Two Things I Miss - Live Music and Wrestling
/I was in the car today, when “I Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts came on the radio, and I was immediately transported to 2005, when I was in Atlanta Georgia, attending the Midtown Music Festival, standing front row watching Joan Jett absolutely rock out. I’ll admit, I didn’t know what to expect from her. I knew a couple of her songs, and knew that I enjoyed them, but I didn’t know what she was going to be like live. She was 10x better than I would have guessed. She had so much energy, her on stage charisma was off the charts, and she was still able to rock black leather pants like the rock icon that she is. Being transformed to that moment led me to this premise. What if I took rock shows that I’ve experienced, and compare them to wrestlers in some way? That sounds like something fun. So here we are, and that’s what this is.
So let’s continue with Joan Jett. Not only did she sound amazing, and completely own the stage, but her catalog of songs was more expansive than I had known. I don’t remember how long her set was, but I do remember that it was the perfect length, in that she played all of her well known stuff, introduced me to some more of her songs, but didn’t play anything that dragged on, or wasn’t awesome. It was a damn fine rock show, and one that I’ll remember fondly forever. So let’s continue this by getting to the wrestling comparison, which is Jacarra Winchester. I remember I watched her beat Becka Leathers from my hotel room while getting ready to attend a wedding, and being super surprised. Not that I’m trying to take anything away from Jacarra at all, but I was surprised with the win over Becka, who had recently won a World Bronze medal in 2017, and was looking to go win another one. Jacarra took the spot decisively, and followed that up by almost winning a medal in her first trip. Additionally, Jacarra seems to have the same sort of charisma and presence that I saw from Joan Jett. A presence that was immediately recognizable, completely undeniable, and very impressive. Lastly, Jacarra has as many awesome attacks and ways to score as Joan Jett has awesome songs. Both have a deep repertoire to pull from, and don’t leave you disappointed.
The first concert I ever attended was Journey at DTE Energy Music Theater. That was on a Friday night, and I went and saw them two days later on Sunday at the Clio Amphitheater. I can’t stress how awesome these shows were, and how completely hooked on live music I was in that moment. Steve Augeri was the singer at the time, because Steve Perry had left the group already, but he was amazing, and able to hit every note without issue. At the show Sunday, we even got Steve’s autograph when we yelled to him that we were also at the show on Friday. He was super nice, and proceeded to go back out and rock out again. Journey in general is one of those bands that doesn’t get the credit that they deserve. Journey has a million songs that are absolute bangers, but their most well known song is “Don’t Stop Believing”. But here’s the rest that most people usually either don’t know, forget was theirs, or just don’t know who sings it. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), Wheel in the Sky, Faithfully, Any Way You Want It, Stone In Love, and obviously Only The Young. But here’s the thing, check out Journey, and I ensure you you’ll be blown away by how good they are… Just like Ryan Bertin. Two time NCAA Champs usually get more credit than Ryan does historically, especially ones that were 4x AA’s placing 6, 1, 3, 1. Either way, like Journey being my first concert, Ryan Bertin was the first Michigan wrestler that I saw win an NCAA title, and was immediately cemented as one of my all time favorite competitors. Additionally, like Journey becoming a staple in my karaoke catalog, Ryan Bertin’s style became something I wanted to emulate. I even started lacing my shoes up only part way, just like he did. I couldn’t quite emulate his hair, which was incredible, but I did my best while I still had hair. Lastly, like Steve Augeri being super nice when I got to meet him, Ryan Bertin couldn’t have been a nicer guy when I met him last October at the WIBN event. Both Journey and Ryan Bertin deserve more credit, and I won’t rest until they are properly rated in history.
