"Yngwie the Axe Grinder"
Last Saturday was the night that my parents took Erik and his friend to see Yngwie Malmsteen at Jaxx in Baltimore. I was waiting for baited breath for their reaction to the show. My dad had reservations about seeing it, but my mom was excited for it, since she wanted to attend a rock and roll show. First of all, though, thanks to Don who sent me the Washington Post's review of the show (the title of this post is cribbed from the review), which was hilarious. Some of the highlights:

Cockiness is as crucial a component of the typical heavy metal star's arsenal as overdriven Marshall stacks. Yngwie Malmsteen, a guitar hero straight out of Central Casting, came to Jaxx on Friday with an overabundance of both.

Malmsteen didn't become an idol to generations of suburban dirtballs for nothing. The 40-year-old Swede has, as the players say, chops....

Dressed in a loose-fitting, low-hanging black satin shirt that looked like something from the Steven Seagal Collection, Malmsteen showed hilariously little feeling for members of his band. His first words into the microphone came halfway through his two-hour set, when he upbraided drummer Patrik Johannsen for "missing a [expletive] cue!"

The writer's name is Dave McKenna. Mr. McKenna, whoever you are, you slay me.

Anyway, shockingly, my parents almost enjoyed the show! They were put out since they found Jaxx to be more of a biker bar, and they got there at 6:30 or something and had to stand around till 8 , when the doors opened. There were two opening bands, and Yngwie didn't come on till 11. Erik and his friend immediately ditched them to go and stand by the stage, but my parents hung back away from the noise and people watched. Apparently, there were many people there ("suburban dirtballs"?) who were wearing very little. My dad spotted a woman who was apparently very overweight who wore tight pants with a big hole in the butt. Why the hole? Because she wanted to display her tattoo. My mom surmised that perhaps this was "because her boyfriend wanted her to show it off."