Nothing beats a classic rock concert-especially when you get handed two free tickets. 3 Doors Down has been a band that I've loved for years-but not one that I necessarily had a huge desire to go out of my way and see in concert. When Lupe and I saw that they were playing a show at Mohegan Sun though, we obviously jumped on the opportunity for the same reason we do most things: why not? Due to my lack of punctuality, we were half an hour late-running through the venue. When we asked the box office if any tickets have "dropped," the lady on the other side looked puzzled. She must be new. After asking if any more tickets were available, she showed us a few open seats on the upper level. At this point, I was feeling irritated because we always get tickets. There's no maybe, or sucking it up and taking bad seats. A scalper approached us, asking if we wanted tickets, but he had seats in the same section that the box office offered. Since the concert had already started, we figured that we would just buy those seats and for once, suck it up. As Lupe was taking money out of the ATM, I ranted about the ticket issue and a guy stood up from a bench next to us. "You girls going to the concert?" he asked. We nodded. "That's too bad," he said. "I have these spare tickets." "Oh, well we don't actually have tickets yet," I said. He handed us the tickets, saying that they were complimentary. I asked him where the seats were and he said, "Does it matter if they're free?" Of course, Lupe and I were ecstatic but couldn't believe he was actually handing us free tickets. He explained that a friend had bailed on him and since he got them for free himself, he wouldn't charge us. SCORE. Honestly, I'm not that surprised because this kind of stuff is bound to happen when you've been to a ridiculous amount of shows. So, we waltzed right in and took our seats-which weren't too shabby.
Seether began to play, but unless you were a huge fan of them, you wouldn't even know it. During the entire set, they didn't interact with the audience at all or introduce themselves. Their set was decent, but I wasn't impressed with their entertainment side of the show. They played hits like "Remedy," "Rise Above This," and "Breakdown." Finally, at the end before leaving the stage, the band actually stopped to talk and thanked everyone. Some of the hardcore Seether fans got up, and just like what happened with Wiz Khalifa fans at the Fall Out Boy concert, a small chunk of the audience didn't stick around for 3 Doors Down...which is incredibly pointless.
3 Doors Down came out, and I knew we were in for a show. Lead singer Brad Arnold made a point to thank the audience after every song, and stopped to tell a few stories here and there. They started the show with the classic song, "Here Without You." Everyone was jamming out to "Kryptonite," "Let Me Go," "It's Not My Time," and "Away From The Sun." The thing I really loved about the show as a whole was the fact that I wasn't being bombarded by screaming fangirls and people shoving me around left and right. For once, I actually had the chance to sit down, relax, and enjoy great music. Everyone surrounding me was jamming and singing along-without being in my space. The air was continuously filled with a great mixture of beer, happiness, and classic rock and roll. The band exited the stage, but came back for an encore of "When I'm Gone." Not a single person didn't feel the energy in the arena at that moment. I was definitely air-guitaring and belting the lyrics alongside both young and old fans. This show definitely taught me that older bands provide a totally different environment-and they can still rock the shit out of a huge concert venue. Props to you guys, and keep on killin' it.
