Rock of Ages

This last weekend my 14 year-old son Nathan went to see Def Leppard, Styx, and REO Speedwagon in concert at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater. I was younger than he when Styx and REO were starting out, and when i first heard Def Leppard i was 16 (Rock Brigade). This would have been a kick-ass concert in 1980, although then Styx would have been headlining.

I think it was all sort of kitschy and retro for my son and his friends, as if i had gone to see Dion and the Belmonts when i was a kid. He appears to have liked it at least as a technical experience (he was very critical of the Def Leppard sound-- too much bass covered up the guitars he said). He also genuinely seems to like the Styx song Come Sail Away, which i have to admit holds up better than some of the Styx songs i liked when i was in high school (although Renegade still kinda rocks). It's their equivalent of Bohemian Rhapsody, which my son's generation knows from watching the video of Wayne's World. It's sort of odd that kids from the 2000s know about music from the 70s due to a movie about the 80s made in the 90s.