Summer means so many different things to me: camp, desert heat, monsoons, working hard. It also, however, brings on the meaning of summer concerts for me, as well, and this is a summer tradition that I look forward to all year-long.
I usually hit up at least one concert every summer, and this time, I decided to share the experience with my daughter. She is beginning to develop her own tastes in music, and about a year ago, she asked me to buy a Go-Go’s CD for her. I did, and “Beauty and the Beat” has become a household favorite. She also begs me to play the B-52′s “Love Shack” & “Rock Lobster” in my car, so I knew this would be her perfect 1st concert.
We got her BFF and BFF’s Mom & big sis to sign on for a night of concert going, and our little entourage headed to Casino Del Sol’s Ava Amphitheater in Tucson last night praying that our choice of lawn seats didn’t backfire on us with monsoons and lightening.
We were in luck! It was a great night for the lawn with space for our blankets, a neighboring kid concert goer that befriended our girls immediately and even cotton candy being peddled by the Amphitheater concessions sellers just as they would at a ball game. The girls were ready to go and so excited to see their first real live rock ‘n roll up close and personal.
The Go-Go’s came out first. The old line up of Belinda and Jane and Charlotte and Kathy and Gina was like embracing old friends who you hadn’t seen in a while. These punky pop-rockers still have their edge and sound just like they did in the old days with the exception of Belinda Carlisle getting a little pitchy on her highest notes from time to time. My daughter kept asking, “Mommy, when are they going to play “We’ve Got the Beat.” I responded by saying it would be their very last song. ”How do you know that,” she insisted on knowing. Oh, dear sweet girl….I know because live music is my thing. I know, because I’ve been to more concerts than the amount of stuffed animals you have crammed in storage buckets all around your bedroom. I know, because that’s the beauty of an encore.
When they finally played the song, I was chatting with an old friend a few yards away. How dare I not be right next to her for the moment she’d been waiting for. She came to find me. I immediately left my friend and spent the rest of the song with her. We did the bump and held hands dancing, and it was at that moment that I knew that I was staring in the eyes of a next generation concert goer. She loved it! This was her moment to recognize a song that meant something to her, and there is nothing like hearing your band play it live. Yay! What a happy memory that I hope will stay with her forever!
After, a short break, the B-52′s came out. Man….the B-52′s are tight! Kate Pierson’s voice is just perfect. I could listen to her sing and watch her dance her funky way all day long. Fred Schneider and Cindy Wilson add their psychedelic awesomeness to the B-52′s sound, but for me, the B-52′s is really all about Kate. The songs were great, and I honestly have to say that I like this band better live than recorded. To me, that is the hugest compliment to a band…to be able to replicate what they do in a studio. Kudos to them!
When I shelled out the money for my daughter’s concert t-shirt, despite the too expensive price, I knew this was a souvenir she had to have. She will wear it with pride until she grows out of it, and eventually it might even be hung on her wall as a memory of her first concert. I am overjoyed that I got to share it with her.
My song of the day is the standout song of last night’s evening for me. There is always one in every concert. I loved hearing the B-52′s perform “Roam” live, and now I feel like listening to it all day long. So, click HERE to share in the afterglow of a great evening (besides the sleepiness and lack of voice that I will struggle through today), and enjoy a song that will always remind me of my daughter’s first concert! :)