Rebuilding Rob

Friday night, Veronica and I went to see a live band perform. Their group out of Metro Detroit here called the mega 80s. As their name implies, they are an 80s tribute band. I’ve seen them three times now over the years and they always put on a great show. The nostalgia is strong with these guys! Much of their set consist of medleys, as a way of getting in as many different classic 80s hits as possible. They’ll play pop, they’ll play new wave, they’ll play some top 40 rap, and even a little bit of hard rock and metal. What’s crazy about it is that they sound so good at all of them. Most of the members of the band performed vocals from time to time so they have quite a good range.

This was probably the first time I saw the mega 80s in at least two or three years. The funny thing is is this was at the same venue where I saw them both times previously. I was a little disappointed, however, to see that the crowd was a little bit smaller than what I am used to seeing for this band.

Don’t get me wrong. They put on a great show, and everybody in attendance had a great time. But they’re just weren’t as many people as I remember seeing before. I think I know why.

As I mentioned before, I am a lifelong fan of professional wrestling. I listened to the busted open podcast, which is an offshoot of the busted open radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. one of the cohosts on the show is the wrestling legend Bully Ray – formerly known as Bubba Ray Dudley in both the WWE and ECW. As Bully is just a few years older than I am, he makes a lot of pop culture references that resonate with a man my age.

One day, he was talking about the fact that he was a big fan of Mötley Crüe and he was very excited to see them and their most recent tour when they came to New York City. When he got to the venue, he was somewhat shocked to realize that not only was the show not a sellout, but there were actually quite a few empty seats in the venue, as well as a lot of room in the main floor general mission. He enjoyed the show well enough he said. And he’s aware that he’s just not as into music as he was when he was younger. But for him, the big revelation was at Mötley Crüe isn’t as popular as they used to be.

Legacy acts don’t usually sell out NBA/NHL arenas. And the fact of the matter is your fan base gets older. People in their 50s don’t go out to concerts like they did in their teens and 20s and maybe even their 30s.

That’s something I realized tonight watching the mega 80s. They’re still a great band, they’re all very talented musicians, they still put on the same exciting show that they always have. But some of the generation X elders are turning 60 this year.

We’re getting old.

I’m getting old.

The truth is, by limiting them themselves to one particular timeframe, nostalgia act like the mega 80s indirectly end up limiting their own shelf life.

In the early days of satellite radio, (back when XM and Sirius were two separate, competing companies). XM had their decade channels at the very top of their lineup: music from the 40s was on channel 4. 50s were on channel 5, 60s on six. 70s on seven, 80s on eight. 90s on 9. When the right time rolled around, they added a channel “pop 2K“ at channel 10. A channel dedicated to the top hits of the 2010s, “the 10s spot” took the channel 11 slot. 

Today, the 40s music has been shuffled further down the channel lineup. As have the 50s and 60s. The 60s! Are you believe the most culturally significant decade of the 20th century. People who listen to that music have gotten old, and in many cases, they have died off. The same thing will happen one day to the people who attend mega 80s concerts.

It was still somewhat reassuring to be at the show and know that I wasn’t the oldest guy in the venue. But I almost felt bad for some of the people I saw there. I saw a guy wearing wood. Most of us would describe as “dad jeans”. There was one guy in particular who I saw wearing dad jeans. When I did, I said to Veronica “if you ever see me wearing jeans like that, put me out of my misery”

I’m not too far away from dad jeans.

But I’m starting to wonder now, is this what every year is going to be like for me going forward? Well, I find myself in an ever increasingly futile struggle against Mother Nature and Father Time? I find myself thinking a lot about my age and my mortality in the last several days – as I get closer to my 51st birthday.

I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this in the days to come.

On a positive note, the date went really well. I paid for the concert tickets and two of our three rounds of drinks. Veronica picked up one round of drinks, which she really didn’t have to do

Afterwards, we went to dinner. I was fully intending to pick up the bill for dinner. When I got up to use the bathroom, she took care of it herself. I have to admit that that is an incredibly boss move. That may sound kind of trivial, but that is one of those things that I’m going to remember for a long time about this date. 

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts

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• Charity Starts at Home (And I’m Back in My Childhood One)
• The Muscle of Empathy

The article “The Diminishing Returns of Nostalgia“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.