to be a teenager again...

last friday night, i saw a band called the classic crime in a small club called the canal club in richmond, virginia.

a little back story about my current love affair with the classic crime... i have been listening to this small punk rock outfit out of seattle, who resides on a small, but legendary indie label for about a year and a half. they have a new cd out which has on it my new "song of summer" entitled vagabonds. their first two cds and one ep were packed full of heartfelt lyrics and enough power chords and anthemic sing-a-longs to instantly wiggle themselves right on to the road trip playlist.

now i know what you're thinking... ANOTHER punk band that this guy loves.

yes... im not a monogamist when it comes to my music BUT i have been faithful in consistently coming back to the classic crime and not only by enjoying their music, but forcing friends and family to listen as well.

so... anyways, at this show, the classic crime was coming off having played 11 shows prior in a row. the lead singer, matthew, was very apologetic for his raspy voice struggling to make it through each song. the crowd was about 100 strong and had an average age of 16. each song seemed to get the crowd more and more into it... even as they began to get nervous about missing their 10pm curfew. seriously heard more than a few call their moms during and after show to schedule pick-ups.

but the best part about all of this was that i made nice with the classic crime's merch guy and after buying some goods from him, convinced him to get me a poster signed by the whole band. at the end of the show, there it was. a poster signed by each member. an instant treasure that will look lovely next to my poster signed by brand new and my alexisonfire scarf signed by the band.

but as i began to walk out of the venue, pleased with myself... i got nostalgic as i watched young tweeners get their picture taken with the band. i know that im older than these people by a decade but i found myself understanding their desire for just a few seconds of feeling like they are an integral part of punk rock. i had to have one.

i walked up to the band as they finished a photo shoot with a braces-clad 13 year old, and made it known that everyone needed to stay put because i was not leaving without a grainy photo taken on my blackberry. they enveloped me and as we began posing for the picture... i made the comment "im the only 26 year old in this whole damn building."

matthew, the lead singer reassures me "im 27 next month. you're all good, brotha."

he called me brotha. im basically family. awesome show. awesome band. i love these small intimate shows and im sure that classic crime in the next few years will be a staple in the ears of 18-25 year olds across this great nation...

oh, and of course, one 26-35 year old rocking out to their cd and polishing his signed classic crime poster.