Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Rejuvenation


Retired and being in a rut can happen quite easily I think. It was time for us to try something challenging...at least challenging to two old f***s who spent most of their time avoiding anything edgy. We needed something to do that was out of the safety zone.

The directions on the website said that a table had to be reserved ahead of time if one expected to sit during the show(s), otherwise it was 'first come first served.' Reserving a table cost $10 per person and IF you sat at this table you had to order at least $10 worth of food per person...not counting drinks. We wanted to sit as close to the dance floor as possible with the best view and so put out the big bucks. The email said the doors opened at 7:00 PM and we needed to be there by 7:45 so they would not give away our 'reserved' table. They also said if you left your drink you may find your drink gets taken away...since 18 and 19 year-olds were allowed inside. So many rules I felt like I was back in college. I don't think college has any rules these days, does it? When we got there, the tickets I picked up at the will-call window said the doors did not open until 8:00 PM. Great, now we had an hour to kill. We went next door and ate some shrimp.

Finally 8:00 arrived. My son and a few band members came by to chat. We sat down and ordered our drinks and food and as the first band rocked out we put in our foam ear plugs that my son had gotten at the bar. He mentioned something about OSHA requiring them to be available...who knew? (I still had ringing in my ears when I got home though.)

The first band to play was a group of 20 somethings with a cultured nerdy look, glasses and button down shirts and big clunky shoes. Perhaps the look wasn't cultured as when the band called their fans down to the dance floor...the fans stood like cigar store Indians each with their style statement beer in one hand and facing the players. Not a toe tap or a head bob among them. One young lady about 290 pounds and 5 foot 8 inches had her arms around another young lady who couldn't have weighed more than 90 pounds even in wet clothes and who stood just over 4 feet tall. They seemed to like each other very much, but not enough to sway to the music. Another couple was a fawn like girl in a short skirt and black top and her cute and small boyfriend who kept his hand lightly on the small of her back with extreme self-consciousness. Boy did this take me back to that time of awkward sex that must have been a part of my life so long ago. The rest of the fans looked like computer repair folks.

As the band ended, the crowd had started to grow and the tables were filled by the second band. I looked around the room and guessed that the age level had increased by about two years. This band was trying very hard. They had a marketing guru for lead singer as he got tried to get the crowd to chant out the name of the theatre/bar as a gesture of thanks. I will give them credit for trying hard as he really seemed to be enjoying his role and at least their fans did a little head bobbing.

Finally my son's band was up to play. They were the coolest of course. The fans filled the floor. Only one cover was played and all the rest original --- lyrics and music mostly written and composed by my son. I am prejudiced, I know, but he is very talented. The fans were jumping and clapping and enjoying themselves without being intoxicated. One gal was there in a short little dress and my favorite style statement, cowboy boots. Her date, oddly, was in a suit and tie, but my daughter explained he had probably come straight from work. There were the traditional cleavage and bare waist girls and the guys in faded T-shirts. I knew a few as friends of my son from high school, and others looked familiar.

I looked around the room and at one side table sat a small group of parents, very straight looking with their short gray haircuts and conservative dress. (No, I was not looking at a mirror on the far wall!) I knew they must be parents of the members of the band that I didn't know. They looked a little pained as I guess this music was not quite their thing. It was like a Meet the Parents moment with the expression on their faces of trying hard to 'get this.'

We head-bobbed and toe-tapped and I didn't get back to my daughter's house until after midnight. It was exhausting but also rejuvenating as I hadn't hung with a cool crowd in years. I am playing that great music from the band's website as I write this.

PS: (If you are brave enough to listen go here: My favs are "Arsonist" and "Everybody Knows")

12 comments:

  1. Very cool. I'm glad you did some toe tapping and head bobbing. You must have been the best chair dancers around. I bet it felt great. Keep on rockin!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rave on! I'll be dancing myself at Floydfest, which starts this Thursday - Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Play it for us!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can identify with your pride as you toe tapped to your son's band. For a time my son played in a disco band with the ungodly name, "Organized Crime" and when they played in the Las Vegas Hilton hotel we went to hear them. I also followed them up to Magic Mountain where they played for several seasons. It's hard not to beam when your son plays a solo.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous8:20 AM

    I looked around the room and at one side table sat a small group of parents, very straight looking with their short gray haircuts and conservative dress. (No, I was not looking at a mirror on the far wall!)

    You made me laugh out loud!! LOL

    Glad you had a fun night, i love your observations on the evening and the crowd :)
    off to listen to some tunes on the site link.
    xxsm

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's not just you -- they are great! Which one is your son?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Darlene, the name has to do with the metro train line they all rode to get into town...although I thought something much edgier when I first heard it.
    Kenju, I added the link
    Granny, he is on the far right.

    ReplyDelete
  8. sounds like you had fun! i laughed about the earplugs - i would need them, too. how did we get so old?! by the way, i went to their website and hubby likes the sound.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'll take a listen when it isn't so early in the morning.

    My nephew sings in a band and I was just blown away when I heard him for the first time.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sounds like a blast.. I'm glad you had fun. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, this one takes me back! All three of our sons were in bands at one time or another and we got to drink beer in joints we didn't know existed - rock on, Tabor, but wear the earplugs!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm still in my twenties so I can somehow relate with what you described here. I also listened to the songs and they're pretty cool.

    Getting out of our comfort zone is indeed rejuvenating!

    ReplyDelete

Take your time...take a deep breath...then hit me with your best shot.