Ok class lets review:
Good: Wearing the band’s t-shirt to their own concert
Bad: Wearing a Justin Bieber t-shirt to a Metallica concert
Good: Wearing any type of music equipment related clothing to a hard rock concert
Bad: Wearing pink anything to a hard rock concert
Good: Wearing comfy shoes to a concert where you’ll be standing a lot
Bad: Wearing flip-flops to any concert anywhere anytime
Now I admit I have been there and done that in almost all cases of the above rights and wrongs. See here and here if you want to see the ugly truth…
However I have not yet entered the realm of Christmas sweater vests. Hi Mom!
That’s the woman who gave me life right there with her favorite TSO band member Chris Caffery. They have lights and lasers and smoke a guys with long hair and guitars! What’s not to love? Yes my mom is a Trans Siberian Orchestra fan. And she has seen them 9 times. And she has gotten autographs from each of them 9 times. Thank goodness she didn’t wear the poinsettia sweater vest all 9 times.
I know it was almost Christmas but I’ll forgive her if you can. She really is cool. Don’t let the vest fool you. Back in the day she saw Elvis. And Neil Diamond (ok maybe not so cool.) And there was the trip to see Kenny Rogers downtown which involved my four-foot something aunt sitting on telephone books to see over the steering wheel of our Ford LTD because she was the only not scared of driving in the city. And mom even took me to see Garth Brooks when I was 15.
And let us not forget Alabama. From 1980 until the 90’s when they finally retired she faithfully attended their concerts every time they came to town and even finally learned to maneuver downtown so she could make the pilgrimage to the coliseum to see them when the aunt couldn’t go. Rain nor snow nor event staff confiscating her video camera tape in 1988 and letting her off easy by having her return the camcorder to the car and letting her back in couldn’t keep her from her favorite band. (hey it was her first camcorder and she didn’t know you weren’t allowed to take “moving” pictures at a show…) By the way that was my first concert and we’re lucky I continued to go after that because when security folks whisk your mother away from her seat and you’re left with your aunt and no keys to the car you could possibly be scarred for life….but she came back, all was good and we continued to return faithfully to their shows through the next 10 or so years but we left the video camera at home.
So you see I get this concert thing honest because of my mother (although I’m a little more subdued about it). She on the other hand is a die-hard fan and once she loves you and your music, that’s it. She’ll have your t-shirts, your albums, your autograph, your pictures, your fan club membership, your website message board saved on her favorites, your email and your telephone number (well not really the last 2 things although if she could find a way, she would and you’d get lovely little encouraging cards and messages…)
Concerts – it’s just what we do. And thankfully it’s what my husband and step-son do too. So you will see us all together – mom, dad, me, the husband and the boy in Section 2L seats 1-5 in November when TSO blows through town. We will not however be wearing Christmas flower vests.
{mom and TSO drummer Jeff Plate – I guess I get the drummer thing honest too!}
We’ll leave that to mom.
drumlove 