I took the kids to see their first concert on Saturday night at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. One of my favorite bands, Rush, was currently in Texas, stopping in San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas (and skipping Austin, of course.) So we went to the show in Houston, since it was on a Saturday night, and kids are free on the lawn. I'm so glad the kids were free, because the whole experience was somewhat of a disaster.
I was expecting to have an experience similar to what we had on the 4th of July. We'd put our blanket on the lawn, sit down, and just watch the show from a distance. I had seen Rush five times previously over the past 20 years, so I didn't really care if I was close to the stage or not.
Unfortunately for us (but fortunate for Rush, I suppose), the show was completely packed. It appeared to be completely sold out, even on the lawn. Sitting down became an impossibility, unless you didn't want to see anything at all. If you wanted to see something, even the giant video screens, you had to stand for the whole 2 1/2 hour show. The kids didn't like that, and they kept begging me to hold them so they could see. So Christy and I took turns holding the two kids up so they could see. We did this all night, and by the end of the night my arms were as sore as if I had been lifting weights all day.
To make things worse, Sara began to feel tired shortly into the second set (right after Rush had finished playing "Moving Pictures" in its entirety) and she started complaining that she wanted to leave.
"I'm not leaving before I hear 'La Villa Strangiato' " I told them, and I meant it. That was one of my favorite Rush songs, and I knew they didn't play it until the encore. Soon Christy joined in with the complaints, and she and Sara left before me and Kyle. Surprisingly, Kyle was much more into it, and he wanted to stay. So, after I heard the song I wanted to hear, Kyle and I left, even though the concert still wasn't over yet (we missed the final song, "Working Man.")
The show was good, but just about everything surrounding it was not. I told the kids that there will be no more concerts for them until they are teenagers and we don't need to keep our eyes on them every second.
(Picture above: Kids going crazy at the concert. Video below: my shaky-cam recording of Rush performing "Free Will")
I was expecting to have an experience similar to what we had on the 4th of July. We'd put our blanket on the lawn, sit down, and just watch the show from a distance. I had seen Rush five times previously over the past 20 years, so I didn't really care if I was close to the stage or not.
Unfortunately for us (but fortunate for Rush, I suppose), the show was completely packed. It appeared to be completely sold out, even on the lawn. Sitting down became an impossibility, unless you didn't want to see anything at all. If you wanted to see something, even the giant video screens, you had to stand for the whole 2 1/2 hour show. The kids didn't like that, and they kept begging me to hold them so they could see. So Christy and I took turns holding the two kids up so they could see. We did this all night, and by the end of the night my arms were as sore as if I had been lifting weights all day.
To make things worse, Sara began to feel tired shortly into the second set (right after Rush had finished playing "Moving Pictures" in its entirety) and she started complaining that she wanted to leave.
"I'm not leaving before I hear 'La Villa Strangiato' " I told them, and I meant it. That was one of my favorite Rush songs, and I knew they didn't play it until the encore. Soon Christy joined in with the complaints, and she and Sara left before me and Kyle. Surprisingly, Kyle was much more into it, and he wanted to stay. So, after I heard the song I wanted to hear, Kyle and I left, even though the concert still wasn't over yet (we missed the final song, "Working Man.")
The show was good, but just about everything surrounding it was not. I told the kids that there will be no more concerts for them until they are teenagers and we don't need to keep our eyes on them every second.
(Picture above: Kids going crazy at the concert. Video below: my shaky-cam recording of Rush performing "Free Will")
I'm enjoying your posts about your children, so much. They are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. LOL
ReplyDeleteJanet
Excellent camera work.
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