Middle-aged Groupies

We are fans of...
Like big fans. We got their first cd when they looked like this...
Back in the 90's when Bill had parted hair and I thought overalls looked cute on me. When the kids were little, we didn't really have them listen to kiddie music. We had them listen to what we liked so that we would not lose our minds on our frequent 12 hour car rides. They knew all the words to Switchfoot songs, but none of the words to "Twinkle, twinkle little star".

We have seen Switchfoot in concert 5 times in 4 different states. the first time we were definitely the oldest people at the concert. And we also had the youngest person at the concert with us since Emmie was only a year and a half. We are fans who mean business, people.

When Jack was 3, he was all-rocker, all the time. You know how most boys turn everything in their hands into a gun? Well, everything in Jack's hands became a guitar. Pencils. Sandwiches. Pieces of gutter. So we had to buy the kid his own guitar. And then, it rarely left his side. We had to give him strict parameters that he couldn't play guitar until 8am so he wouldn't wake mommy anyone. Instead of watching Dora the Explorer, he watched Switchfoot concerts and Behind the scenes dvds. His "imaginary friends" were Jon, Tim, Chad, Romy and Drew. He would call them routinely and invite them to come over for jam sessions. He was a true fan. And we LOVED it!

This was precisely when we went to the Bro-Am concert and Surf Competition in San Diego. Wow. Switchfoot and the beach in San Diego. Jack was mesmerized...
It doesn't get much better than that. Except it DID. Because we waited after the show a bit, even though security told us the band had left and who should wander out but the guys of Switchfoot. Jack, with his guitar, was in awe. A crowd of young women quickly descended on Jon Foreman, but he made a beeline for the little guy with the red guitar. He knelt down and patiently listened to Jack tell him about his guitars and (huge) picks...
Because of that experience, we ended up with a treasure...
a guitar signed by our favorite band.

So this year's slightly self-serving birthday present to Jack was a 6th Switchfoot concert for the Kollar family. The Kollar family minus one...
The concert started at 8pm. The opening band had great hearts, but an ear-splitting sound. I guess it would have helped if we weren't in the front row directly in front of all the speakers. But the thing that really ruined it is that their Jon Bon Jovi mini-me lead singer kept spitting onto the stage. Seriously? Ever heard of water bottles, dude? I wanted to call his mother and bust him because I know she wouldn't want her boy doing that.

It was after 9pm when Switchfoot came out. 9pm is Jack's bedtime. This greatly affected his ability to enjoy the concert. He still watched in awe and sang along, but was much more subdued than normal. And by the end, he was a little zombie...
Still, it was a fun family memory...
A not-as-fun a part of the memory was arriving home at 1am on a school night...
Okay, maybe not the most responsible parenting move ever. But what else are middle-aged groupies supposed to do?

Sadly I have no pictures from the amazing show since apparently cameras with detachable lenses are a security risk. From our front row "damage your childrens' eardrums forever" vantage point, I would have had some sweet shots, I tell ya. They will just have to be burned in my memory.

Along with the songs that have captured our hearts for over a decade. Chem6A. Only Hope. Company Car. This is Your Life. Meant to Live. Gone. Stars. Awakening. Faust, Midas and Myself. This is Home. Mess of Me. And so many others. Switchfoot's music has been with us a long time. From a young couple without kids to a family with young kids. To a family adopting a baby from Ethiopia. To a graying couple with jacked up backs. In many ways, Switchfoot has been the soundtrack of our lives.