Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Forever In Blue Jeans, Yeah
You are the sun. I am the moon. You are the words. I am the tune. Play me.
Last night Jimbo and I and several thousand other fans ranging in age from early twenties to near death attended the Neil Diamond Concert at the Arena. All in all, it was not a bad way to spend a Monday night in J-Ville.
Before the concert, we had dinner at Mudville Grille. The place has changed since Pat's semi-glory days at Bishop Kenny. I had expected there to be some early arriving Georgia fans. The Florida-Georgia game, aka The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, is this weekend. The RVs have already started arriving. But I guess Mudville is a bit seedy for out-of-town visitors. There was a group of apparent redneck regulars at the bar. They were making fun of Neil Diamond, kidding each other that one or another of them was planning to sneak out and go to the concert. Then they started singing Neil Diamond songs. They knew all the words too. Could at least one or two of them be closet Neil fans?
We almost missed the opening because of the traffic. Jacksonville can handle the crowds for football games but they don't use the police for other events. Maybe Mayor Peyton is trying to save some money to bulk up the seriously underfunded Better Jacksonville Plan. We ended up parking farther away than we had planned, thinking it would be faster to get to the arena on foot. It was. Jim strode purposefully while I ran along beside him. It's the difference in height that makes a difference in stride. Whew. I know I got more of a workout.
Jimbo is The Neil zealot (having seen him in concert more than 3 times) but I must admit, I rather unexpectedly enjoyed the concert too. I know all the words to Sweet Caroline, I'm a Believer, Red, Red Wine, and most of the words to Cracklin' Rosie. It seems Jimbo knows all the words to all of the songs. Neil Diamond is 64 years old and surprisingly, the average age in the audience didn't appear to approach that. Some of the younger fans in our section were singing and clapping along with the old standards. While the band and the backup singers took a short break, Neil Diamond was onstage the whole time. Jim was disappointed that Neil didn't have any costume changes and the one outfit he wore was fairly conservative---just a smattering of sequins. Pat would have enjoyed the concert and, and in fact, he was given a credit card and instructions to buy the tickets and mow the grass while we were out of town. He did neither.
First they say they want you....how they really need you...........
Soooooo. He missed the concert. Maybe he'll make it next time if old Neil survives this tour. I know Jim would go again and...so would I.
Last night Jimbo and I and several thousand other fans ranging in age from early twenties to near death attended the Neil Diamond Concert at the Arena. All in all, it was not a bad way to spend a Monday night in J-Ville.
Before the concert, we had dinner at Mudville Grille. The place has changed since Pat's semi-glory days at Bishop Kenny. I had expected there to be some early arriving Georgia fans. The Florida-Georgia game, aka The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, is this weekend. The RVs have already started arriving. But I guess Mudville is a bit seedy for out-of-town visitors. There was a group of apparent redneck regulars at the bar. They were making fun of Neil Diamond, kidding each other that one or another of them was planning to sneak out and go to the concert. Then they started singing Neil Diamond songs. They knew all the words too. Could at least one or two of them be closet Neil fans?
We almost missed the opening because of the traffic. Jacksonville can handle the crowds for football games but they don't use the police for other events. Maybe Mayor Peyton is trying to save some money to bulk up the seriously underfunded Better Jacksonville Plan. We ended up parking farther away than we had planned, thinking it would be faster to get to the arena on foot. It was. Jim strode purposefully while I ran along beside him. It's the difference in height that makes a difference in stride. Whew. I know I got more of a workout.
Jimbo is The Neil zealot (having seen him in concert more than 3 times) but I must admit, I rather unexpectedly enjoyed the concert too. I know all the words to Sweet Caroline, I'm a Believer, Red, Red Wine, and most of the words to Cracklin' Rosie. It seems Jimbo knows all the words to all of the songs. Neil Diamond is 64 years old and surprisingly, the average age in the audience didn't appear to approach that. Some of the younger fans in our section were singing and clapping along with the old standards. While the band and the backup singers took a short break, Neil Diamond was onstage the whole time. Jim was disappointed that Neil didn't have any costume changes and the one outfit he wore was fairly conservative---just a smattering of sequins. Pat would have enjoyed the concert and, and in fact, he was given a credit card and instructions to buy the tickets and mow the grass while we were out of town. He did neither.
First they say they want you....how they really need you...........
Soooooo. He missed the concert. Maybe he'll make it next time if old Neil survives this tour. I know Jim would go again and...so would I.
# posted by Ginny @ 3:38 PM 
