Perlo – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, Henri Bardot of the folk duo, Perlo, chats about the first concert he ever went to as a fan. You can check out the story and listen to Perlo’s newest single, “Call Me A Fool”, after the break.

2002 was an interesting year in music. Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears’ romance was on the rocks, Michael Jackson dangled his literal child off a balcony in Berlin, and Mariah Carey welcomed us into her NYC triplex in an iconic episode of MTV Cribs. Meanwhile, amongst these headlines, bands like Sum 41, New Found Glory, and Good Charlotte were having break out years. Yes – pop punk was at its peak and my older sister Miel was on board in a major way.

I remember learning about Good Charlotte at the ripe age of 10. I walked into Miel’s bedroom one day and noticed what had once been floral wallpaper was now replaced by hundreds of magazine cutouts of Joel Madden’s heavily eyelinered face. At the time I thought the band looked “lame” as I was on a heavy diet of Ludacris and Eminem, but eventually, their calculated hooks and relentless power chords would prevail. I was in the family car on my way to see them live. My very first show.

First things first, Miel and her two best friends decided to take it upon themselves to help me look the part. This involved eyeliner, a black Good Charlotte t-shirt, and of course, fashioning my hair into a Mohawk through the use of easily 2 tablespoons of toothpaste. Suddenly we were at the venue, through the line of misfits and suburban tweens, and into the concert. I stood solo for the bulk of the show, adjacent to the “pit”, transfixed not by the music but by the mere spectacle of a show on such a scale. I’d never seen 2000 people all engaged in a common spectacle, experiencing it together in that way. I didn’t know that kind of energy existed. I was hooked.

I realized that night that a great live concert doesn’t always have to hinge upon the music itself, but on the collective energy of a group of strangers. I think above all, people just want to feel connected by a sense of togetherness, and to this day I appreciate my Good Charlotte concert experience for showing me that. The photos from that night, on the other hand, I could live without…

Keep up with duo on Facebook!