Bob Schneider, Digital Wild, Wink Burcham- -a young musician's first concert.

We arrived way too early for the Nutty Brown concert. So, we hung out with parking lot attendants, bugs and employees hanging four, no five, no four “No Re-entry” signs.

We stood. We sat. We drew circles in the dirt. My son wrote his name in cursive lined with rocks, sticks and shrubs. This was my son's first concert. 

We look back and we are first in line. We MADE the line. We talked with the first new couple to join us. The friendly man offered my son an orange Tic Tac. The man's wife and I talked about concerts we’ve attended before. She said she was friends with Hayes Carll’s wife. 

We walked in and I immediately found the first grassy area before the concrete splashpad with “stand only” room. We got to watch bands set up for themselves, no roadies here, and wild music notes and voices warm up.

We were also first in line for food. The teen-face employee was confused. She couldn't add quick enough, and there were no pictures on the cash register. So she had to ask again what I ordered. The burger is $5. The chicken is $6 and the drinks are $2. I added it up for her, and I helped her with the change out of $20. We got to our seats to find that the order was wrong, but whatever. I was just glad I’m wasn't the fifth person in her line.

The first band Wink Burcham was a country kind of band. They had a nice style. They connected with the audience by talking without much hype and announced they would be around to “visit” after the show.

The next band was The Digital Wild. This was a band composed of a Dolores-Cranberries-kind-of lead singer voice, a man with falsetto tones, a drummer, and a Mac computer. This was Africa. This was club music. And, this was everything in between.

And, the JOY in the lead singer’s eyes- -wow. Chantell Moody did this little Martha Graham dance. 

Sometimes it was like she was all alone at the stage, and sometimes, it was like there was no stage. 

She smiled brightly at the children dancing with her. And when she sang, “Raise your hands up!" her smile was contagious.

The music fan neighbor and I were so enthralled in this woman’s joy that we had to research her. Various styles of music all came together as if they were never apart. 

Moody was the first to recognize the vets in the audience, wished us a happy Fourth and said Bob was on his way in.

Bob entered with Fourth of July joy. He said, “It’s the Fourth. We won!”

With the multi-talented Ollie away for the holiday, the band made some changes. Bob played a little more piano and back with the band, was Jon Sanchez, and man did he jam the stage. Wow, he’s talented. 

I noticed certain songs like Let the Light In were not played. And songs when Ollie’s trumpet usually was the icing, these songs were highlighted in guitar lace. 

And, in songs like Cheaper, when Ollie's usually the “Heave ho” vocal bomb alongside Bruce, it felt like something was missing. I missed the pop and lock dancing goggle-mania creative stardust he brings on the stage. 

Bob was the best I’ve ever seen him. He had this smile on his face. He took some time to talk about some of his newer songs. 

My new favorite Bob song is something like “It’s Easy to do with you…” And, it’s this ballad with crazy cool sweet words. And, last night, he told the story.

He said he’s married. And it’s “the last time.” And he said, “Fifth time’s a charm.” He said he realized after his daughter's birth, he’d written too many songs about whores. He wrote a song inspired by his new daughter.

Realizing he might be getting too sentimental, he laughed and said, ‘It’s about baby horses” with a smirk.

Audiences didn’t know if he was being serious or not. They laughed and cheered  “ahhhh.”

He said “No. That’s not what it’s about.”

I always thought the song was about finding a new love that felt like it was a thousand years old- -like all along it was just supposed to be, easy. And, it turns out it’s even deeper.

Bob played his usual popular hits, mixing it up with fast songs, and wild creative-what-did-he-say-lyrics. 

I found myself laughing at times at the comedy he weaved into his stories. And, then, I was appreciating a lyric like it’s a song that just said what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t find the words. 

Bob played a bunch of his cheerful songs. I was a little disappointed that he didn’t play a ton from his newest album, but he did sing King Kong, which was brave because it’s a quiet song and by that time in the show, not everyone in the audience wanted quiet and thoughtful.

He did surprise me by playing Dirty Feeling. He introduced it in a fun and humorous way. He said with a kid smile. “This is for the ladies . . . or maybe the men out there. . . .”

Dirty Feeling is a love song with these banged up lyrics. The words are, “Well, a year can come around. Drag you right along the ground. Like it’s all just one dark night. With no way into the light. Well, I know, exactly what that’s like…” With the dong dong dong bells, it just works. It captures the sentiment of brave hope.

A sweet moment of surprise came when Conrad handed three drumsticks to the kiddos in the audience before the show.  I watched my son examine the splitting sticks. He had a big grin on his face. The children danced around as if he had given them cotton candy. 

The circle of four audience members connected with the band smiled and told my son, “That’s a big deal. He’s an amazing drummer. He’s one of the best”

Michael was 9. And, he had been playing the guitar for a year. He was actually pretty good. His teacher said he needed to be exposed to live music. So, I thought his first concert should be something special. So, I took him to see Bob.

Throughout the evening, it got a little later than his bed time. But, fireworks and music seemed to keep us both pretty happy. 

My son's funny because he’s not easily impressed. He doesn’t say something is good if it is not. He won’t even try to be polite. 

It took Michael a bit to see and understand all that made this stage special. 

Then, a little stardust fell from the stage. Bob made eye contact with my young musician and started making funny faces. Bob went into more of his funny characters. 

And, the band was in Bob’s Oz again and music magic like cheese wiz was stringing creative confetti everywhere. It’s like we were all riding on a plane- -Bob’s plane.

Then, finally, my son smiled. He laughed. He gave this crooked look and rolled his eyes. 

The last song played and somehow from out of nowhere, Bob had one more guitar pick. He tossed it to my son. And it fell just short of the barrier fence. 

Some of the adults reached for it. My son didn't wait for me to help. He screamed loudly, “That’s MINE!” 

Michael's guitar teacher actually gave him a Bob pick. But, it wasn’t until this moment at this concert that he realized how cool the pick was.

He took the pick and looked up at me and smiled. 

The band played two encore songs and left. The standing- only space quickly evaporated.

I looked up and Conrad was on the drums clearing the stage. And, I was wanting to tell Bob thank you, but realized, this was the same thing. 

I waved, I told Conrad “Thank you.” And, he remembered the kid he gave the drumstick to and nodded.

We got home. I tucked my son into bed. He couldn't stop smiling.

And, a week later, he had his best guitar music lesson ever. 

And, his teacher said with a huge grin and unforgettable joy, “He’s turned a corner. My son inspired him!!!”