Adventures in Metalville

Oh a blistering June 19th I went to the M3 Rock Festival with a bunch of my like-minded rock 'n roll comrades. For those who don't know, the M3 Rock Festival is held in Columbia MD at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. This was my second year (last year being the festivals inaugural year) and it was better than the last (and last year rocked).

Early in the day I'd heard that attendance was at least double from the year before (confirmed later by radio reports). That was no secret to those of us trudging around the grounds, in search of water, bands on either the pavilion or festival stage, or just out and about socializing. What you see above is just a mere sampling of the sweaty, happy metal masses - it was packed! And good vibes abounded. Despite the heat and desperate lack of air movement, I saw smiles everywhere and didn't encounter one second of rudeness from anyone. In fact, everyone I did encounter was cheerful, flirty and friendly. Ah, these are my people: the joyful 80's metal/rock fans.

As with many concerts I go to (as mentioned in my last blog), the age of attendees was not limited to my generation. In fact, there were quite a few kids and teenagers there, which was great to see. Gotta keep that 80's sound alive, ya know? No child should be deprived of the dark seediness of L.A. Guns unique sound (the original vampires, kiddies), the bluesy kick ass groove in just about every Cinderella song, or the mean ass riffs laid down for the last 40+ years by Matthias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker of the Scorpions. Click here for pics of the bands from this year and last year.

Some of the best things I saw, in no particular order, were:

- A kid, about 12, sporting a mullet wig
- Quite a few skullets
- A chick in pleather pants (hello, it was over 100 degrees!)
- The crowd just lovin' our home town boys, KIX. And KIX just lovin' us back
- A black transvestite with bigger boobs than mine
- The Bret Michaels wanna be
- A kid wearing the same Cinderella tour tshirt I got (and still have) from circa 1986 when they toured with Bon Jovi
- A handful of guys from my generation, lookin' goooooood
- Pete Loran, signer for Trixter, is STILL a hottie and a half

It was a good, good day and a good, good time.

In closing, I'd like to mention that this past weekend, there were 17 arrests at the Phish concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Hmm, seventeen arrests at the tree hugger concert, and no mention of such an issue at the metalhead all day festival the weekend before. Well so much for the peace and love neo-hippies. Pfft take a bath, eat some meat, and put your metal horns in the air!!

Music Can Never Make Me Feel Old

Earlier this month my friend Kate and I went to see Hall & Oats for the second time in a little more than a year. As usual, you forget how big their catalog is. As usual, they didn't disappoint.

And as usual, Kate and I people watched before the show. Among the many mismatched couples, odd clothing choices, and bad make up applications, one thing I noticed was that there was a good range of ages at the show. I saw teenagers, 20 and 30 somethings, people my own age, and people older and much older than me. Being the lifelong avid music lover, seeing this warmed my heart, because like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, "Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without." And here were many people of many ages who could not do without.

There had been an empty seat next to me, causing a separation between myself and what appeared to be about an 11 yr old girl and her mom, who looked around my age. Close to show time the husband/father showed up. He too appeared to be about my age, and immediately began wise cracking with me. Well anyone who knows me, knows I love this so we bantered back and forth a bit. It was all good.

And then it happened.

At one point he turned to me and the exchange went something like this:

Guy: "Wow, this really brings it all home, doesn't it?"
Me: "What does?"
Guy: "The age of the people here. Man, we're old!"
Me: "There are plenty of people older than me here."
Guy: (laughing) "Not by much!"
Me: *GLARE*
Guy: "Maybe not."

Ok, really?! Yeah, we didn't speak again.

Seems he failed to notice the white haired woman in her 60's sitting next to his wife. Seems he failed to notice the varying ages of the people in attendance, including his own daughter. Seems he failed to notice my obvious hotness. But more importantly, he failed to notice that music, and I think especially a live music event, should make you feel young spirited and enlivened, not "bring home" how aged you are. And sure enough, he didn't dance or clap or sing once. He totally missed the point of being there.

