I was at Harrah's Casino over the weekend. I ran into a teacher that had a lot of interesting stories.

When he mentioned a 40th birthday party he was having the following day, I told him I wanted to crash it.

Since he was turning 40, he got a handful of "over the hill" gifts.

That's the birthday I guess you start getting those things, and I'm only a few years from it.

But, what made me feel like I was "over the hill" involved Street Scene.

I liked it coming back downtown, because I liked the vibe better. Not to mention the name "Street Scene" is odd when it's in the parking lot of Jack Murphy Stadium. Or Petco Stadium, Qualcomm Wireless Friar Stadium or whatever it's called. When I was a kid, it was the 'Murph. And that attitude, right there, is how I know I'm getting old. I don't even want to learn what new things are called, simply because we called them something else when I was a kid.

He'll always be the KGB chicken, not the San Diego Chicken. But I digress.

The lineup for Street Scene had me more excited than I had been the last few years.

I love The Black Crowes. And, sure, the critics that complain they're too much like all those 70s rockers...Humble Pie, the Stones, the Faces...yeah, so what? That's what's great about them.

I saw Spoon at 'Canes a few years back. They're great.

I've always wanted to see TV on the Radio. When they played the Belly Up, it sold-out before I could get tickets to see 'em.

MGMT is a band I dig, and would've liked to have seen live.

Beck is one of the best contemporary artists around. I've met him in person a few times, and he's a jerk. But who cares. His songs are great.

And there was a time he played UCSD that I ended up not going. And another at Copley Symphony Hall that a bunch of my friends attended.

I would've been jazzed about seeing Cat Power, but my buddy told me her 4th & B show was lackluster.

I like Tegan and Sara, but saw them at House of Blues a few years back.

I'm a huge fan of X, but have seen them so many times, I didn't care all that much about seeing them again.

And, I would've liked to have seen the Cold War Kids. I think that "Hang me out to Dry" song is the catchiest pop tune in years.

So, what happened?

Well, as I mentioned, I turned old.

First, the Crowes cancelled. They were one of the headliners. And, who were they replaced by? Those spud rockers Devo. Now, how lame is that? Devo was just hear doing a free concert in Del Mar last month.

And, they're kinda like the B-52s. They have this campy novelty about them that's fun at parties. But you don't need to see them live.

And hey, there was another artist on the bill named Devotchka. That sounds like the Russian Devo. Not sure what that act even is.

Then my old guy attitude started to really kick into overdrive.

I thought about how much of a hassle parking or the trolley would be.

I thought about the handful of parties I got invited to, that sounded interesting.

And, one of the casinos was having a grand opening of their sports bar, with a few NFL players.

The list of things that were going on, made me decide against Street Scene.

If I were still in my 20s...I would've gone to the music festival. And still done most of that other stuff, too.