Score!

I have such a buzz this morning and it's got nothing to do with coffee. I got tickets to see Def Leppard and Journey perform at Jones Beach! Am I embarassed by this admission? No, I am shameless in my love of 70's hair bands.

Tickets went on sale this morning at 9 am and there I was, at my computer, positioned like a race car driver. My hand on the mouse, I was staring at the screen with such a ferocity that neither C or Zoe were safe.

Just like REO Speedwagon, I have a very special place in my heart for Journey - probably even more so. Journey was my personal camp band. And when I got my driver's license, I blasted the CD in my car, feeling my heart soar, and knew I could sing like Steve Perry does in "Faithfully". Despite cracking the windows when I got to the "I'm Foreeeeeeeeeee- Verrrrrrrr Yourssssssss!".

Somewhere over the Atlantic in 1993...

Is that M singing Journey again?

I've missed many an opportunity to score tickets to some of the hottest shows around. But this one, this one I sniffed out and hunted down like fresh meat. "Hot tickets" being in the eye of the beholder.

In my attempt to get tickets, it was crazy. My heart was racing and my breathing was shallow. I was hopped up like I had just had ten cups of coffee and a packet of No-Doz. I kept maniacally refreshing the screen until I would see the "Buy Tickets" symbol come up. In the olden days (we're talking horse and buggy here) you used to have to hit "redial" on the phone over and over again. You'd constantly get a busy signal, until you finally got through and they were all sold out. God, I love the Internet.

C: I may have to work that-

Me (eyes never leaving the screen): You're coming.

C: What time is it?

Me: Start calling in some favors - you're leaving work early to be there.

Don't get me wrong; there's something in it for him too. He gets to see Def Leppard. Not that they were as big in the UK as they were here, but still.

Def Leppard sounding the siren call for all the British expats in the land

And now I've got the tickets, in a great location near the stage. I am so excited, I can once more sing from the hilltops in that falsetto, bleeding the ears of a new generation. Even though Steve Perry was the heart and soul of the group, beggars can't be choosers. So he got kicked out and they've got some other guy fronting the band, but I don't care! I just wanna hear some Journey!

The force behind the Great Hair Product and Lycra Drought of 1980