Mary O, Vegas Virgin

Ded Flatbird, Def Leppard's
"opening" band in Las Vegas
2013

Man, what a trip!  I can't even believe I went to Las Vegas by myself.  I literally, (yes, Sheldon, literally) lost sleep trying to decide whether to go or not.  I had tons of encouragement, but it was my brother, Jim Ogden, who decided it for me.  He said, "If you don't go, you'll regret it."  And I knew it was true.

Here's the story.

When the announcement came out last November that Def Leppard would be doing a residency at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, I was so excited!  Excited until I realized I didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of attending.  Not only had I never been to Las Vegas, I had never been to a Def Leppard concert in thirty years of fandom.  They were in Charlotte in June (? I think) of 2012, but we were sort of indisposed during that time, and I couldn't even think of going.

Oh, and then the excitement began to build within the Lepp Nation online.  The mania of Viva Hysteria hit Facebook, Rock Brigade Fan Forum, plus the myriad of other Lepp pages.

I became more and more melancholy with each new posting of someone getting their tickets.  It seemed as if no one was getting a regular ticket.  It seemed like they were all able to afford $750.00 per ticket for the "meet and greet" with the band.  Or, they could afford one M&G plus several other regular tickets for multiple nights.  WTH?

Color me sad.  And the more I talked about it, the less likely it seemed that I would get a chance to go.  Christmas came and went.  No tickets in my stocking. 

The new year began the online countdown to March 22nd, the date of the first show.  Color me depressed.  As the date approached, as well as my birthday, the more despondant I became.

Hubs noticed.

And finally I brought it to him.  Keep in mind, this was after I had repeatedly told him "I didn't expect to go."  I mean, airfare from Charleston, hotel, ticket--even a regular one--not to mention merchandise, of which, if I got to go, I planned on purchasing a LOT--would probably run upwards of $1000-$1200--in the middle of the "sequester" scare.  So I hadn't seen any possibility.  However, we talked about it and it came to pass. 

Wha-a-a-a-t?!  Hubs would not get to come with me because of work, but he wanted to see me happy, so I started planning.  Yes, I know I have a great husband.

My review of the concert, beyond the adjectives "awesome," fantastic" and "loved it!" will be in a separate blog.  You guys know I rock hard, right?  Just checking.

So I gathered my courage over travelling alone to a place I'd never been--a BIG obstacle--and arrived in Sin City and the Hard Rock Hotel, on my birthday about four o'clock.  The excitement had worn me out somewhat, but I was pretty wound up.  I called home to let Hubs know I'd made it and then put on my exploring shoes, so to speak.

Stay tuned