C is for Cat Stevens

We went to Cat Stevens yesterday. Isn't that exciting? I had no idea he sang so many cool songs.

Well it wasn't really Cat Stevens. It was a guy called Paul Dillon who did the show called Wide World and he sang and told the story of Cat Stevens. The show was chockablock full of old people. I think EGG and I brough the average age down by about 15 years. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not being judgemental but these people were pretty old. They were so old that some were wearing their mobile phones on their belts. Some were so old that they had walking sticks and were a huge chance of not making it up the stairs to their allotted seats.

Then it got me thinking, these old people were young, cool people once who probably lay around smoking pot, listening to Cat Stevens while having sex. Isn't that lovely, so I stopped judging and got into the groove (that's what they did in the early 70's isn't it, grooved).

There were lovely songs like Peace Train and Wide World all the time put into context from Paul Dillon's monologue. I just loved it. Not as much as the old man in front of me. He whooped and cheered and clapped and went off. Actually he was pretty badly behaved, but he had such a good time I forgave him. They should have had a mosh pit, that would have been a good place for him. One old lady got so emotional that she started crying. Gosh it was all happening.

At one stage Paul got us to sing the chorus to Morning Has Broken. EGG and I couldn't join in of course because we didn't know the words because we were a smidge too young. It's a lovely song Morning Has Broken. I'm thinking about it for my funeral song. Perhaps I spent too much time with the old people.

Anyway it got me thinking. Who will be our generation's Cat Stevens? Probably ABBA. Hope it's not Eminem.

U is for U2 3D

EGG and I are finding this late part of the alphabet pretty hard going. So it was with great relief that I found our Alphabet Weekend U at the movie theater when we saw U2 3D.

We don't often go to concerts. It's not because we can't be bothered (though there is an element of that). No, it's because we usually never get around to booking until...oh, about two days before the concert, and then of course it's sold out and we get a bit stroppy.

I blame Harry Connick Jr for this of course. A few years ago when he came to the thriving metropolis of Brisbane, I decided, on the day of the concert, that I had a whim to see that fine young man. I rang up and low and behold they had some tickets, but they were in the press seats at the front and would that be ok? By golly gosh, was it ok!

EGG and I rocked up to the venue and walked all the way down the front (the last time we got to sit at the front of anything was when we sneaked down the the front of the theatre at intermission because our seats at the back were so crap we couldn't see anything).

So there we were, legitimately sitting right at the front, waiting for the lovely Harry to appear. And appear he did where he made special eye contact with me all night long. (I actually may have made that last bit up, but the rest is true).

So that whole episode sort of spoilt our future concert plans as we think that the same thing is going to happen again one day. We wait in hope.

Obviously we missed seeing U2 when they last came to town. I rang up two days before hand and enquired about the availability of seats, but the telephonist just laughed and hung up. Guess not!

But what we saw was nearly as good, in fact I'll say it was even better. It was just like being at a U2 concert, or what I imagine it would be like if I actually ever got to one.

And it was made even more spectacular because it was in 3D. Now the last time I went to a 3D movie we had to wear these dinky little glasses made of white cardboard with one green cellophane lens and one red one.

Well haven't these little numbers made some progress in the last 20 or so years. No more red and green cellophane--no now they are like Roy Orbison sun glasses. So much cooler than they used to be. I was so taken with mine that I carried them in my handbag for about a month showing them to everybody I met.

But back to the concert. There was heaps of great music, lots of crowd atmosphere (on the movie, the crowd in the theatre was a bit subdued). And aren't U2 such a considerate band to each other. No wonder they've stayed together so long--they are very good sharers. No one hogged the limelight (well Bono does a bit, but that really can't be helped) and they all take turns.

The 3D effects were spectacular. At one stage I was going to have a chat with the naughty children sitting in front of me who kept waving their hands in the air until I realised it was on the movie. Midway through the movie, Bono reached out to me (shades of Harry Connick Jr) and I was going to give him a high five until commonsense took over. How ridiculous would I have looked--high fiving the air, all the while wearing Roy Orbison sunglasses. Bad enough that I was waving my mobile about to fit in with the rest of the crowd.

EGG loved the movie and asked why we didn't go to more concerts when I reminded him about our sad ticket buying history.

"That was way better than going to the concerts," he said. "Why don't they all do that and save themselves the bother of touring?"

Hey concert promoters, he might just be on to something. But remember you read it here first.

U is for U2 3D.