Kansas

the kansas concert this weekend was, in a word, amazing.

to begin with, i was more than a little skeptical about the skills of musicians who are probably 60 years old, and the Superbowl image of Mick Jagger's flabby arms and tight black jeans made me hope, wish and pray that Mick was more of a creepy anomaly, and less of a standard "past-his-prime" rock star.

good news: there were no tight black jeans, i didn't see any old-man bellies, and i wasn't quite close enough to be slapped with arm flab. we had pretty good seats because we were in line almost an hour ahead of time. which is SO hardcore, right?

i didn't know many of the songs they played (so maybe i'm not as hardcore as i thought i was). but it was OK because the songs were awesome anyways.

they have a violinist -- an electric violinist -- and you wouldn't think a 60 year old short guy with poofy blond-grey hair and purple striped pants could really play anything, especially an electric violin. but he was absolutely, stunningly good. and it's hard to describe rocking on the violin." but, he did that.

Kansas is one of those bands who don't just pass the standard song formula...you know, the two-verses-a-bridge-and-a chorus-you-can-repeat-forever-if-needed formula. but clearly Kansas knows what they are doing. they are masters. that's right, MASTERS. from what i can tell. and you know how i, a relative classic-rock amateur, can tell they're masters? a) because they're old and still touring. younger people haven't been around long enough to become really, truly good. and, b) because they had so much instrumental time. because they can. do you ever hear of Three Doors Down or Fall Out Boy or John Mayer doing instrumental concerts? nope, because they probably couldn't if they wanted to. (well, maybe John Mayer could, but it'd be boring and no one would come.) there's probably not enough talent to fill up 2/3 of a concert without singing. clearly somewhere along the timeline of the evolution of rock, someone said "maybe if our music is extra loud, and we all wear tight t-shirts and some jewelry, that'll compensate for our not being all that good." can you tell i've had enough fake-talent concerts? (ok, you got me...in decades past, kansas did play concerts in their spankies.)

so, this one time before the show started, i tried to go up and say hello to one of my friends in the front area. i started to run...for no reason, really. then these two security guards grabbed me (stopping me rather dramatically) and yelled in my face, "PINK BRACELETS ONLY!" i was really startled and confused, and i probably stammered "ah, uh, can i go talk to my friend--" and they yelled "NO! NO! NO one goes up there unless you have PINK BRACELETS!!!" then i walked away, apologizing profusely and embarassed because everyone in the first three rows was staring at me with wide eyes, surely wondering who was this insane person who tried to break her way through the guards, Red-Rover style, to get to the front without a pink bracelet.

anyways. it was perfect weather (the arena is covered but outdoors) and the encore consisted of probably their two biggest hits ever (dust in the wind and carry on, my wayward son). they left the stage, the lights went out, and those moments when you wonder if they'll come back onstage seem like forever, and the crowd gets louder, and just when you think it couldn't get any louder, a few string-plucks into the acoustic "dust in the wind," it did. much louder.

...and then she smiled.