This weekend, when my sister and I were in PA, there was a Kenny Chesney concert in Pittsburgh that evening, My cousin Molly, who was staying in downtown Pittsburgh, was telling us about all the Chesney fans that were checking into her hotel in cowboy hats carrying cases of beer. My aunt explained that last year, the city was left a such mess after his concert, that this year they were handing out trash bags and limiting the amount of tailgating time before the concert. Sounds like quite the time.

My cousin Mike mentioned that he and his wife went to see John Mellencamp  a small, more intimate setting yet people were screaming and carrying on like they were in an outdoor or much larger venue. They thought that was a bit much. Additionally, Mellencamp wanted to play songs from his new album, where most people could care less about the new album and wanted to hear all the songs they knew. It’s true, you want to hear the songs you know when you go to a concert. After all, most people don’t buy tickets based on music they think they will like but rather on music they know they like.

I remember going to a Tom Petty concert right after he released his album, Into the Great Wide Open.  It was memorable on a few levels. First, it was right after smoking was banned from arenas. My friend Stacey commented that our seats were pretty good when in fact, they were still basically nose-bled seats but without the smoke you could actually see the stage. Secondly, there was a great, wide divide in the audience – those of us who had been Petty fans for years and those who had just discovered him through this new album. It was sort of funny to see how distinct the split was.

I’ve been lucky enough to go to a number of concerts and over the new few days, will feature some of the folks I’ve seen. Today, I’ve picked a tune from Tom Petty, “Free Fallin.”  I’ve had the chance to see Petty in concert 3 or 4 times. Always a great concert.