Tonight’s free outdoor concert was at the Chesterfield Amphitheater–our second visit to this site. So far, this is the nicest and largest venue we’ve attended for free music (seats 4,000 people) with the best bands. The Chesterfield Parks Department must have a bigger budget and richer sponsors for their free programs.
The featured band tonight was Silver Bullet STL, presenting a Bob Seeger tribute. Prior to the main act, we were entertained by Boy, a singer / keyboard player. He was a lot better than Ricky Kiel, who entertained us while we waited for Dogs of Society two weeks ago. Boy won’t be ready to headline for awhile yet, but at least people sort of listened to him–more than they did while Ricky Kiel performed.
Bob Seeger music apparently attracts a different kind of crowd than Elton John music. For starters, while we were in line to enter tonight, the lady behind us (clean-cut, our age) told her friend she’s waiting for Missouri to legalize marijuana so we can just bring it in. (It’s on the ballot.) At the security entry check, lawn chair bags had to be removed to make the contents visible. Compare that to the EJ concert, when a quick squeeze of the bag to verify the feel of a lawn chair was sufficient. In addition, some of Chesterfield’s finest were milling around, and there were more security people at the stage. Ted and I didn’t notice any problems, so all the security people earned easy money tonight.
Boy sang some nice, mellow songs and has a decent voice.
It was a perfect night to be outdoors, and the crowd filled in quickly. We saw people from babies to baby boomers–not just old folks like at the St. Charles Municipal Band concert last week.
Security was twice as tight as last time–two guys looking bored.
Of course, there were several beach balls going around.
Silver Bullet STL takes the stage. They were loud!!!! We were in the 5th row and the sound was nearly painful. They played all my favorite Bob Seeger songs. My Number One Favorite? “Old Time Rock and Roll,” of course!
It took 15-20 minutes for people to start dancing. There was always room to dance–not like the Elton John concert when the dancers could only sway in place.
I think the lady on the right recorded the entire show. Her arms were probably numb when she went home.
Here’s a view of the stage from the back of the amphitheater. We were w-a-a-a-y in the front center.
For years, Ted and I have seen notices of free summer music and always said, “We should go,” but we didn’t. Why did we wait so long to enjoy these beautiful evenings and free concerts?