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Final Might, simply because the world was awakening from COVID lockdowns, my 15-year-old son, Benjamin, knowledgeable his mom and me that he want to attend an upcoming live performance. Apparently, the rapper Kendrick Lamar was coming to Toronto and, additionally apparently, Mr. Lamar was the “greatest ever.”
We knowledgeable my son, in no unsure phrases, that he was too younger to go to a Kendrick Lamar live performance in Toronto alone. I naively took, “you’ll be able to’t go alone” as “you’ll be able to’t go” and thought nothing additional of it. However my son and his buddy, Josh, refused to take no for a solution.
A few days later I obtained an excited textual content message from Josh’s father: “How about taking the boys to the Kendrick Lamar live performance!?”
Not like me, Josh’s father is cool. His title is Ash, in any case. He drives a Porsche, performs electrical guitar and has a sound room in his basement the place he and his son “jam.” He can have an hours-long dialog in regards to the completely different stitching on varied Nike sneakers. I, then again, have an workplace in my basement the place I learn. I put on Skechers.
This explains why the boys approached Josh’s “cool” father about taking them to the live performance moderately than me. As a substitute of two boys and two fathers heading to the live performance, the night time gave the impression to be shaping up as three hip, cool individuals and … properly … me. By this level it was unattainable to say no. Not solely have been the boys dying to go, however Ash was simply as excited as both of them. He additionally knew the way to get tickets and had began planning the entire night. Inside every week we had 4 seats to see Mr. Lamar a few months therefore. I couldn’t think about wherever I would slot in much less.
Just a few weeks later I occurred to be in Ottawa visiting with my octogenarian mom and her sister, my Aunt Martha. I relayed to them the absurdity of my state of affairs, a person in his fifties attending a Kendrick Lamar live performance simply so his son may go, for goodness sakes! Wasn’t parenting, I mused, a lot easier earlier than TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat?
My mom and my aunt listened to my complaining attentively, checked out one another after which burst out laughing. What was so humorous? The extra issues change, I used to be advised, the extra they keep the identical. The trials of parenting apparently hadn’t modified in any respect. Then they advised me a narrative.
In the summertime of 1964, Martha, then an 11-year-old lady dwelling in Ottawa, knowledgeable her mom she want to attend an upcoming live performance. A beautiful, dreamy band from England was planning to play two exhibits in Montreal. Apparently, they have been the “greatest band ever.”
In fact her mom, my grandmother Audrey, knowledgeable her, in no unsure phrases, that she was too younger to go to a live performance in Montreal. And anyway, who was this band? What was so particular about them?
The band was The Beatles, and it might find yourself being the one time they’d ever play within the metropolis. Martha, identical to my son Benjamin, refused to take no for a solution and pleaded along with her father.
My grandfather Cuthbert was not a Beatles fan. He was born in 1903, simply two years after Rachmaninov had completed his Piano Concerto No. 2 and barely earlier than Claude Debussy’s La Mer premiered. He grew up listening to classical music. He wore bespoke three-piece fits, half-moon glasses and had been a colonel within the Canadian military. If he was feeling adventurous, which he hardly ever was, he would possibly hearken to some “huge band” music. The Glenn Miller Orchestra possibly.
Nonetheless, he was a father first, and his little lady needed to go and see this new “rock and roll” band, and so, to maintain her glad, he sourced some tickets, fired up the Jaguar and drove Martha and her buddy from Ottawa to Montreal to see the Fab 4.
As quickly because the band got here on stage the gang exploded. Ladies have been screaming, A number of fainted. The Beatles have been actually hollering (their first tune was Twist and Shout). Poor previous Cuthbert didn’t know what had hit him. It was, as he would describe it later, terribly uncivilized.
However after some time one thing surprising occurred. Because the band broke into renditions of She Loves You and Can’t Purchase Me Love, Cuthbert discovered he was entering into it just a bit bit. His foot was tapping. Solely barely, and involuntarily, however tapping none the much less. These British chaps, it turned out, may really carry a tune, even when they may do with a visit to the barber (you couldn’t even see their ears!).
By the point McCartney broke into his screaming rendition of Little Richard’s Lengthy Tall Sally, Cuthbert appeared to have forgotten completely that he was a revered lawyer whose every day lunches on the Rideau Membership included two dry martinis and 6 oysters on the half shell, accompanied by delicate Chopin nocturnes.
As they left the live performance for the experience again to Ottawa, the women have been floating on clouds and Cuthbert wanted a cocktail. That was 58 years in the past, and now historical past was repeating.
Effectively, if Cuthbert, may attend a Beatles live performance at 61 with out embarrassing his daughter, I may do one thing related for my son. The very first thing to do, then, was to be taught one thing about Mr. Lamar and his music. I duly downloaded and listened to all his albums (complete potty-mouth, apparently swearing was not frowned upon within the Lamar family!), specializing in his most up-to-date. I had a number of discussions with Benjamin about what to put on. After virtually my complete wardrobe was vetoed, we finally agreed on “one thing darkish – not a go well with’” So, with me kitted out in denim denims and a plain black T-shirt, we headed all the way down to the Scotiabank Enviornment.
The reality is the live performance was nice. Actually, actually spectacular. The very best half, in fact, was how glad my son was. I stood when applicable, I didn’t dance, and now and again my son gave me an encouraging, accepting nod. Mr. Lamar has offered greater than 70 million albums and received 14 Grammy awards, so there have to be one thing to him and his music. So whereas Kendrick Lamar should not be my favorite artist, I’m glad my son launched me to him, and I’m glad I went, simply as Cuthbert was at all times glad he went to see The Beatles.
It’s really easy to sit down in our silos, divided by age or upbringing or political affiliation. Typically, we don’t hold an open thoughts to new issues, new experiences. Thankfully we’ve kids, like Benjamin and Martha, to assist us do this. If, in fact, we’ve the sense to hearken to them.
Mark Angus Hamlin lives in Toronto.
