The Best Concert I've seen...

One of the best concerts that I’ve ever been to was one that I didn’t want to attend. My sister and I were in our almost-teen years and my father surprised us with concert tickets for our birthdays. Now I know that sounds so exciting! Free concert tickets! Woo hoo! Music and dancing, yippee! Yeah, one would think that. However, the concert our father got us tickets to was Neil Diamond. Not only did he get us tickets to a concert that we felt was for old folks, but also he and my step-mom and my step-mom’s sister would be at the concert with us. This was not cool in the eyes of two young, hip almost teenyboppers.

For the month leading up to the concert, my sister and I were constantly grumbling about it. How could we ever show our face in junior high ever again after going to see Neil Diamond? Everyone would laugh at us! Why couldn’t dad be more “with it” like our mother who took us to see Madonna a year or so earlier? My mom told us to quit our whining and that we should be happy and enjoy the experience. At the time we had no clue how we’d enjoy it.

The day arrived and there was no escaping the concert. My sister and I were quiet the entire ride to the arena. Once seated we perked up a little bit, but only because we found it fun to people watch. I had assumed that the crowd would be packed with old people, but I noticed that the audience was a mix of all ages. Young, old, and all ages in between were scattered around us. At least that was a good sign, I thought. At least my sister and I weren’t the only ones being tortured by old people music.

From the moment that the concert began, I was mesmerized. I was impressed and soon hooked. I forgot all about my previous misconceptions and the music had me dancing in my seat. Mr. Diamond’s performance was highly energetic and wonderful. A funky light show just added to the entertainment and I was wowed by it all. Too soon the show came to a close and I felt let down… not because it was Neil Diamond concert, but because it was all over. It went by way too quickly! Even my sister agreed. The music and Neil himself had suddenly shown us how awesome a concert could be.

My father offered to buy us T-shirts on the way out and we jumped at the chance to have a memento of the night. Those T-shirts were worn with pride after that evening. We didn’t care at all what anyone else thought about us seeing Neil Diamond. We knew that the concert was more impressive than what all the upcoming pop stars were doing and that’s all that mattered.

To this day I call myself a fan of Neil Diamond’s music. If you had told me 20 years ago that I’d be a fan, my teenage self would have laughed at you, but after that one concert, I was changed. I thank my father for buying me something that I didn’t want for my birthday that year. It was the best gift that I never knew I wanted.