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I can’t remember precisely, but I started my first ticket book really early. I probably only had three or four stubs when I bought one of those old photo albums with the thick, sticky pages and the plastic sheet that pulls back and I stuck them in there. I remember looking longingly at all the empty pages and marvelling at the tickets that would ultimately fill them. I recently filled my fourth album and I’m shopping around for number five.
When I first arranged my tickets in the album I decided to include a little piece of paper with each stub. For some reason I deemed the necessary information to include was* the headliner/opening act(s), the venue, the date, who I went to the concert with, and finally a number that tallies how many concerts I’ve been to (this last figure is very suspect. Some bar/nightclub shows were included while some were not and festivals have always counted as one concert only, even a ten-day festival where I might see thirty bands). My compulsive nature has compelled me to continue the practise up to this very day so every ticket stub I own is accompanied by the same sort of information in the same OCD order, no matter how redundant.
Hence, the information written in ink beside this particular ticket reads:
Rod Stewart
Moncton Coliseum
June 6th, 1989
-Kristie/Derrick
(25)
(The names of my concert companions are always preceded by a hyphen, and the number of concerts attended is always circled. It can be no other way, obviously.)
“Wait a minute!” I can almost hear you cry. “The ticket stub clearly indicates that this Rod Stewart concert was on May 16th,” you’re thinking, you little detective you. “Not June 6th!”
Aha! Just when you thought I was crazy for meticulously writing down all of that redundant information I offer you a prime example of the importance of my curating efforts. Rod Stewart suffered a bout of the ‘flu and had postponed his east coast tour by three weeks and in the era of pre-printed tickets there was no re-issuing of tickets with the new date so I am left with my original, misleading stub.
There’s nothing better/worse than discovering justification for your quirks.
Anyway, this show was great. It was the only time I’ve ever seen Mr. Stewart and at the time I was shocked and surprised at the breadth of his career. I went in thinking half the show was going to be songs like If You Think I’m Sexy and it soon started to dawn on me that he doesn’t actually have any other songs like that. And as a guy who dreams of being a one-hit wonder I can’t fault a man for having one popular disco song.
Instead he has songs like Gasoline Alley, Maggie Mae, You’re In My Heart and an endless mixtape of others going all the way back to the Small Faces. And what a fantastic voice he has to wrap that great material around.
Rod Stewart even showed off his impressive footballing skills by kicking dozens of soccer balls from the stage all the way to the back of the concert bowl. You know me, I was clamouring to catch one (most likely in the face) as much as the next guy but I didn’t. I should be so lucky.
And while Rod has officially been checked off of my Need To See ‘Em list it feels like he hasn’t been; I should really see him again now that I have a bit more of an appreciation for his amazing career.
And if I get half a chance, you know I will.
*I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that I didn’t decide way back to write a little review of each concert as well. What a loss.
Todd Man Out 