Ridin' The Storm Out

As I sat in the warm sun of the east side of the Raider's stadium this afternoon, my mind drifted back to a time when I found myself at stadiums on a regular basis. I attended my share of sporting events, primarily college football, but I also found myself in the stands for a whole lot of rock and roll. The kids, they love the rock and roll.
Growing up in Colorado, there was a series of summer concerts with a list of big name acts - heavy hitters like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, and the Doobie Brothers. These headliners were usually supported by two or three acts of somewhat lesser stature, but still featured performers: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Sammy Hagar, Steve Miller. Then there was the opening act. These guys had to go on stage sometime just after noon and warm up a crowd that came to see the headliner, and the booze and drugs had yet to kick in. John Sebastian, of Loving Spoonful and "Welcome Back" fame, started the day for a throng awaiting Fleetwood Mac. His ebullient presence rubbed us all pretty raw anyway, but he kept asking a crowd standing on the field of the university of Colorado at Boulder, "How ya doin', Denver?" Not just once, but a dozen times.
These "Colorado Sun Days" were generally organized around a theme or at least a sound - country rock, pop, surf. Then there was the bill of hard rock put together that opened with Richie Blackmore's Rainbow, followed by Ted Nugent, The Scorpions, and capping off the day of head-banging was REO Speedwagon. Huh? What was that about? It was at this show that my sense of community at rock shows was cemented forever. About halfway through Ted Nugent's set, the crowd had surged to the stage, leaving a large section of the field exposed. From my seat, I noticed that there was a guy sitting on another guy's chest, beating the living crap out of him. People wandered back and forth, carrying beer or heading to the Porta-Potties while the assault continued. Maybe it was the frenzy of the music, or the heat of the day, but when a cop finally made it over to pull the two guys apart they staggered to their feet and made like they were best friends.
I guess they must have been really big Speedwagon fans.