Kid rock: how to bring your young’un to a show

When my daughter was about two, I left her with my folks one spring night to see the Roots and Erykah Badu co-headline a show in the Old Port.

It was an early show. Among the crowd of a couple thousand, I noticed a man and woman with their near-newborn at the back of the open-air venue, chilling with stroller, smiling all around.

I wished I had my daughter, Mélodie, then and there on my shoulders, an arrangement that, in hindsight, could have worked, had I known the proper steps.

As it turned out, her first-ever concert outing came two years ago at the age of four, when we saw the Narcicyst and Nomadic Massive do their thing on a Jazz Fest stage.

The experience was was a warm one for me and Melo, even though we rolled in late, as D Shade, visible to us on two massive screens, performed.

Kids are alright

Thanks to the weather, our night nearly didn’t happen at all. In fact, I broke her heart and cancelled our concert-going plans during a vicious flash flood 75 minutes before the 10 p.m. start time.

When the clouds suddenly and gloriously broke to pink-orange dusk over my neighbourhood, my balcony’s sweeping eastward view reflected hope in Mélodie’s eyes and mine. We needed a show.

It was going to be a late night. Luckily, I had the convenience of a metro station near my home, so getting to and from the venue wouldn’t be too challenging. The water, the juice, the snacks and the bathroom accessories were packed, and I had our entire strategy mapped out.

Admittedly, though, even my best-laid plans couldn’t prevent the temperament that comes from a child being up well past her usual bedtime.

But our evening proceeded smoothly because I had been ready to compromise from the outset. And I had made my decision to enjoy a summer show, my child’s bedtime be damned.

Melo’s four-year-old legs fell asleep after too much time spent on my shoulders, waving ‘em from side to side. That was the fallout. The trauma subsided, and she crashed.

Her memories of the night are grand.

Tips for taking tots to shows

How can you make the most of a day with your child at a place where things might get wild? There are no hard-and-fast rules, but here are a few tips.

You’ll want to adjust your expectations accordingly. If chummy yells and funny smells aren’t part of your scene, with or without child, be as reasonable as you would expect a considerate crowd to be, and remember where you are.

Really, though, environments where everyone is having a good time and smiling to begin with — like, say, a show — tend to bring the best out of people, especially when they spot an awesome kid in the mix. But watch out for over-the-top idiots, and be ready to take appropriate action when they get out of hand. Others will be quick to join you in quelling their buffoonery.

Know when to call it quits. Though you’ll find your newfound ability to stifle stupidity by appealing to people’s humanity liberating, you’ll have to recognize its limits, too. That Mastadon pit after dark at Heavy MTL? Not a child-friendly place, for Lucifer’s sake! When it comes to father-daughter fun at festivals, there’s sharing and there’s scaring.

Be extra ballin’ — bring along games, balls and chalk. I sound like such a single daughter-daddy saying this, but glitter, face paint, freaky wigs and that kinda crap are all top-shelf interactive show-starters for girls and boys.

At festivals, try to find some green space. You’d be surprised which bored security dude leaning on a fence might give a charming family extra access.

Melo and I continue to enjoy live music together. Almost a year after seeing the Narcicyst, we checked out Piknic Électronik, an event to which we have since returned. These days, I can’t help but think she’s ready for a big arena show, more than any rising star I love. ■

Daddy, can I go out and… kill tonight? shinecultmtl@gmail.com