Last night we took the whole family to see Macklemore perform at the Key Arena in Seattle. It was the last show of his tour, and back on his home turf, so it was a pretty special show. The guy is an amazing entertainer and the show was spectacular, sprinkled with comedy, bits of wisdom and a lot of colorful language.
I bought the kids tickets this summer. I knew they were huge fans and would love to see the show. Originally I intended to buy tickets for all of us, but when I got on the website, they were limiting tickets to four at a time. Little did I know that the show sold out in 15 minutes! Two more shows were added, but I was satisfied that at least I had the four tickets for my kids.
A little back story: Jeff and I saw Macklemore two years ago at the Showbox in Seattle. It was a private concert to celebrate the release of a cancer drug that his company, Seattle Genetics, had created. No one knew who would be performing - only that there would be more than one band and it was a big secret until we got to the show. Macklemore opened for Weezer. We had no idea who he was at the time, and I was texting my kids asking if they knew of him (answer: sort of). I said he appeared to be an Eminem wanna-be (haha - sorry, Macklemore - first impressions). But I did recognize at least one of the songs. And he put on a great show! Still, he remained a little-known local guy for a while until he hit the big time not long after that concert.
Fast-forward a year and we were all fans of his music. When I heard he was coming in concert this month, I figured I'd see what was available in the way of tickets - I casually logged on to my computer, purchased the four tickets, and only later did I realize how lucky I'd been to even get them! Earlier this week, a friend posted on Facebook that she had four tickets for sale. I asked Jeff if he wanted to buy two of the tickets and go with the kids to the concert and he said "sure!" Which was actually quite a surprise considering we're broke and it's Christmas. But I scrounged the cash to pay for the tickets and we went.
I'm so glad we did.
The concert was amazing, "life-changing" according to the kids. I'm sad I wasn't able to sit with them to watch them go crazy wild enjoying the show. But afterwards, they were sweaty, disheveled and had hoarse voices - all signs of a great concert! They danced, sang, and enjoyed being with each other. So, so worth it.
And then there were the old folks. Jeff and I sat five sections away from the kids (although we could see them easily). The seats in the nosebleed section are small and tight - you have to get cozy with your neighbor whether you like it or not. I had my "mom purse" with me and since I didn't really want to put it on the sticky, gross floor, I pretty much had it in my lap the whole time. I was wearing the clothes I wore to work - a nice runway look called "kindergarten teacher." But by the end of the show, we were standing and dancing and we put our hands up "like the ceiling can't hold us."
We were surrounded by young people, or parents with young kids. Speaking of which, this was NOT a family concert and I can't believe anyone brought young kids to see it. The opening acts were rappers with language so filthy it made even ME squirm and that's saying something. When the first two words you hear are "f**king pu**y" you can be pretty sure it's not for the under 13 crowd. At one point, we were encouraged to put up our middle fingers and shout "F*ck the haters! F*ck the ho's!" I kept wondering why the arena seemed so empty but it filled up FAST once the opening acts were over. Note to self: It's ok to be late and miss the opening acts sometimes.
But it was worth the wait for Maklemore. He was incredible. The music was so loud I could feel the bass in my teeth. I'm pretty sure it interrupted the rhythm of my heart. It was LOUD. It was bright. There was glitter. And confetti. And fire. At the end, he thanked everyone from the stage crew to individual musicians. The encores were over the top. And this middle-aged mom loved every minute of it.
Music knows no age boundaries. My kids were still riding the high of the concert all day today and I keep hearing about how it was the best night and best concert EVER. This is why I love live performances. Concerts, theater, shows - you can't get that feeling from a movie. I wish I could take my kids to every concert and every play they want to see just to see their faces at the end. SO worth it.
A life lived for art is never a life wasted ~ Ten Thousand Hours by Macklemore
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