for summer concert season! I am now ready to enjoy lots of music in a wide variety of styles over the next several months!  Happy listening (and dancing)!