Sometimes, you gotta be Dad first

As the kids get older, it’s been fun to take them to various events to “expand their cultural horizons”.

I remember when I was a kid, my parents taking me to things like plays, musicals, orchestral concerts. True “high culture” stuff.

Me? I went with Daughter to see Orange Goblin and Holy Grail.  Oh sure, we’ll do some of the “high culture” stuff too, but I’m still going to do the things I enjoy, and that tends to be a little rough around the edges.

So, speaking of “high culture”….

I’ve wanted to see Gov’t Mule for some time. I’d call myself a casual fan overall, but I really love the passion and soul Warren Haynes puts into his singing, playing, and songwriting. I know they’re a band that you have to see live to truly appreciate, and finally I got the chance.

As a side note, I had never heard of opening act Vintage Trouble before buying tickets for this show. When I saw the bill, checked VT out, and Daughter and I became instant fans. Really good stuff. And their live show? Huge energy. Singer Ty Taylor knows how to command the stage and the audience. Do yourself a favor and check these guys out. Here are 3 tracks to check out: “Nobody Told Me” (the first song I heard, and it sold me), “Blues Hand Me Down“, and “Pelvis Pusher” (if this song doesn’t make you want to get up and boogie, I don’t know how to help you).

Anyways…

We figured it would be fun to take the whole family to see Gov’t Mule. I wanted to go, Daughter did, Wife did, and the boys… well, let’s just say they were good sports.

We piled in the car, went downtown, had a great dinner, then into the show. Vintage Trouble tore it up, and being a live show in Austin… everyone around us was sparking up.

Then Gov’t Mule took the stage, and suddenly I found myself transported to Amsterdam.

I swear I’ve not seen and smelled so much pot smoke in my life.  I think even the trees were toking.

It was evident this wasn’t sitting well with the family. They’re just not around smoke at all (neither Wife nor I smoke, and with Austin’s indoor smoking ban, you just don’t get exposed much to any smoke). Plus, marijuana smoke is a lot more harsh than tobacco smoke, so young lungs just couldn’t take it. It was even a little much for me, but I deal with it because I’m wanting to see the show.

After a little bit, the kids were feeling bad, so we tried moving back to a more open spot. It was better (and tho further from the stage, it was elevated so you could see better), but still not great. I mean, we were near the entrance so no one was going to smoke pot there, but enough cigarettes against already irritated child airways and well….

Sometimes you gotta be Dad.

We left the show about half-way through.

*sigh*

Yeah I was disappointed, but the kids are of course more important. I’ll check the rest of the show out on muletracks later.

But there was some fun and good that came out of it.

The kids are now well-aware of what marijuana smells like. “Mom? I smell skunk…” Yes,  Youngest; that’s marijuana.

And I think they’ve all been cured of any desire to smoke pot.  It’s good when you don’t have to struggle later to pull up the weeds (pun intended), when the seeds don’t get sown in the first place.