Rarely do I go to concerts. First of all, most artists I want to see have outrageous ticket prices that I refuse to pay. Secondly, I live in the middle of nowhere. When you live around the corner from Hicks Road, you know you are definitely way off the beaten path. Most of the places where semi-big acts actually come to are at least 40 minutes away. If you want to see the extreme A-listers, we have to travel to either Albany or Syracuse, which is about an hour and a half away to either place. During the winters, it is usually not the best idea to drop money on tickets when you are not sure you will be able to travel with weather conditions.
But in 2011, I went against all my rules for deciding whether or not to go to a concert. Although not a major feat for others, I set a record by going to two different concerts in the same year! There were artists I liked enough to pay for the concert. They even turned into a family event, since my parents and brother liked the artists as well.
The first one we went to was in March at MVCC to see The Band Perry. What an amazing concert it was! They played almost an hour and a half straight. They would switch off from rockier covers like “Fat Bottomed Girls” (which I will probably never ever see the guitar solo played perfectly on a violin again), to a very stripped down version of Amazing Grace. Of course, they played their hits like “If I Die Young,” “Hip to My Heart,” and “You Lie.”
After the concert, they even met as many people that were willing to wait. We were at the end of the line, and it took an hour and a half, but they did stay and sign autographs and take pictures with everyone. This was literally the week before Lauren Alaina performed their hit “If I Die Young” on American Idol that pushed them from trying to break in, to country stars. There is no way they will ever come back to a place like MVCC for the price we paid. Although I want to see them again, I know I will not have the same experience that I had at MVCC.
The second concert I saw was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, again my family and I went to the concert together. It was to see Gloriana at the Turning Stone Casino Showroom. Again, the price was definitely worth seeing the group, especially since two of the band members are from New Hartford, and this was their first concert “home” since making it big. Once again, we were blown away by the great music, and we were even treated to hearing quite a few songs on their upcoming CD that is going to be released.
One new song included the "Soldier Song" that they wrote about their time when they did a USO tour in Iraq. They even brought some people on stage that they knew were stationed at the neighboring Fort Drum, which was great. They did sign autographs after the show, but they were only going to stay for a bit because they had to be at the next city. We decided when we looked at our spot in the line that it was not worth the wait.
So far, I have yet to find a concert worth the money, but I am definitely hopeful that I find opportunities like I did last year.
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