The death of cool.

I guess I'm old. I always wondered when I would finally stop going to concerts. I can't say definitively that the time has come, but my desire to stand for hours in a smoky sweaty venue to hear live music has drastically declined over the last few years. When I was in high school, I was present at nearly every show that came through town. Which was surprisingly a lot considering that this was Green Bay, Wisconsin, which turned out to be a hot bed of punk rock activity for midwest bands and others (we're talking Fugazi, Jawbox, Jawbreaker, etc.). My concert attendance continued while I was at school in Minneapolis, although my tastes became a little more discerning. Even when I moved to Logan, I went out of my way to find good shows in Salt Lake. I even met Ben at a Strokes concert, so I knew that was a good match. While I kept up with new music and purchasing new CDs, I started to hesitate forking out money for shows. Ten years ago, I would have gone crazy with all the possibilities for good shows here in D.C. But so far, Ben and I have only managed to see a few that I can remember. We saw Low at the 9:30 club, but I remember leaving during the encore because I was tired (in my defense, I was pregnant with Amelia). More recently we saw one of my favorites, Mates of State, at the State Theater, which turned out to be ideal because we snagged a table in the back, enjoyed some food, and remained seated during most of the show. I would have mocked myself for that years ago. Then there was the failed attempt to see Sufjan Stevens, when we realized too late that D.C. probably has a lot of cool kids who would want to see such a performance (or at least charge exorbitant prices on Craigslist for tickets that were free to begin with). Which brings me to this evening. A Minneapolis-based band, Tapes 'n Tapes, were playing tonight. My first thought: that could be a fun show. My second thought: that could be a lot of standing. My third thought: that sounds painful on my feet and back (again, pregnancy defense). My fourth thought: Am I still cool enough to show up at one of these? Am I too old? Will I be the only one there with a mortgage and a 401K and a costco membership and a babysitter at home? My last thought: Maybe I'll stay home and download their new album and enjoy it from the comfort of my living room, seated, feet up, with a fudgesicle in hand (pregnancy defense).

So in honor of good music, which continues to live on in our home (and our car...we love xm satellite radio...my proudest accomplishment as a mother is that I've never played kids music in my car), here is a video of a Tapes 'n Tapes song, which you too can enjoy with your feet up.