Girl at the Rock Shows

My family is spread out throughout the country. I have a cluster of family in California, some over near D.C., a few up in the Portland, Oregon area, and then my brother, dad, stepmom, and I here in the Midwest. Because of this, we don’t get together as a whole family often. That being said, we find fun little ways to stay in touch and stay close. One of those ways is shipping teenagers off to a random cousin or aunt/ uncle’s house for a week in the summer. Okay, “shipping off” is bad phrasing, but I think you understand what I’m saying.

When I was a teenager, I was given my choice of where to go, and I chose to go up to Portland, Oregon, to spend a week with my cousin Kim. Kim was quite a bit older than me, and I envied her house and the fact that she lived in Portland. I fell in love with the town and even toyed with the idea of going to college up there because of it, but, in the end, what I remember the most about that trip was going to a few shows with her. I dragged her to see Alkaline Trio and Death By Stereo at The Roseland Ballroom, which was awesome, but I also dragged her to some warehouse show to see Blindside that, upon looking back, I probably shouldn’t have been at due to how young I was. This is still kind of the running joke in the family. Even when I was in Washington, D.C., over the 4th of July weekend, everyone was asking me what shows I was going to go to. Unfortunately, I never made it to one, but people know me, and they know that, no matter what age, no matter where I am– I am finding a show to go to and will gladly bring unwilling participants if only to see them experience a show just like I did to my poor cousin Kim (who I think is still traumatized by both of the shows we went to when I was out in Portland).

Fast forward to now, and it’s time for the younger generation of my cousins to start doing what my brother and I did- ship off to a random cousin or aunt/ uncle’s house and spend a week away from home. The victim to get the Midwest clan of my family? My sweet, sweet little cousin Sadie. I have only met Sadie a couple of times, but that’s how it goes when your family is so spread out. As much as I wish Sadie could just stay with me for about a week, that’s just not realistic as she isn’t 21, so I can’t get into half the shows I cover, and, on top of that, I still have the day job. That’s where my dad and stepmom stepped in. They will be giving Sadie a tour of Des Moines, Iowa for the week but, before they do that, they spent a night in Minneapolis with us.

There were a few shows that I had in mind to take Sadie to because, well, I need to keep the tradition of scaring my family members one concert at a time. Thankfully for Sadie, my brother and sister-in-law stepped in, coming in clutch with some ultra-VIP tickets to go see Vampire Weekend. Although I felt that this wasn’t quite what I would have chosen as a first show, my cousin, because I’m all about the grit and grime of a live show, I felt that this was such a great way to introduce Sadie to the world of live music.

The performers were Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend. That’s right, this was my second night at the same show. Okay, “same show” is not fair because, honestly, other than the stage setup and backgrounds, nothing about the two nights was the same. Sure, I heard some of the same songs, but they were in a different order, and they seemed to hit a bit differently. I attribute that to seeing the show through a different lens– quite literally. Instead of covering the show with a camera slung around my neck and an almost stressful experience as I tried to get my shots and take my notes, I was taking the performance in from the best spot in the house with a cold drink in hand and family around me. It’s crazy how your setting at a show can change everything.

Sure, I would have loved to be in the audience. Getting sweaty and jumping around to the infectious indie-pop jams of Vampire Weekend sounded like the perfect way to spend my Wednesday night, but at the end of the day, it was the subtle smile on Sadie’s face when the night was done or the way she and I gave each other blank stares as my brother and his wife danced like complete fools through certain songs that made the night more than worth it.

Sadie will be a junior in high school this year. She’s not quite sure what the future holds for her, but I hope that, like me, she will never forget the time she spent with her big cousins at the rock show.

Line Up:

Ra Ra Riot

Vampire Weekend

Venue: The Armory

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 24

Crowd Surfers- None Spotted

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- 1 Beach Ball

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Ra Ra Riot – 1

Vampire Weekend – 2

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 9.6 out of 10

Show on Deck — Lifestyle Shakes / Mouthful / Pyrrhic Victories

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