2022 Summer Concert Tour

My big outing for the year was attending the Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett stadium tour at the Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, New York.

After spending almost two and a half years indoors and away from people I decided I really wanted to see Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe again. I saw Def Leppard six years ago in Syracuse, New York. I hadn’t seen the Crüe since 1984 when they opened for Ozzy. I really wanted to see Mick Mars one more time before he called it quits. With the Crüe’s recent announcement of Mick’s retirement, I’m so glad we went.

Getting out of the house has been hard for me. As a result of COVID, I’ve developed anxiety. My official diagnosis is social anxiety disorder and an avoidant personality disorder. Yep. I don’t like people and interacting socially face to face majorly stresses me out. I get stomachaches, flop sweat and panic attacks. I’ve canceled appointments and outings because I can’t get out of the house. I’ve been on lengthy car rides with my husband and had meltdowns.

I live 75 miles away from the venue where the concert was held. The trip could have been problematic for me but fortunately it wasn’t. I was that determined to go. The trip wasn’t without issues, of course. I bought tickets for all four of us (me, husband and two adult sons). My husband was a bit of a poop. He doesn’t care for the music and spent the entire night looking at his cellphone. We also “lost” the car and couldn’t find it when we came out on the wrong side of the stadium. We needed a security person’s golf cart ride to search for and find the car.

Despite anxiety, bored husbands and lost cars, I had a great time. I loved it. Joan Jett and Poison were good and put on good shows. Mötley Crüe was awesome and a lot of fun (and no, Vince never could sing – he sounded like that in 1984, too). They were loud and obviously having a great time. Def Leppard was so so good. Visually stunning and all of them were great. Their harmonies and sound was amazing. Joe’s voice was even better than it was in 2016. I’ve seen them twice, and both times I was on my feet dancing and singing for the entire set.

Well worth the price of admission.