NBT 5

Yesterday I had a date with my eldest daughter. Next Big Thing 5, the all day rock show put on the the local alternative rock station 97X. For me it was 13 hours, 11 bands, 7 beers and a headache, but it was a good time.

The lineup included a few local bands and some big acts; Rise Against, Story of the Year, Trapt, My Chemical Romance and Staind were among the groups playing. I saw the daughter and her friend in the crowd a few times during the morning hours but had completely lost track of her by 1:30. I called her cell to tell her it was time to check in with Dad and was told that she was up front, on the fence with nothing between her and the stage and she wasn't moving anytime soon. OK, I couldn't argue with that.

About 5 hours passed and despite repeated calls to her cell there was no response. I was sitting with a woman, there with her kids also, who seemed more concerned than I that I had not heard from my girl. After a while she left our bench with her son and I decided to go look for my Sweetpea. Armed with my superior salesmanship skills and an ability to blend into the background I managed to work my way backstage, where I watched a superb performance from Trapt. While there I was able to scan the crowd at the rail up front; lo and behold there was my girl, front and center - one die hard mother fucking rocker she is - I am so proud..

There is an alley of sorts between the crowd and the stage where event staff can pull crowd surfers off the top and allow them to walk out safely. I made nice with a policeman and he let me walk down said alley. I reached my daughter and her friend and they simply freaked out, both screaming how did you get back there? I only told her that I had connections and that if she would have answered her cell she could have been there too. Dad, the man, the myth. the legend - I love keeping my kids guessing.

It was a beautiful day for a show, mid 70's, clear and sunny. The site was on the intercoastal waterway which made it even more beautiful. We arrived at 10 am and finally left a little after 9 at night. Good thing too cause Dad was severly buzzed by 2 and needed the time to sober up for the ride home. My favorite acts were Trapt and Staind - Staind fucking rocked. My Chem was good but I had seen them before.