Daryl and John should give that guy his money back.

Uncovering the Prince and Finding a Douche

I was perusing CNN.com today and came across this article about the comparison between real men and the men in romance novels. The part that stood out to me was:

"I've always said a romance hero can be deeply flawed ... as long as he's willing to rush into a burning building to rescue a basket of kittens.

He might be a haughty Brit looking down his nose from the lofty edifice of his pride, like Mr. Darcy. He might be a brawny Scot so blinded by hatred for his enemy that he nearly misses the chance for love standing right in front of him. These days, he might even be a werewolf or a vampire, sparkly or not.

But the one thing he will never be is a serial cheater who repeatedly betrays the woman he claims to love."

Now I know I've already included the likes of Jesse James and Tiger Woods in a past blog post, and I am quite sick of them. But I think men like them - serial cheaters - should be mentioned again here, if for no other purpose than to educate us.

A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) I was married. In fact, I was married to one of my childhood best friends; a guy I'd known well and been close to since I was about 10 yrs old. Long story short, in adulthood he turned out to be a serial cheater. And unfortunately not too long ago I ended up being briefly involved with yet another serial cheater who I'd also know for several yrs prior and considered a close friend. Hm, I sense a pattern here.... but I digress.

Anyway, as a result of these experiences I think I'm fairly qualified to pass along a quick-n-dirty check list that might help YOU spot a serial cheater, or some other such jerk-o-path. Some are just good common sense, but if you've never been lied to in a romantic relationship, or find yourself crowned the The Queen of Denial, you might miss them or brush them off. Let's begin:

1. A response of a vacant "What?" to your questions that might be hitting to close to uncovering a lie (might sometimes accompanied with a blank stare) is one of my personal favorites. This is a stall tactic both my serial cheaters used. It gives them time to think of an answer while you're repeating the question.

2. When actions and words don't match, this is a dead give away that some one is lying, even when they appear good at lying. Once again, both my cheaters are guilty of this. Is there a handbook for them out there that I'm not aware of?

3. Turning red, sweating, not making direct eye contact, etc. when asked certain things or being confronted, even in the smallest way. That's probably Caught In A Lie 101, but it's worth mentioning because us girls know what we want to hear. News flash - so do they.

4. Excessive amounts of time spent texting or online, or doing so at unusual times. As a subtext to that, I'd throw in withholding cell phone unlock codes and email/account login credentials.

5. Picking up new habits, catch phrases, adopting new beliefs or viewpoints, sudden interest in a new tv show/band/hobby, changing their style of clothing, etc.. These are things we tend to do when we're trying to get some one to like us. If any of these things have nothing to do with you, you can bet that some one else has entered the picture.

6. The emergence of a new "friend" that he works with/plays softball with/met through so-and-so. Now, there's nothing wrong with making new friends, even those of the opposite sex, but if your man's new "friend" doesn't appear interested in meeting you and/or knowing you, there's likely more than friendship going on there.

7. Unaccounted for/unexplained time. This means unexplained lunch breaks (regardless of the shift he works), changes in their schedule (earlier or later than usual to and from work/the gym/sports practice, etc.). If unanswered, or late answered, calls and text messages are combined with this, and become a habit, start asking questions.

8. I know this seems obvious, but we women tend to hold the stupid belief that we will be the ones they'll be different for. Bullshit. Yes, I said bullshit. If a guy has a history of cheating on you, with you (yes I said with, as you could be the other woman being told a lot of lies), or in past relationships, that's a sure sign - a guy who lied in the past (or the present) to a wife or girlfriend will lie to you. About everything. About anything. Cheaters are liars. Cheaters have agendas.

9. And last but not least, trust your instincts. If something doesn't sound or feel right or make sense, follow where your instincts lead you. They will tell you when something is suspect. They have never once failed me.

Ok, maybe twice. ;-)