Too Old to Rock and Roll

Last weekend was our annual siblings weekend.

Let me set the stage:

I am the oldest and the only girl of four siblings. Several years ago, we started a tradition of attending the HFStival together. For those of you that don't know, that's a two-day multi-band concert festival.

We've seen Eminem, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Billy Idol, Joan Jett, The Cure, The Fixx, and many, many more. The festival is usually more alternative rock music than anything else. Typically there are a lot of crowds, a lot of drinking, and other sorts of substances being used around us. Crowd surfing, mosh pits, and flashing breasts are usually part of the entertainment. My brothers are very much the beer drinking, football watching, loud music types.

We began this tradition about 10 years ago. Now we are 30, 33, 37, and 40.

This year we decided to try a different festival. It's called Bamboozle. And it was held in the Meadowlands' parking lot last weekend. 50,000 people attended.

Did I say people? I meant kids. And their parents. And us.

Now, I'm not saying it wasn't a good time. Spending the weekend with my brothers is always fun. Lots of reminiscing and bonding. Catching up, etc. It did crack us up that we just might be getting too old for this particular type of event. Take a look at the signs:

1. When the lineup list was published, we only recognized about two names on the list. One of those names was Weird Al. (There were about 60 bands).

2. As we pulled up to the stadium the guy that was directing the parking lot traffic asked my brother "Are you here for the races?" "No." "Are you dropping off kids?" "No." "Staying?" "Yes." "Really?"

3. When the crowd surfing began (this is when kids climb up over the crowd and rely on the people below them to carry them over the heads of the crowd), my youngest brother says "Someone's going to fall on this concrete and crack their head open!" I say to him "Welcome to your thirties!"

4. A young man says to me "Nice tits, ma'am."

5. Various concert attendees approach me asking things like "Ma'am, do you have any suntan lotion we could borrow?" and "Ma'am, would you happen to have any aspirin on you?" And I did. In my mom-purse, of course.

6. My 33 year old brother says "I know I'm getting old for this when I don't even really notice the young hot girls. I'm busy checking out their moms."

7. Instead of planning which bands we want to catch, we make sure we incorporate "sitting down time" in our day.

8. We leave the festival about an hour early on both nights and head home (an act completely unheard of in years past). When we get there, one brother spends an hour soaking his sore feet in a footbath.

9. Instead of participating in the mosh pits like in the past, my football-player-size brothers spend their time rescuing others from the pit.

10. A performer from "our day" (MC Hammer) is well received as a nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek bit of a joke. And yes the kids formed mosh pits during "Too Legit to Quit".

Ironically, it was still a blast. And I discovered two bands that I loved and never heard of before. Hush Sound and Circa Survive- both pictured above.

But next year, we're thinking of going to Preakness instead.