One of the joys of relationships is the chance it gives you to experience new things. Your partner may like music, food or a hobby that you never experienced before meeting your better half which expands your world and enriches your life. In the case of me and the hubby I would say I brought my love of Van Morrison, Jane Austen and fiery hot Mexican food to the table. The hubby brought his love of Korean food, war flicks and most relevant to this post...80s hair metal bands.
I did not listen to anything approaching metal in the 80s. I liked mainstream pop (Madonna, Duran Duran, and Howard Jones) sprinkled with a little alternative (Depeche Mode, the English Beat or the Smithereens). You would never have caught me rockin' out with big hair, devil horns aloft to the sounds of Metallica or Iron Maiden. But love changes everything. And since meeting my hubby I've seen many metal bands in concert: Ratt in Vegas, the Cult in DC and in Madrid, and - as the hubby loves Def Leppard - we try to catch them whenever they play in town. We recently caught Def Leppard again - this time, they were playing with Cheap Trick and Poison and can I just say??? It rocked!
Some sneaky iphone photos:
How awesome is the song "I want you to want me"? So awesome! And the lead singer still hits all the high notes and rocks out just as hard as I'm sure he did 25 years ago. It makes me wish I'd gotten on the Cheap Trick band wagon a little earlier.
Brett Michaels was also rockin' the house:
They played all their 80s hits and it was so fun! The crowd got pumped and the concert did a lot to put Brett Michaels back in my good graces after what I felt were some bad choices he made on "Rock of Love Bus".
And finally - what we'd all come for - the main event - DEF LEPPARD!!!
Ah Yeah! They were awesome as always - and I have to say I am very glad the hubby has introduced me to the rocker life. These concerts are so fun, everyone has a great time, and the bands really give it their all. On a bit more serious note, one of the great things that Def Leppard does (besides rocking super hard!) whenever they play in Virginia, is spend time at Walter Reed medical center with the soldiers and they bring a group of the recuperating soldiers out to enjoy the concert as well. So I am as impressed with their generosity as I am with their rocking.
Ultimately, even if I enjoy a concert I like to check in with the man who introduced me to hair bands, the original rocker in the family, the hubby. Luckily in this case, I think it was a thumbs up.