Her brother, Daniel (age 10), was equally excited to see a "Beatle." He's seen Todd twice before so he was the 'experienced' one of the two.
Once we got to this casino we were amazed at the size of the place. The parking lots go on forever and there is a shuttle bus system that takes you to and from the casino. We hopped on the first bus we could and got to the entrance and weren't allow to proceed any further because we were not at the "kids allowed" entrance. Had to hop back on the bus and go to another entrance where we were allowed to go down to the Bingo Hall where the show was to take place. As soon as we got there we met up with Emily and her husband and two friends. As always, it was great to see her and to meet and greet!
We settled down into our seats and waited for the show to begin. I wasn't the only parent there with kids. We were surrounded by toddlers and teens alike. There was an adorable two-year-old girl in front of us who lasted for about half the show before she dropped off to Snoozeland.
Finally the strains of "It Don't Come Easy" began and the kids strained to see something/anything. We had the cheaper seats in the back (I'm kicking myself that I didn't splurge for the better seats.) so it was next to impossible for the kids to see anything once everyone stood up. The father of the toddler in front of us (who was clearly there just to see Ringo) was in the attack mode because he wanted his little kid to witness this event and he nearly lunged at two women who were intent on swaying and grooving and having a good time a few rows up. He screamed at them to sit down and they did...as did everyone else around us. The kids were excited and had to be content to move their heads every which way to look in between people's heads or around them in order to catch a glimpse of the musicians on the stage. Meghan kept asking me which one was Ringo...but she knew Todd for sure!
Both Daniel and Meghan seemed to enjoy the Ringo tunes a lot more than anyone's (but Todd's). I guess it's hard for Kids of the 90s to get excited about hearing "Sunshine of Your Love" or "Whiter Shade of Pale." All in all though.... I'm delighted that I took them and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. They both agreed that their favorite moments of the evening were hearing "A Little Help From My Friends" and "Bang the Drum." And, to tell you the truth, they are still basking in the post-concert afterglow and it's been nearly a week. Daniel was so pleased to come home and tell me that he told one of his after-school program counselors what he did on his school vacation: He Saw a Beatle!!!
On Saturday my kids' crazy mom went back down to Mohegan to witness the show again....sans children. As Tom and I were heading out that afternoon, he looked at me at the local gas station and said "This is nuts, isn't it?" I thought to myself the entire way down.... "Yeah, he's right. This is nuts. I'm too old to do this kind of thing. What on earth possessed me to go down to see Ringo Starr et al two nights in a row considering it was at least a 2 1/2 hour drive there and there was a snowstorm predicted for that night? What possessed me to spend money that I didn't have to indulge myself in this frivolous manner. It was absolutely nutty."
Well, I had to put all that aside and get into the spirit of things and that didn't start until shortly after we checked into the Raddison in New London. We weren't going to take the chance of the storm and having to battle a blizzard after a late night with the All Starrs... Shortly after we got to our room....which for some unknown reason was upgraded to a suite -- we called to find out if John/451 was staying over too. Sure enough...he was! Within minutes John bounded down to our room and we had a real nice time chatting "all things Todd" and then we got ready to go to Mohegan Sun in John's spiffy new car. Hey, we went in style! Much cooler than driving my ole jalopy like I had the previous night.
We wandered around the casino looking for Russ, Sue, and Lin. It didn't take long for me to find Lin who was looking for us and we all headed down to the restaurant where we enjoyed a great buffet dinner and yakked more music for a good long time before showtime. Then off to the 'bingo hall' we went... Hey, it was a jackpot of an evening! No comparison between Friday and Saturday. To me, it was one of those magical concerts where one song was as good as the next.
The set list has been posted several times so I won't bore everyone with it once again. My personal highlights of the evening: Hearing TR play all those classic riffs that we've come to know and appreciate... I think I enjoyed him playing the Cream and Beatles stuff the most. "I'm Free" and "White Room" were real stand-outs for me. I also enjoyed hearing him exchange vocals with Jack Bruce and singing back-up for Ringo...
It was especially cool to be sitting with so many Todd friends and to have the chance to glance down the aisle and see Russ, Sue, Lin, John, and Tom having a great time! It made my heart smile.
After the show we ran into Jules. Always happy to see other TR fans on the road. Back at the hotel, Tom, John/451 and I closed up the bar and had a great time chatting with the bartender and watching TV til the wee hours... And guess what? The snowstorm didn't happen. A few flurries. However, the white stuff is descending upon us in mammoth proportions today! Snow day! Wee-oooooo!!!
Can't wait til we do it all again. And, yeah, it is 'nuts' and I'm proud of it!
Kath
