Big Gig 2014 - Fiddler's Green

My first rock concert was at the start of my Freshman year of high school, September 6, 1991. Van Halen. Fiddler's green. I went with one other friend my age on a lark (since we were walking distance to Fiddlers). I was overwhelmed by the rowdiness of the crowd and the stench of beer and cigarette smoke. But through it all, I saw one of the greatest hard rock bands in their prime. I was part of youth culture.

Fast forward 23 years through nearly every major life event a good ol Mormon boy can expect in a quarter century: High School Graduation, Mission, College, Temple Marriage, Birth of First Child, Graduation (like the order?), Move family, New Career, Second Daughter, First House (bad mortgage), Job Change, 2nd New Job, Second House (financial disaster), Loss of Child, Leaving Las Vegas, 3rd Job Venture, Old Home, Trophy Son, Human ATM, Third Daughter, Massive Home Remodel, Midlife Crisis, Finding Joy.

How am I supposed to connect with Youth Culture at the modern-indy rock festival at Fiddler's Green on Saturday July 19 2014? I'm old. beaten down. Wife, kids, church, bills... In the words of Dewy Finn:

Give up, just quit, because in this life, you can't win. Yeah, you can try, but in the end you're just gonna lose, big time, because the world is run by the Man. The Man, oh, you don't know the Man. He's everywhere. In the White House... down the hall... Ms. Mullins, she's the Man. And the Man ruined the ozone, he's burning down the Amazon, and he kidnapped Shamu and put her in a chlorine tank! And there used to be a way to stick it to the Man. It was called rock 'n roll, but guess what, oh no, the Man ruined that, too, with a little thing called MTV! So don't waste your time trying to make anything cool or pure or awesome 'cause the Man is just gonna call you a fat washed up loser and crush your soul. So do yourselves a favor and just GIVE UP!

But never underestimate the power of rock. Even if you have no clue who any of the bands are.

Camera phones replace cigarette lighters. Much better. 

I actually have some familiarity with the sound/genere of music but it was fun to go to a concert where everyone was not threatening each other (unlike my heavy metal concerts of the past). Here are some of the groups that played. I didn't see all of them, but here it is.

Panic! At The Disco, Twenty One Pilots, American Authors, Walk The Moon, MSMR, Brick + Mortar, Bad Suns & Rumours Follow.

My favorites were Walk the Moon and Twenty One Pilots. And let's just say 21 Pilots were off the charts live. Its a 2-man band that is 100% 97 octane the whole show. A bizarre mix of Elton John and Eminem. Here is a clip of them from a different show but you get the idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcK-S0MN6NE

Youth culture restored. I learned that the new trend for front men in Rock Groups is to play drums on the side of the mike and rock the keyboard as well. Just standing there singing and swiveling your hips is no longer good enough for the entertainment saturated youth of Gen Y.

The Boss and I rediscover our Youth

Thanks to Issac and Kristen for making us go. My inner teenager was very happy.