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Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Rockin’ on with the next generation
How young is too young to go to a concert?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My favorite band “du jour” is returning to the Tabernacle in a few weeks, and I can’t wait. My husband and I saw The Decemberists there a few months ago, and we have already lined up friends to watch the girls for the upcoming show. This is important, because I don’t want to be totting up the babysitter’s fee every time the band starts a new song.
Even before we met at university, my husband and I were much more interested in the line-up at Athens’ 40 Watt Club than the Bulldogs’ line-up on the gridiron. When we lived in DC, I was the only person not frisked to get into a local venue to see Morrissey, because I was clearly very pregnant.
So it stands to reason that our three kids are a bit into music. They rock out to The Kooks and Snow Patrol as fervently as they do Hannah Montana and the Wiggles. But when our oldest asked if she could go with us to see The Decemberists, I had to stop and think. She can sing along to their library better than anyone else, but nine years old still seems a little young to be exposed to “concert culture”.
To be honest, I don’t think I would balk if she asked to see Hannah Montana at Philips. But this is no kiddie band, and the crowd will still be adults - no matter how young they look to me.
What is an appropriate age for a kid’s first concert? I’m not talking about outdoor music festivals where the air’s relatively fresher and the decibel levels decrease as you move away from the stage, but acts that are playing in big indoor venues or small clubs? Does the size of venue or the age of the act change your answer?
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