Today was a very exciting day in our house. We went to the Wiggles Concert! We’ve been talking about it for several weeks, and today was the big day. The girls had a really good time – lots of dancing, excitement about seeing the whole Wiggles gang "in person." I left work early to come home and get M, A and I (our nanny), and Daddy met us there. We also got to use tickets from my boss’s suite (thanks DM!) so it was a great experience all around.

Today marked my third time in the same arena in a week. I haven’t been to that many concerts in a long time, so this was very unusual.  A friend remarked to me tonight that I am probably the only person in town who saw The Police, Van Halen, and The Wiggles. (Actually, I just remembered that a colleague at work also saw all 3 – hi TL!).

I thought I’d take this opportunity to compare the three shows against a number of criteria: decibel level, concert extras, average age of audience, "songs from the new album" (i.e. stuff no one knows), number of people on stage, how the band has aged, the hottie factor, quality of the encore, and favorite moment.

DECIBEL LEVEL:

Police: Just right – I was close to the stage and it wasn’t too loud for my sensitive ears. Van Halen: So freaking loud that I had my fingers in my ears the whole time. When people asked me later how the show was, I simply said, "Loud." Wiggles: Not loud enough for those in the suite to hear very well. Advantage: Police.

CONCERT EXTRAS:

Police: None. Stewart, Sting and Andy, making music. Very few props. Van Halen: None, other than David Lee Roth’s costume accessories. Wiggles: a giant rose-covered balloon, a huge green talking door, an inflatable slide, and a HUGE inflatable Murray playing the guitar which I swear was at the last Wiggles show. Advantage: Wiggles.

AVERAGE AGE OF AUDIENCE:

Police Yeah, um, old. Most people were my age or older – early to mid 40s, it seemed. More women than men, I think. Van Halen: Again, old. Guys my age playing air guitar in their corporate suite – kind of lame. Wiggles: I suppose if you average out the parents and the kids, it came to about 18. Advantage: None. I’m old. It sucks.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON STAGE:

Police: Just the three aforementioned musical geniuses. Van Halen: A lean four: Eddie, David Lee Roth, Eddie’s brother the drummer, and Eddie’s 16 (!) year old son Wolfgang on guitar. Wiggles: Let’s see… there’s Anthony, Murray, Jeff, Greg (the NEW yellow Wiggle), Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, 4 teddy bears, a duck, some ballerinas, and the whole Wiggle dancer entourage. Advantage: Wiggles.

HOW THE BAND HAS AGED:

Police: Andy’s looking old. Sting still looks amazing.  Van Halen: Eddie looks pretty weathered, though he still performed the whole show shirtless. David Lee Roth – a little wrinkled but not bad. Wiggles: I think Anthony’s getting a little paunchy. Advantage: Police.

HOTTIE FACTOR:

Police: Sting. Enough said. Van Halen: Eddie’s still got that guitar-player sexiness to him. He’s a little too skinny. Wiggles: Ew, that’s like dating your sister. Advantage: Police by a landslide.

SONGS FROM THE NEW ALBUM, or STUFF NO ONE KNOWS:

Police: None. There is no new album. Just the old hits. I knew every word of every song. Van Halen: Again, this is a tour made up of people who didn’t speak to each other until relatively recently. There is no new album. Wiggles: I thought I knew every Wiggles song there is to know, but it turns out I don’t! Plus they brought in some old standards like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinke Twinkle Little Star." Bonus points for the "Stairway to Heaven" guitar intro while Murray was "testing" his guitar. Advantage: Wiggles

ENCORE:

Police: Same encore as they did in Hershey PA in July – "Every Breath You Take", "King of Pain", "So Lonely" and "Next to You." Van Halen: I left before the encore so that I could get my car out of the garage before the rush. (I told you, I am old.) I know they played "Jump", the best Van Halen song of all time, but I am too embarassed to ask anyone how it was because I don’t want to admit I left early. Wiggles: No encore. Advantage: Police, by default.

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE SHOW:

Police: That initial rush when they took the stage together; "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic". Van Halen: David Lee Roth’s long intro to "Ice Cream Truck" – who knew he was such a softie? Wiggles: Has to be when the backup singers, all 4 Wiggles, Captain Feathersword and a duck started doing the MC Hammer "U Can’t Touch This" dance with the "Superfreak" riff during during "Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack Cock-a-doodle Doo". Loved it.

Three nights… three very different shows.