Two Tickets to Paradise

"We Should be Sleepin'" was something we probably normally would have been doing last night at 10:30p when Eddie Money hit the stage of Billy Bobs in Texas. We thought it would be a fun night out, so Paul, our friends Nikki and Brad, and I set off to enjoy the show. I've lived in Texas for nearly 10 years now- mostly just 10 minutes from the Fort Worth Stockyards. I've never been to the famed Billy Bobs of Texas. We walked in to a mass of video games, bars, dance floors and craziness. It was a sight to behold. There was a room for rodeo riding, a casino room (which we never found) and so much more. The music pumped out everything from "Cotton-Eyed Joe" to "Summer of '69". Was crazy.

A little after 10p we meandered over to our assigned seats (not together) in the belly of what I'm told used to be a huge dance floor. Now it's a little concert area. The tables for us to sit at were that of damaged pressed board. They wrangled 16 people around each table, and moved each table as close to the next as they could. I was glad we waited a little late to find our seats, as we were able to sit at the end of the table. Looking around, waiting for the show to begin, we saw everything from 50-something year olds, dragging their less than thrilled teens with them for a good clean night of concert fun, to familes with little tots- 5 or 6 year olds all pouring around these ominous tables. Most of the crowd was just like Paul and I, in their 30 and 40-somethings, just waiting for the fallen rocker to take the stage.

Now, I must preface this by saying that our expectations of Mr. Money were pretty low. We were just happy to get a night out of the house together and see some live music. Both of us nearly errupted in laughter when Eddie took the stage.
This is the Eddie Money we all love and remember. The ex-cop from New York city who belted out such laments as "Walk on Water", "Take Me Home Tonight" and "I Wanna Go Back". Well, let's just say, that's definately a far cry from the guy who took the stage. Age does funny things to all of us, but this was a sight to behold. Now, if this was your Uncle Eddie- the guy you see a couple times of year at holidays and special occasions, you'd probably think the old boy was holding it together pretty darn well. He really and truly looked pretty good! However, for the rockin' guy we all love and remember- not so much.

All that being said, though, the guy really did sound great. If you closed your eyes and just listened, it very well could have been the Eddie from 1987. Best of all, he clearly knew what we must have been thinking. After the second song he said hello to the crowd and piped up "I sold 37 million records! Guess I should have saved some of the money. Who knew!" All in all, it was great. Here's a few shots my friend Nikki and I caught of the guy.

A good time was had by all. He played for a good 90 minutes with no break. I will admit, toward the end we were getting a little worried that he may fall over from exhaustion. He never did. And, I think he played every hit he ever had. Thanks Eddie- and well done!

Here's a shot of Nik and I on the way home.

More soon~ Amanda