My Birthday with Elvis

In order to help distract me from the piling on of years, LSB piled on the birthday gifts--including a shiny, new iPod (my old mini mysteriously disappeared during a recent trip) and a weekend getaway to Saratoga Springs, NY to see Elvis Costello and The Police at SPAC.

Pucho Brown II

I've been a fan of The Police since I was a small child and later developed an interest in Elvis Costello during my time as a seriously mediocre DJ for my college radio station. When this tour was announced, I felt like it was designed just for me--sort of like when you walk into a store (or watch an episode of something like "House") and hear 2-3 songs from your personal collection right in a row and think, wow, they really nailed the demographics on this one--I should buy some pants here or something. Sort of like that, but different.

pants

SPAC has this strange "beer garden" set-up: an enclosed pen far from the stage, which was the only place you could purchase and consume alcohol. Standing in the isolated alcohol holding pen, I suddenly felt like a elderly smoker who has been forced to watch helplessly as their freedoms have slowly been stripped away, year after year, until they find themselves relegated to a tiny, glass enclosed waiting area in the most remote part of the airport terminal.

So, we were in the process of drinking our Yankee-stadium-priced beers when, way off in the distance, we heard faint musical murmurs that indicated the show may have started without us. I gulped down my largish beer and helped finish LSB's smallish one and we headed out on our long journey through the masses of Saratogians to locate our little blanket on the lawn.

EC

Elvis was pretty awesome and when Sting joined in on "Alison," I couldn't have been more pleased, unless, of course, my name had been "Alison." That would have been a defining moment for me, I think. At any rate, EC finished up and the Police took the stage. Sting sounded great and Stewart Copeland had this impressive percussion set-up that looked like a blacksmith's workshop--various metal objects hanging on racks for him to hammer on now and again.

Gordo, Andy, and Stew

We met a couple on the blanket in front of us, who creatively smuggled in rum (no alcohol or glass allowed through the gates) in multiple layers of ziplock bags hidden amongst their food items. While they didn't give us any, we admired their ingenuity and befriended them nonetheless.

A beautiful evening. Thanks, LSB.