thePULSENailing the Concert Experience ~ Hilariously
By Suzy Geers
Have you ever been to a concert, elbowed your friend, and said, “Dude, check THAT guy out!???!!” Home-slice is air guitarin’ like it’s his (as it’s usually men public air guitaring) job. Now, keep in mind, I lived in LA, where it is not cool to even nod your head during a song, tap your toes… even crack a smile…never mind AIR GUITAR ~ oh, the humanity ~ but welcome the rules of concert engagement!
Steve Weinberger (with Sarah Torribio) presents “No Air Guitar Allowed:” a handbook…no, a survival guide…for the concert goer-ly challenged. Weinberger, who has been to over 1,000 rock concerts, beginning with KISS in 1977, hilariously spotlights the characters each of us has encountered at show, from the “Old School Scalper” to “The Tall Guy,” “The Urinal High Fivers,” “The Makeout Couple,” and “The Chatty Cathy.”
Pure nostalgia. Utter accuracy.
But all this poking fun is in jest, Weinberg explains: “Some people, after reading the book, ask with concern why I chose to poke fun at the concert-goers described within its pages. The fact is I’m not. I’m giving due respect to those who make a concert the best form of entertainment available. Truth be told, I have personified nearly every character in the book at some point.”
This book is layered with highly entertaining satirical chapters. All I am going to do is list some of the subjects inside this slapstick, hysterical, laugh out loud, self-relating book and you will give yourself a “high five” and evaluate everyone at the next show you attend to see which name best suits them. Here we go: sausage fest, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Heideken (72 oz warning), the Other Lead Singer, the Nokia Cinematographer, the Fight Chick Girl, the Rock and Dial, the Fart ‘n’ Dart, the Rastafari-Man, the High Five Idiots, the purse/ jacket conundrum, Attack of the porta-potty, the Crowd Cop, beer to bathroom ratio, the Bro-Magnon, and finally, the Put Your Ass on My Shoulder couple!
No Air Guitar Allowed is entertainment ~ just like music (or the way music should be).
Unleash, let loose, and be made fun of…. who cares?! Maybe one day, you’ll be a subject in Steve Weinberger’s next book!
Off to my mirror with one of the best air guitar songs ever: “Barracuda!” Thanks, Wilson sisters!
