Last night, as part of the Big Birthday Summer Tour, Jill and I went to see Joan Jett and REO Speedwagon. They were playing at an outdoor venue, Chastain Park, which is simply a unique and extremely Southern institution.

Unlike any other outdoor venue I’ve ever been for a concert, there are no covered seats: the entire amphitheater is under the open sky. I suspect this might have something to do with historic segregationist/integration policies, ie, “where there’s a roof, there’s segregation.” But I haven’t attempted to do any research on that theory.

That’s not what makes Chastain so odd.

Many of the events, including last night’s rock concert, are “table” service. That means that instead of just rows and rows of chairs, the full floor “plaza” seating area is set with tables of six, and many of the tiers of bench seats are also set up for tables of six.

People don’t just get a pitcher of beer and hang out around the table with their friends. It’s more like a dinner party with live music.
Garrison Keillor became so annoyed with the Chastain crowd a couple of years ago that he has sworn he will never play there again.

We were in “box seats” — 3 rows of folding chairs around the floor level, in the first two chairs at stage right.

At the two tables immediately in front of us, one was a group of drunken 50-something guys who went through a case or two of beer and a few bottles of wine. But the other was more representative of the surreal Chastain experience:

3 couples, also 40-something to 50-something. A rose tablecloth, fresh roses in a centerpiece, candles, glass wine glasses, real silver silverware, an elegant meal. Many bottles of wine. The obvious hostess was dressed immaculately and had her hair Done.

And all of them were singing along enthusiastically. Granted, none of them got into it as much as the drunk guy in front of us got into Joan Jett’s song “Fetish” but hey….

And that elegant table? THAT is how Atlanta does Chastain. Most of the plaza tables and many of the other tables we passed were also elegantly appointed. Almost everyone brings a wheeled cooler, no matter where they sit.

Other notable surreal or amusing concert observations:

• Drunk woman in a purple dress, who had to be warned a couple of times by security to get down off of her chair and not wave around her full wineglass.
• Extremely diligent security guards stopping very flirtatious women from crowding the stage in front of the front row of tables.
• Three separate couples stood in the plaza level for most of the show. All of them stood in that cosy affectionate way where the taller person hugs the smaller person from behind, and if you’re feeling the music, there can be some suggestive swaying. The couple in the exact center of the plaza level, a lesbian couple, took that to a whole other level. At one point, I wondered if the woman in front was having an orgasm. Now I have nothing against Public Displays of Affection, but I do think there’s a line, especially at a venue with a fair number of families present. And these were adult women, not teenagers.

On the whole, however, it was a blast. Both Joan Jett and REO Speedwagon had great energy onstage. The pouring rain stopped just after the concert was scheduled to start, so we didn’t get drenched. And if we make it to another table event at Chastain, we’ll know to bring a tablecloth and cooler full of the good china.