Rocking Out

When I was fifteen years old and for the next several years thereafter, I had very little in common with my dad. Don't get me wrong, I never had any of those big knock-down, drag-out fights with him like a lot of teens seem to have with their parents, but still, beyond a mutual interest in the success of the Boston Red Sox, we seemed to have very little in common at that time of my life.

That later changed as I grew into adulthood, and my father ended up being probably the greatest influence in my life before he died, but you know how it is when you're in your mid-teens: your parents know nothing and you know everything.

I mention this because I went to a concert two nights ago with my own fifteen year old son and it was an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life. My son is very interested in music, and (lucky me!) he loves the music of the sixties, seventies and eighties; he's a classic rock aficionado all the way.

So anyway, we went to see Collective Soul, Blues Traveler, and Live at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday night and were treated to four and a half hours of outstanding rock and roll from three great bands; four if you include Hana Pestle, a young lady you may not have heard of yet but you will: she has a strong, beautiful voice.

Ms Pestle was onstage with just an acoustic guitar and a microphone when we walked into the building at 7:10. I don't know what time she started but she played until 7:30, when she gave way to Collective Soul. If you love music, do yourself a favor and check out her Myspace page, where you can sample some of her music and order her CD; you won't regret it.

Sorry for getting off track, but I was really impressed with Hana Pestle. My point, though, is that with my son at an age where it's not alway easy for him to see eye to eye with his parents and vice-versa, he and I were able to share something fun that we're both interested in. We had a great time and hopefully will be able to do something similar soon.

My own father had no use for rock music - he was a Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman guy all the way, and picturing him going to a rock show with me would be...well...inconceivable. It just would never have happened. I'm not sure how big of a deal it was to my son, it might very well have been nothing more to him than something to do on a Tuesday night. But for me, it was one of those times I will never forget.

Oh yeah, and one added bonus: My ears stopped ringing sometime this morning!