Jack Blair – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the indie pop artist, Jack Blair, talks about the story of his first experience with live music. You can check out the story, after the break.

Yo! My name is Jack Blair and I don’t think I could have picked a more strange first concert ever if I tried. When I was around 9 years old my dad and older brothers brought me along to see Weird Al Yankovic at River Bend in Cincinnati, Ohio. Weird Al (famous comedy/parody artist) was a big hit for 9-year-old Jack, and I’ll admit, I had multiple of his more extreme songs memorized. Most notably, I probably to this day could sing along every word to “The Story Begins” which is a Star Wars parody of “American Pie”. At this point, I heard the parody version so much when I was young, sometimes I accidentally sing the fake words when listening to the real song. When you are a kid, you can only really listen to what your parents play on the radio, or what your older siblings give you to listen to. Having 3 older brothers with varying tastes and a Dad from nowhere-Kentucky, my music tastes knew no genre or borders until I got my first Spotify account in 7th grade. But, Back to the concert.

I was thrilled. We were in a covered stage arena and we had seats somewhere in the middle (my parents apparently went all out for this). Looking back on it, I’m not sure why my Senior in high school brother came, but I could assume it was either with a sarcastic excitement or a deep shame that he attended the family event. Weird Al put on quite a performance-heavy show. More costume changes than a Katy Perry, with the entertainer’s flair of an Elton John. The music was incredible. The audio was immaculate. The fat suit he wore when performing the song “Fat” (a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad”) was immense. Rose-colored glasses? Perhaps.

All in all, as a first concert I had a memorable time. I look back and get a good chuckle, but I would not dismiss it as a strange yet formative experience. Music has power, even in comedy form. 9-year-old Jack recognized that. As I grew my tastes changed, but the passion and excitement for music has not dwindled. I hope to put on a show just as memorable one day. To continue to pass on the inspiration that live music offers. Maybe with less fat suits though.

peace
Jack

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