I am THE COOL mom...

Tuesday night I escorted Girly and one of her friends to a concert. Typically, this isn't a big deal... Being big music buffs ourselves, we've always encouraged and dragged, I mean, taken our kids to a variety of concerts.

This one was a first, though. It was a concert of her choice. She badgered me about it for two months until I finally bought tickets the day before the show. These were the bands.

EEEEECK!!

AAAAAACK!

OMG, I have never felt so much my age...........This was horrible.

Before I bought the tickets I checked out the main band, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, over the internet. Checked their lyrics, etc. and they were pretty clean. I was surprised that the songs were without foul language, reference to violence or sex, nor encouraged listeners to come over to the Dark Side. So it was definitely a step up from rap and hip-hop. In fact, most of the lyrics didn't make a bit of sense to me. So I waived it off and bought 3 tickets.

It will be a long time before I let myself fall into that bucket again.

The show itself was held in a small venue. The hall probably holds about 1,000. And it was sold out. There were no seats in the hall itself. When Husband and I have gone to this same place for other concerts there were always tables and chairs set up. I guess they just do that for the old people, because none were to be seen Tuesday night. There were couches set up in the bar areas and that's where I ended up planting myself with several other chaperoning parents.

The majority of the crowd was in the range of 12-18, boys as well as girls, and many of the 12-13 years olds were accompanied by parents. We started our own bonded bunch.

The first band came on promptly at 8:00PM.

OMG. I. have. never. heard. such. NOISE!

No singing, just screaming.

Literally.

Apparently the look on my face said it all, because every parent sitting with me rolled with laughter.

It wouldn't have mattered what the lyrics said because you couldn't understand them. If I screamed at that baritone decibal I do believe my vocal cords would shred. It was awful. Think AC/DC's Bon Scott or Brian Johnson trying to see "how low they can go".

I do have to say, the crowd was orderly and well behaved. Not like the concerts I attended in my teens. There was no whiff of wacky-tobacky in the air and I did not see one kid who was zoned out of their mind. Being a product of the 70's and a veteran mom, I did see a few suspicious behaviors which prompted me to want to pull out an over the counter drug test, but nothing like I have witnessed in my own heyday.

Over and over, my Girly gushed "thank you's" and claimed me to be the "best mom in the world".

Adult Son was personally offended.

"You never let me go to concerts when I was 12 and 13!"

That's because at the time it was the onslaught of Rap and HipHop. I thought this was music of Satan.

Husband said that I sure was getting soft in my old age and could not fathom what posessed me to do such a thing.

The highlight of my evening was when a 20 something+, very attractive young man offered to buy me a beer. Ooooooweeee!! Was he trying to pick me up?

Turned out he was O-so impressed I was so interested in my daughter's likes and dislikes that I would take the time to research the band for appropriateness and accompany her to a concert that I really had no desire or business seeing. He wished his mom had been so thoughtful.

Okay. Ego properly deflated.

The concert ended promptly at 11:00 and everyone filed out in an orderly fashion. No stumbling over passed out bodies, no fights and no throw up. In this respect, I was impressed.

Musically, I was appalled.

But I maintained..

Because I AM the COOL mom.

But I think next time something like this comes up, I'll let Husband have the opportunity to be the COOL DAD.

Too much coolness can ruin momness. And in the long run I'd rather be the mom.

ROCK ON, COOL MOMS 4EVER!!!