Laura Marano – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the electro pop artist, Laura Marano, talks about the story of her first experience with live music. You can check out the story, after the break.

I was an eleven-year-old, and not surprisingly, I think I was the only eleven year old there. I remember a strange smell —a smell I was not accustomed to— completely surrounding the area, and my mom being incredibly embarrassed when I asked what the smell was. Being absolutely transparent, when I close my eyes and think about that night, I only remember a few key points: I was eleven, there was pot in the air, and I was about to see Dave Matthews Band; I was at my first concert ever.

After doing a little research, I believe this show was during DMB’s summer tour in 2006. I definitely remember arriving late, which is typical for my family, and since the show was at The Hollywood Bowl, one can only assume the Bowl traffic was horrendous, per usual. We listened to a few DMB songs in the car, and even though I was more of a P!nk and Beyoncé fan, I was excited. I know it sounds silly, but I had never been to a concert before, so I didn’t totally know what to expect; but man, I was excited.

Maybe my memory is recalling the event a little too fondly, but I think we had pretty amazing seats. Everyone was standing up, and the band was, for lack of a better term, on fire. Though I was unequivocally into pop music, I was slowly but surely getting into rock (I had found Bon Jovi’s “Always” earlier that year, so I was well on my way), and watching the band in action that night was unbelievable. I was also quite a bit into classical music, since I played classical piano (I know, nerd alert), and I loved the violin. I remember being in awe of the violinist during the show. I had never heard violin played in any setting that wasn’t classical, so my mind was blown.

It was a long show. Not knowing the music as well as I would have liked, I sometimes didn’t know when one song ended and another began, but honestly, I couldn’t have cared less. I was hypnotized by the whole band—the whole vibe! The way everyone interacted with each other on stage, I knew one day I wanted to be up there and play with a band. At one point, someone else came out (again, doing some research, I think it was Robert Randolph), and the crowd went crazy! I think that was another thing that struck me: here I was, not knowing much about Dave Matthews Band and the music, but being in that crowd made me scream and shout with joy during the entire show. Though it was a strange concert to go to as a fifth-grader, I couldn’t have asked for a better first concert.

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