Went to see Green Day out at Jiffy Lube Live (hate that name) last night.  Man, was it hot.  Miserably hot.  I’m still dehydrated.  I don’t believe that the show was a sellout either.  The parking lot wasn’t that full, at least when we got there, and the venue didn’t seem crowded.  Maybe the economy, maybe people have had enough of Green Day…dunno

It was my daughter’s first concert.  We had talked earlier in the year about her going to a concert and I had indicated then that I really didn’t care who she went to see but that the first one would be with the ‘Rents in tow.  That didn’t seem to be a huge deal but this was an odd experience on a couple of different levels:

My first concert was the Van Halen 1984 tour.  It was at the Cap Center over in Landover and I rode there – around the beltway – in the back of a pickup truck.  You can well imagine that my parents didn’t know about that little stunt.  Further, my parents really had no idea who Van Halen were (are?).  I showed my mother a picture of David Lee Roth and she remarked that he looked like a pervert…:)  How is this differnt than today?  Well, not only do I know who Green Day are but I own every album they have released.  I knew the words to every song they played last night and Green Day wasn’t really one of those bands that I grew up listening to: there was nothing seminal or formative about my contact with their music (that was done long ago by the early metal bands – along with a significant dash of classical) but I do find it listenable.  I also believe them to still be relevent to the current social milieu as opposed to the Stones or other band of yesteryear.  The Stones play great stuff but I wouldn’t catagorize it as an up to date commentary…

So, that’s one level on which this was an odd experience.  This isn’t to say that there aren’t people around my parent’s age that I don’t share musical interests with, I do.  A fact of potential significance is that Green Day isn’t one of her go-to bands but she does know their music and likes it.

Another level is the “awkward factor”  She and I haven’t really discussed it (probably better if we dont) but I can well imagine that it’s a shade awkward to be standing next to your parents while they sing along with the band and dance.  The only saving grace is that she had a lot of camoflauge: Green Day’s first album was released in about 1990 so the crowd is filled with folks my age who brought children her age!  It was funny to see her stand there, when everyone had their arms up in the air (I’ve never been an arms in the air kind of dude), she leaned over and asked me “what do I do?”.  This struck me as a bit odd but I told her: do whatever you want.  It’s a rock concert.  If the singer is up there carrying on, demanding that you put your hands in the air and you don’t want to then don’t.  He ain’t the boss of you.  Nobody is…well, except me of course…:)

The only point that made me feel a bit awkward was when the singer had some off-color things to say.  If I were there with the wife or my buddies it wouldn’t bother me and I’m sure that in the USA of 2010 my daughter has heard it somewhere before but never while we were standing next to one another.  It reminded me very much of when I went to see a King Arthur movie with my Mother when I was a teenager.  There was a part of that movie where Guinevere was briefly nude.  Awkward! Fortunately it didn’t last long….

Overall, I’m glad I was there with her and I feel like if she does go see a concert with her friends (10 years or so) that she’ll be better prepared for what she will find there….Oh, the concert itself?  not bad….