Roni: Want to make someone feel old? Buy them tickets to see their 12 year self’s favorite bands. That’s just what Jen did to me this year for my 36th birthday. As if turning 36 isn’t a big enough clue I’m not a kid anymore, she decided to validate my fears by taking me to see Poison and Def Leppard. lol

Jen: Clearly, I was just as excited as you when I got those great tickets off of Groupon.  I was counting down the days.  I LOVED Poison when I was a kid and had many patches on my jacket…remember the acid wash jackets? I am pretty sure Roni wore her’s until she was 20.

Roni: Not quite but close. Remember I traded it in for some grunge flannel. That’s when you went all prep on me. Remember your penny loafers?

Since we’re heading down memory lane, let me show you how I listened to these bands in my “yesteryear.”

No, I didn’t have an ipod or itunes. I’m pretty sure mp3’s weren’t invented yet. No, I did’t have them on CD or even Cassette tape. Nope, I had them on, are you ready for this?

RECORD!

Now, in my defense, Mom belonged to a record club when I was a kid so when all my friends were lining their walls with cassette tapes I got records in the mail from Columbia House.

Does it make me even more old and pathetic to say, I kind of miss them?

Jen: Records!  I also had many.  I remember laying on my couch in the family room listening to them while talking on my Swatch phone. I didn’t have Poison or Def Leopard on record, I mostly had Beatles or Kenny Rogers (mom was a country fan).

Roni: Ok, since this is our TRAVEL blog let’s got off memory lane and on to the show!

Getting to the concert was a cinch. I live outside Baltimore. Jen lives in Lancaster. I drove to her house. She drove us to Hershey. There was no traffic. No highways. Just good old country road driving with the occasional hoarse and buggy back up.

I’ve never been to a concert at Hershey Park so I had no idea what to expect. The stage was set on one side of the stadium with fold up chairs arranged on the field in sections. They couldn’t get any closer together. There was also seating in the stands but only in the the first 2-3 sections that were closest to the stage. In the center of the field a large area was roped off. I’m only assuming this was to force people towards the stage side as there weren’t that many in attendance for a mid-week 20+ year old rock band show. Pushing us all up in the corner did create that crowded concert feel…

But being as old as I am, I liked that the show wasn’t wall to wall people. It was easy to navigate and pop out of the crowd for a drink or bathroom break.

OMG I am old! Only an old person would worry about those kind of things!

Jen: There were a bunch of 30something old people just like us!!  It is funny that there were hardly any kids except for the occasional teenager that was there because their parent forced them…which I would have totally done!!!

I have been to the Hershey Stadium many times in the past because I only live about 20 minutes from Hershey.  I like this venue in the summer because it is outside, clean, and easy to access.  Actually, you don’t even have to buy tickets to the show, you can just park in the parking lot and just listen which many people did.

Roni: Overall the concert was fun. Lita Ford opened which was a total surprise to me. I didn’t realize she was on the ticket. Even though I’m not her biggest fan, I thought she’s rocked. At 53 years old she was still sporting the leather pants and long bleached blonde hair. She sang a few new songs and then ended with Kiss Me Deadly, an old favorite of mine.

In my opinion, Poison stole the night. Bret Michaels has a great on stage presence. They sang everyone’s favorites enthusiastically and you can tell they were having fun. So were we.

Wow that’s so bad! lol

Def Leppard, on the other hand, seemed off. The sound was horrible. Jen and I literally cringed during the first few songs when the back up singer stepped up to the mic.

I didn’t realize at the time but Def Leopard has been still realeasing albums! This explains why there were so many more Def Leppard fans in attendance and why they sang so many songs I didn’t know. Thankfully the band mixed in classics as well, but we couldn’t stay for the whole set. It was a work night after all, and us old farts have responsibilities, ya know?

Jen: I was glad that Poison was on first because thats’s who I really wanted to see.  I have to say that I was surprised that they were not the headliners.  The crowd was clearly waiting for Def Leopard….why?  They were not that great at all.  It was still entertaining watching grown men and women headbanging and holding up the “rock out” fingers.  Considering we haven’t heard Poison song in a long time, I couldn’t believe Roni and I knew every word.

Roni: Here’s a few clips of the show I strung together…

We had a blast and even got a new shot for our about page. :)

oh! and I’d totally go see another show at Hersey!