While I am in my forties, I love music so much that I try to stay somewhat current. I like a wide variety of styles as evident from my list of favorite artists (in no particular order):
- Dave Matthews Band
- Tom Petty
- Godsmack
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- The Crystal Method
- Cake
There are a bunch of others that I am extremely fond of, but the above have extremely high status.
Notice how Godsmack is there. So, imagine my glee at attending this evening's concert event. There were two warm up bands: Soil (review: um ... screaming distorted dirt) and Shine Down (review: not bad, but still kind of loud).
I had only seen Godsmack in concert one previous time, in an 'accoustic' show. I loved that show, but had heard that they put on an awesome full out pyrotechnic show. This evening's show was billed as "an anything but silent night". The band and the effects were awesome. There were a couple of songs that I thought the sound/mix could have been better on, but overall the actual spectal was FANTASTIC.
Sully Erna is a fantastic showman who really gets into his music and feels his audience. The video back drops for several songs were very cool. The pyrotechnics were unexpected but perfect where they were utilized. The mosh pit dynamics were just plain strange.
For the up tempo songs, there were about a dozen guys who had cleared two areas of the floor to thrash out at each other in time to the music. They came extremely close to actually brawling. However, the point seemed to be to abuse each other as much as possible without exchanging actual punches that security guards would throw them out for. For one of the later songs, Sully actually encouraged the mosh pit to 'go crazy' (citing the two areas of the floor where the desired behavior had previously occured). Great. Sully was basically inciting a riot! So, it got a bit wild during that song, but, again, no actual punches were thrown. ... the poor security personnel.
I had a fantastic time, even though we split before the encore performance. My son had fallen asleep during the show, and I felt that the 'responsible parent' thing would be to get him home, especially since it was a school night.
It's going to be tough going to concerts in the future. First off, I have a cardinal rule for concert going: I will not cross Boston's 495 to go to a concert, regardless of who is playing, even if the tickets are free! I simply don't want to deal with the hassle of driving, parking, and exit traffic, that breaking the rule would entail.
Second, my husband laid down his own edict on the way home. He is done with concerts of any kind. Heck, he found last year's Trans Siberian Orchestra performance too loud. (What an Old Guy!) I am grateful that he opted to attend Godsmack with me this evening. I even brought ear plugs for everyone. He used them for the whole concert. My son was not interested in them. I used them for Soil and Shine Down, but had to experience Godsmack 'in the raw'. And, it was truly a memorable experience for me.
Unless I can find a friend who likes the same bands I like, I will be attending concerts with my adolescent son. While that wouldn't seem so bad, our tastes over lap only slightly, and he tires of the event long before I do.
So. Exactly who's too old to rock and roll? Not me!!!!
2 comments:
I am right there with you -- I apparently have immature tastes in music. I was listening to Everlast and a colleague walked in. She listened for 2 seconds and then said How Old are you? with this truly disdainful tone in her voice. She should have come in when I was listening to Dynamite Hack cover NWA's Boyz in the Hood... I agree thought that concerts are problematic. I LOVE the music, and love to hear it live. But, I am too old and cranky to be patient with hearing the person next to me sing off-key through the whole thing, or the folks in front of me block my view of the stage, or people throwing crap or knocking into me, etc. I want shows that are designated as 30-over, just like they have the all-ages shows for the kids. BTW, don't you find it hard to find shows you can take your son to? I find very few 18 and under allowed (the all ages shows) offered in my area...
The only 18 or 21+ shows in our area are at the smaller/club-like venues. Typically, those venues showcase relatively new bands with a burgeoning fan base. While I like some of the newer bands, they really have to impress me before I'm willing to spend my precious time and money going to see them. (Guess I am getting old on that front.) By the time a band has impressed me, they are at least warming up for someone else in a larger venue, none of which have put an age stricture on attendees thus far.
K and I saw Shinedown two years ago as a warm up band for Three Doors Down. I'd heard of them and was glad for the opportunity to see them with Three Doors Down. We looked forward to seeing them again as the opener for Godsmack last night.
BTW, K was (BY FAR) not the youngest kid at the last Godsmack concert we went to a few years ago. There were parents there with young elementary school aged kids. And, when I went to see BNL in October, there were two six year olds down in front that the band put the stage camera on, because they had curled up on the seats and fallen asleep towards the end of the show.
My only issue with taking K to see groups like Godsmack is the language factor. Both the songs and the banter are peppered with 'colorful euphemisms'. But, K knows that the first time I catch him repeating such words he'll be banned from concerts and will only be allow G movies until he is 16. He respects the threat very well, thank you!
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