I took my son to the Purdue Symphony Orchestra concert at Long Center on Sunday. Although he is too old to show up in a costume and get excited about a treat bag, he did enjoy the Harry Potter Suite that contained music from the first movie. There were a lot of little kids there, so one had to filter out the talking, crying, singing, and candy wrapper crinkling to hear the great performance.
One weird thing: there was a dad there (early 30s) who was wearing a very massive set of headphones with the cord going into a toaster-sized bag slung over his shoulder. I'm assuming that there was a CD player and discs inside. To complete the hip hop look, he had the left earcup covering the ear, while the right was just above.
So many questions were queueing up in my brain:- Is he so hooked on whatever he was listening to that he couldn't take an hour to listen to a very good orchestra?
- With one ear uncovered, isn't it difficult to concentrate on anything? The music in the left ear - the live orchestra - his wife's constant yammering throughout the show?
- Was there anything in the headphones at all, or is he just a poser?
- What do those things weigh? They've got to be 3 or 4 pounds, easy.
- Did I lock the car? (My son wanted to bring in his CD player to listen to the Harry Potter soundtrack while the orchestra played other selections, but I made him leave it behind.)
- Hasn't this guy heard of MP3 players? I saw one the other day that hangs off one's key chain. Much easier to lug around than that brick he was carrying.
Regardless of all of that, the big question is what kind of message is "Uncle Cracker" sending to the kids? There is lots of great music in the world (more than just the 50 Cent, or more likely Metallica, that Dad listens too), and all types should be at least given a chance.
One more thing: the orchestra members had great costumes. They obviously put much time and thought into their outfits. We saw Queen Amadala, Albert Einstien, Tigger (as concertmaster), the Blues Brothers, and many others. I'm not sure what the girl in the black mini-skirt and halter was trying to be, but I have my ideas.
# posted by Tippecanoe : 9:46 AM
