I was fourteen when I saw this cute boy wearing a New Found Glory tshirt in the cafeteria, I thought it sounded like the coolest name ever and decided to Napster everything I could of their music. At the time, only their self titled album was out. And I was so stoked when that Christmas I received their cd as one of my presents. New Found Glory quickly became one of "my" bands, the ones I would blare in my '93 Grand Prix on the way to school, one of those bands I was so passionate about I thought everyone else were posers. Yeah, I was one of those kids. In fact, aside from NSYNC, NFG was the first concert I went to when they toured with Good Charlotte. My friends and I loaded up a car and drove the three hours to Grand Forks (such an epic adventure back then!) and got home way past our curfews. I bought a pillowcase with a cartoon of the band that I still sleep with to this day.
Fast forward a few years and I was married. My ex and I went to two of their shows and I loved them just as much, reminding me of my youth, the dawn of adulthood just around the corner.Needless to say when I found out NFG was touring the night after Minus the Bear in Richmond, I just HAD to go. This was my fourth concert of theirs and I was not about to miss it. After not seeing them for a few years, I missed those boys. I missed their shows.
Mike & I were still in that after concert glow happiness from the night before at Minus the Bear's show and tried to keep our hopes up as band after band of screaming juvenile pop punk bands tried to make their claim on the stage.
And somewhere along the line, my heart sank. The music I had always loved, from this band whose members are older than I am, are still touring with 18 year old kids. They are married now, have babies and are still making the same music?
I couldn't even stay for their whole show. I felt so out of place and well, lamely kind of betrayed. I am not the same person I was when I was fourteen years old, yet the band whom I thought was growing with me, just wasn't. They took a step back to appeal to the younger audience while the rest of us took a step forward.
And unlike my fourteen year old self who would have just called everyone posers, I think I have to give my favourite band to those baby punk rockers. Enjoy your time with NFG. Enjoy your youth. I think it's time I move on, even if the band won't.
