HIP CHECK: Hip Rehab
Lately, I’ve returned to my old habit of attending live music shows. In my teens, 20’s and 30’s, that was all I was ever about. Working in radio during those years, I had access to promoters and clients who hoped to impress. Going to shows was more a problem of choice than of finance, and that made it easy.
Now, as an adult and especially as a dad, attending shows is spectacularly difficult, as are most efforts to “be social.” Kiddos need homework help and dinner and baths and calm and ritual. In other words, stability. I really should be home. Plus, babysitters have gotten surprisingly expensive in the past few years. $15 an hour? Seriously?
As my daughter has gotten older, however, her autonomy has increased and I’m learning, slowly, to ignore my self-imposed guilt at leaving her with my wife. For the last six months, I’ve been going to shows on average of about every six weeks. I’m beginning to once again feel like an adult. I go to these shows solo as I can become completely immersed in the experience, sometimes winding up in the front of
the house up against the barricades. It is truly an exhilarating, rejuvenating thing for me.
In the process of reacquainting with live shows, however, I’ve noticed some significant changes from years past. Stuff that was formerly unthinkable is now wordlessly acceptable. I’m still wrapping my head around concepts like…
- Shows start ON TIME. No more “rock-and-roll-o’clock.” A word to the wise is be there when the ticket says the doors will open or risk missing some of what you’ve paid for. And you don’t want to miss the opening acts – they’ve been great lately (I’m winking at you, Ford Madox Ford!).
- There is no smoking inside… of anything. In previous encounters, lights-down was the signal to light up. No more. I was at a show last week – on 4/20 of all dates – and there was not a whiff of anything, legal or otherwise. Astounding.
- Photos are encouraged. Used to be (now in my old man voice), taking a picture was grounds for automatic ejection with your camera either confiscated or the film (film?) removed. Now, with cameras everywhere and social media’s power to build a brand, bands are almost begging to be photographed and posted on Instafacetube.
- Performers are more accessible. And not just via their social media pages. With the new music economy, smart performers know the value of hanging out at the merch table to encourage the, ahem, secondary revenue streams. It works, too. I met the lead singer at a recent show and bought more than I’d intended. Turns out Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate is a pretty cool guy!
I’m OK with these changes. Organization and accessibility are strong tools for good with any going concern. But (and it’s big hairy butt with zits) it does raise the question: is it still rock and roll? I would say… yes. If Iggy Pop can be on Facebook, then I can embrace the change. By the way, if you’re interested, I’ll be at the Dick Dale show at the Viper Room in early June. Check back and see how I progress as I try to rehabilitate my “hipness.”
