This summer I went with my husband and some friends to see one of my favorite local bands. While I spent my 20s regularly attending club shows, immune to the near-midnight start times, since having children, rarely do I venture out past eight o’clock. OK, let’s be honest: If it happens much past five on a weeknight you can count me out. It was a beautiful night and the show was on the patio, the moon slowly rising and mingling with the lights strung above our heads. I stood up as the band began to play because I love music and find it hard to sit still at a live show. And then, as I began to sway a little more with the groove, my arthritic knees reminded me I was no longer my young, concert-going self. I practically had to grab hold of a chair to keep from losing my balance. And the thought struck me: Am I too old to rock? Five years ago, I finally hung up my soccer cleats, having broken my wrist tending goal and defending a strong shot from about 10 feet out. As my knees are telling me now, I should have given that up much earlier. My skiing days are over. I even struggle now to do yoga without major modifications. But as someone who once dreamed of writing for Rolling Stone, being too old to rock cuts deep. How does Jagger keep his stage acrobatics up in his 70s when I can barely stand through a show anymore without aches? I recently attended a Foo Fighters show, excited to see any connection to Nirvana, one of my concert misses. As usual, spurred on by the grinding guitars and pounding beat, I started to head-bang a bit. That is, until my neck reminded me I was a lot older than I was when Grunge first blasted onto the scene. I watched in amazement as Dave Grohl threw his head of long hair up and down for HOURS. How do these guys – younger than me, yes, but no spring chickens – do this night after night, year after year? It can’t all be lubricated by booze. In the end, I guess I’m making my peace with the fact that I’m not too old to rock, As long as I do it right after my steroid injections.
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d.a.meek
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December 2017
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