two fridays ago maddy

went to her

first concert.

well, sort of…

technically her

first concert was a

kanye west show outside of

the la memorial coliseum

after i ran

my first 10k,

but i’m not sure

that one actually counts.

i mean,

first of all,

she wore

industrial-style,

noise-canceling, ear muffs

and second of

all, she slept through

the entire thing.

besides, that one wasn’t

really a choice.

it was an accident

of convenience

so i don’t really

count it.

more than anything,

i want her

to be able to have

the kind of epic

first concert story

that my parents denied me…

one that will

someday impress her

college friends

and make me seem

way cooler than i

ever was.

see, my parents

never took me

to a concert,

which is by far

the worst thing

that happened

during my childhood.

(thanks, guys, for depriving me).

music was not a huge

part of their

lives so i had to

go it alone.

my first concert is

equal parts amazing and

somewhat stupid.

i saw spinal tap

(yes, there was a spinal tap concert tour)

at the orpheum theater

in mpls on may

19, 1992.

i was 14.

i remember just about

every single thing

about it…

i remember getting dropped

off in downtown

minneapolis with a couple

of friends

by my friend’s dad

(a pastor),

his son, trying to

sneak a tiny

bottle of vodka

into the venue,

and ultimately giving it

to a homeless guy

outside because

he was nervous about

getting caught with it.

(i also remember being really, really scared because i didn’t want to be an accessory to his crime, especially since i didn’t even drink booze [little known fact about me...i didn't have my first taste of alcohol until my 21st birthday...no joke]).

i remember being in

awe of the beautiful

old theater,

unlike any other

building i’d ever entered.

i remember the old

couple sitting next

to us in the back

row of the ground floor,

both of them

too well-dressed

to be attending

a spinal tap show,

the woman pulling

out a pair of

opera glasses in order

to get a better view,

and my friends and

i laughing at them.

i remember that they

never returned to

their seats after

the intermission.

i wondered then if

they somehow

ended up at the

wrong concert, and with

20 years

(holy shit!)

between then and now,

i wonder if they

were planted there

by the band/actors

as a joke?

i remember having the

time of my life.

what i don’t

remember at all

is the music.

i mean, i remember that

there was music,

but i don’t remember

specific songs or anything,

but i guess

what i’m trying to

say is that

it was the entire

experience that really

hooked me.

i’ve since been to

well over 100

live shows in my

life, and for

years now, i’ve

dreamed of taking my

child to her first show

just so she could

tell future friends

how cool she was

(that, and to hopefully help her find a life-long love of music).

…

a few months

ago i found out that

one of my favorite artists

(j. tillman, now known as father john misty)

would be

playing in one

of our favorite places

in the city

(the natural history museum of los angeles, more specifically, in the north american mammal hall as part of the nmh’s first fridays monthly shot of culture),

and most importantly,

it was an all-ages show,

which of course

meant that

maddy would be able

to go!

…

i got tickets for

maddy, brooke & me,

and we headed downtown

to the museum we

visit about twice

per month, explaining to

maddy for days in advance

that we were going

to the museum

with the dinosaurs

(that’s what she calls the place)

to see a concert.

when we got there,

we parked ourselves

in the african mammal hall

until the show started,

where maddy checked

out the animals,

danced to the

dj’s music,

played the drums,

and eventually, spun

some records:

maddy said,

“that was so much fun!”

and i explained that

she is not allowed to

do that with the

records/record player we

have at home.

eventually it was time

for us to head

to the other side

of the building

for the concert.

as we waited,

maddy was

tired and bored

(it was after all, an hour and a half past her normal bedtime)

but she soon

got excited

and was ready for

the band to start.

when the music started

she began

bouncing up

and down on my

shoulders, clearly

enjoying the first

live show she’d

seen while awake.

she had the time

of her life,

and so did i.

(brooke seemed to like it, but i think she would have preferred lady gaga or something equally awful).

and how fucking cool

is it going to

be when someone asks maddy,

“what was your first concert?”

and she answers,

“i saw father john misty in the north american mammal hall at the natural history museum in los angeles when i was 4 years old.”

i think it’s pretty

damn rad.

but maybe she’ll want

to claim that

kanye west show

she slept threw

as her first,

or more than likely

she’ll be totally

embarrassed that her

first concert wasn’t

whoever the justin

beiber equivalent of

her teen years is.

but maybe, just maybe

she’ll love me for it.

………

just in case you’re interested, the liz logelin foundation, one of our grant recipients, and maddy & i will be featured on the cbs morning show tomorrow morning (wednesday, may 16th, sometime during the second hour). tune in if you can.

finally, this year’s liz logelin foundation 5k and maddy’s mile fun run for kids will take place on june 9th in minneapolis (and around the world) and we’d love for you to join us! registration is now open!

feel free to leave a comment or send me an email if you have any questions.