Taking my dad to a metal concert
Blue and green silhouettes moved aggressively across the open floor of the cramped venue. Everyone just finished belting out to “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks and were waiting for the next set. The anticipation of the crowd amplified when the room went black and the strum of a guitar rang through the silence.
My dad and I attended our first concert together back in 2015. Convincing him was not difficult because he loved 80’s hairbands like Mötley Crüe, Rush and Iron Maiden.
As soon as the day of the concert rolled around, my dad entered what I like to call “concert dad” mode; He thought of everything we needed and put them into the ratty drawstring purple ACU backpack I stole from my brother. The venue had an exhaustive list of rules that my dad and I found over the top: No purses, backpacks (unless it was drawstring), bags with zippers, water, food, alcohol, tobacco and more. I found it ironic that a band with songs about going against authority would play at a place with so many rules.
Bring Me the Horizon had two openers, PVRIS (read: Paris) and Issues. PVRIS was not my style of music, but any band with a frontwoman had my full support. Issues played the wildest set that I’ve ever attended. The crowd moved in a giant circle constantly, which had everyone hanging on to each other for dear life. Halfway through the set, they stopped the show until the crowd did a “wall of death,” which means the crowd splits in half and rushes towards each other, like smacking into a wall.
While I found the set difficult to keep up with, my dad was having the time of his life. As he put it, “I can’t believe that I can just hit someone, and nobody cares! After I learned that, I was all about moshing.”
My dad stands at about 6’4 and pretty stocky, so the sight of him standing head and shoulders above all the skinny high school-aged emo kids was quite a sight. That also meant he could grab onto me and keep me from getting jerked around with the crowd.
The lull in-between the last opener and Bring Me the Horizon was hot, sweaty, and full of anticipation from black-clad teenagers. Without a cue, the crowd collectively started screaming as the beginning song, “Doomed,” started to play. Since it was one of my favorite songs, it triggered the out-of-body experience everyone describes having at concerts.
Between the black silhouettes of the band, the crowd collectively singing with their hands raised and the overall atmosphere of unity, I felt a strange sense of peace wash over me.
Everyone in that show came from a different walk of life, but we all joined together and connected with this one band. I am always amazed at how people can connect on such a deep level just from music. My dad and I connected that night just by enjoying each other’s company and bonding over the experience.
The most unforgettable moment for me, besides watching my dad in the mosh pit, would probably be the most forgettable moment to a lot of people. The band had just come back for an encore and played “Drown.” I look over to my left and I see a guy about my height with black hair, a black outfit, black everything. He looked at me and we locked eyes. We both smiled at each other before both of us returned to enjoying the concert. The connection I felt at the time was strange, and I haven’t felt a connection like that since.
The night ended with my dad and I shouting, as the concert made us deaf. After the concert, we ate Whataburger at 1:30 in the morning. Whataburger is great any time of day, but there is just something about digging into a greasy burger after spending the night dancing and singing along to some great songs.
Since then, my dad and I have made it a tradition to attend concerts together. We always have the same routine and it is always a blast.
So, the moral of the story? Always take your dad to a concert. You’ll have the best night of your life…I know I did.
