It was a gorgeous day in Atlanta, low 80‘s, not a cloud in the sky, perfect for a day time show. The venue was Piedmont Park, and I had not been there since Paul McCartney....I was thrilled. But this Joan Jett, one of my all time fave performers. I had worked for months on setting this up, and trust me, my heart skipped 10 beats when I got the email confirming me for the review, thanks Blackheart Records! I had not seen Joan in years, we were both what I consider kids back then. And yea, I sported what could be confused by some as a Joan Jett hair-do back in the day. I will never forget getting mobbed at Six Flags over Georgia back in the 80‘s by little kids, who just knew I was her, as she was performing there that day. They nabbed a few of us that day...my good friend Patti Ray had the same thing happen, we still giggle to this day about that!

Getting glammed up at 2:00 in the afternoon is not my usual gig that time of day, this only added to the electricity in the air. I was so excited, I could not eat, since I was going solo, I dared not drink a beer, so I was left on my own with my emotions exploding.

The magical time of 3:30 arrived, my set time for departure, and I climbed in Olivia (my trusty mercedes) and headed downtown. I loved the route that took me to Piedmont Park, “Ponce” thank you, you have lead me to some magical memories in my life time~ this day was no different. First I parked in a most excellent spot, but was told I had to move to the lot down the street, dammit....no biggie. I got to the second lot, nabbed a parking space in the first 3 seconds of entering the lot, this day was looking promising.

I got to the gate after a 10 minute walk, only to be told to walk about what seemed like miles, to the other gate. Of course, they told me the long route to take to get to the gate, a sign of what was to come? I was still energetic, when I finally made it to the correct gate, got my tickets??? Two tickets, I was shocked, I only thought I was getting one. Arrgh, if I had only known, because I had many friends that would have loved to have come with me!!!

By this time it was almost show time, I rushed around like a mad person, grabbing every soul that worked there asking which stage Joan Jett was going to be on. I had the most nifty arm band that said - Band Guest Music Midtown 9/21/12- on it, they all said I needed to go the the VIP area, I could get refreshments there. I must have looked a bit disheveled after my walk? I made my way there, only to see two empty tables, and being told I just missed Joan, that she was walking down to the stage...as I turned that way, 14 feet away I saw the whole band almost reaching the stage...I took off pulling my camera out as I ran...does not make for a good shot, sorry.

I went to the area set up for photos, and it was full of big cables, and barriers, saw I would only get some great shoe shots as I broke my neck to take the pics, so I made my way out to the front of the stage with the other fans, and worked my way around through them throughout the show.

When the band came on,the tons of fans in the crowd went wild. They opened with “Bad Reputation”, one of the favorites. Joan, bless her heart, did amazing considering the circumstances, the sun was right in her face, and instead of covering her face with a pair of sunglasses, she let everyone see her sweet face. At one point she said, if she had known it was going to be this bad, she would have worn sunscreen. My heart melted as I thought of how horrible she must be feeling. She was a trooper though, and looked amazing even at the end of the show.

She played all the classics, and threw in some of her new tunes, this got me excited for it to come out! Review to come??? She even mustered up a good smile, when she played “I love Rock & Roll”. You know she must be sick of playing that by now, although it is a damn great tune to have representing you! I think my fave of the night was “ACDC”, her energy exploded on this one. “Cherry Bomb”, was played, of course with a shout out to The Runaways. The show was everything one could hope for from seeing Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Well worth the miles and miles I walked, and at my age and level of fitness, this is a huge statement! LOL, I am proud to say I did not take a break, I stuck my nose in the air at the benches, after all I am a bit younger than Joan, and if she could do what she just did in this heat, I could certainly walk back to Olivia, and head off to the next show....what a day!