In 2006, I went to Bonnaroo with some friends. If you aren’t familiar with Bonnaroo, it’s a music festival that takes place in Manchester Tennessee for several days, and brings in some of the worlds best musicians to play throughout those several days on many different stages. While at this music festival, I watched a performance by Radiohead, that would turn out to be revered as one of the best performances of their career, and one of the best live shows done in general. It was a pretty awesome show to watch. They rocked, everyone there (thousands of people, and I was likely about 40 yards back from the stage) started throwing glow sticks in the air for hours (which was a super crazy thing to experience and see), they brought a ton of energy to their performance, and it was a show I’ll never forget. They didn’t even play Creep, which I later found out they don’t play live, but it didn’t matter. Idioteque, Everything in it’s Right Place, Paranoid Android, they played it all, and being there with that many people was a very special experience. Being at such a historic show, with my friends, was something I’ll never forget. This comparison isn’t about a person, but about a match. NCAA’s in Cleveland. It was the 184 NCAA Final. A rematch between Myles Martin and Bo Nickal, which also would directly impact the team race, which was between Ohio State and Penn State. The first time these two met in the finals, Myles Martin got the upset win, when they were freshman at 174. This match started with Bo getting too aggressive with a big move, and going to his back, seemingly giving up the takedown in a reckless fashion, reminiscent of their first finals. However, he turns back into Myles, catches the head, flips him over, and pins him. He ended the hopes for Ohio State to win the title, pinned one of their best wrestlers, and silenced the entire arena. I’d never seen anything like that before, and I likely never will. Ohio State had their hopes and dreams crushed moments after it looked like they were going to beat Bo and win it all. As loud as Radiohead was, Quicken Loans Arena was as quiet, except for the Penn State fans. Crazy moment.
Van Halen has been my favorite band for about 18 years. I hadn’t gotten into them until well after their major success, but in 2002, I got a couple tapes to listen to in my 92 Buick LeSabre, and I rocked out hard in that car. It even had a fast forward option that would stop on it’s own when it got to the next song, which was a great feature to have when rocking tapes. Van Halen at that time was famously broken up, and by all accounts, were never going to get back together. They did one tour with Sammy Hagar in 2004, but I missed it (a big regret of mine). Eventually though, in February 2012, I was able to see Van Halen at The Palace of Auburn Hills (RIP) with my buddy Chiego. That was, and remains, the greatest concert that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It had tremendous expectations to live up to, and it delivered on all of those expectations. Eddie shredded, David Lee Roth owned the stage, Alex crushed the drums. I couldn’t have felt more privileged to be at a live show, and the feeling was doubled when I got to see them again a couple years later. Both shows were great, but the first one was the first time I got to see my favorite band, and for that reason, it stands out as the best show I’ve ever seen. So how do I compare this to any wrestler or match? Well, in 2008, Michigan came to Mount Pleasant to wrestle the Chippewas. Michigan was ranked #4 in the country, and I believe CMU was ranked #9 at the time. The dual started out with Luke Smith getting a technical fall, which certainly pumped up the Chippewa faithful. The arena was absolutely packed, which also helped the environment and feeling get to a fever pitch. Most of the matches went as expected, until we got to 165, where Trevor Stewart got a 5-3 win over second ranked Eric Tannenbaum, followed by Brandon Sinnot getting an upset win over fourth ranked Steve Luke. The dual ended with wins by Wynn Michalak and Bubba Gritter, closing out a big win by Central Michigan. The crowd, the upsets, the close matches, the blowout matches, it was all glorious. I’ll always remember that environment, and those matches, more than any other dual I’ve ever watched in person. Here’s Hot For Teacher;
Probably the coolest in person concert experience I’ve ever had was when I went to see Poison in 2007. We had backstage passes, which was a new experience to me. Let me tell you this… There were so many groupies at this show. More than I would have guessed. In their late 30s to early 40s. It was one of those things where you wouldn’t believe it, unless you experienced it. Anyway, we got backstage while Ratt was on stage as the opener. Then we were escorted onto the stage as the lead singer of Ratt belted “Round and Round”. Shortly thereafter, we went back and got our seats to watch Poison. It was a great show. This was at the peak of Rock of Love on VH1, so the show was packed, and had very passionate fans. Either way, it’s an experience I’ll always remember, and will always be able to say I was there. Just like when Adam Coon beat Kyle Snyder. I was sitting at the Media Table with Tommy, and our good friend Ben Watson of The Inside Trip. It was tough to keep our composure in that moment, as you’re supposed to do while sitting in the media section. But the dual was awesome, we had great seats, Myles Amine beat Bo Jordan for the first time, Alec Pantaleo almost pinned Micah Jordan, and it was capped off with Adam Coon beating one of the most successful College Heavyweights, and International Wrestlers, that the US has seen. I loved it. Even though the result of the dual had Tommy and I wearing Ohio State singlets at Big Tens that year, we got that win, and I’m cool with that. I’ll equate the singlet wearing to the hangover I had after the concert. Note to self, don’t mix Ice beer with beef jerky ever again.
This experiment could go on forever. I’ve watched a lot of wrestling, and a lot of live music, but this will be good for now. Perhaps we will revisit this experience again, and perhaps not. Anyway, here’s a picture of me on stage with Ratt, and for now, Rock On.
