WWJJD? (What Would Joan Jett Do?)

Man, Nigel is growing like a weed. We're only six weeks into the little fella's life, and already he's making a break for 15 lb. territory. He's been leading a very active life as of late - socializing, traveling, and of course, pooping like a fiend. I never knew there was such an array of colors to baby poop. Today he did one that was, I poop you not, flourescent green. Holy crap.
A couple of first for the kid recently. He took in his first movie when we went to see "A Prairie Home Companion." Okay, so he slept and ate through most of it, but he stayed quiet, save for the gargantuan belch he let fly about halfway through the film. That sucker reverberated off the walls. He also went to see his first concert. James Island County Park does a summer reggae series, and we went to see Dubconscious a couple of Sundays ago. He seemed okay with it, and we sat waaay back so the volume of the music didn't hurt him. The pic below was taken at the concert:


Looky there. You can tell by the intense look on Nigel's face that he is doing his best to fill that diaper. I really like the following photo:


It was taken one morning when we were all still in bed. I sat Nigel on my stomach and shot him from below. Don't know if I said before, but this is my father's first grandchild, and so naturally the guy is in grandparent bliss. Here are three generations of Grant men:


Went to see Carrie Underwood the other night. She won on American Idol a season or two ago. Not a bad show. She can certainly sing, and she connects well with her audience. I took the pic below:


I also attended the Vans Warped Tour a couple of weeks ago. It's this big traveling punk rock show, and it made a stop in Charleston for the first time ever. I was excited because it was a chance to see British punk legends The Buzzcocks, as well as Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Joan has a special place in my heart, since she was the first rock concert I ever attended. I won tickets from a local radio station in 1982. I was 12 at the time, but I somehow convinced my dad to take my seventh grade ass and drop it off at County Hall, which was then in a less than desireable part of town. Having two tickets, I did what any hip, happening pre-teen guy would do - I took my little sister.
This being my first rock show, I decided that it was a special occasion, and thus I needed to dress up. I took a shower and put on slacks and a button down collared shirt. Upon entering the hall, it was like in a movie where the character steps into an uncomfortable situation and there is the sound of a phonograph needle getting whipped off a record. Everyone else in the place was wearing torn jeans and t-shirts. A haze of smoke hung in the room. I quickly made a mental note of how to dress for these functions in the future, and settled in to watch the show. The Red Rockers (known for a single 80's hit, "China") opened, and before Jett came out they played the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again." When the part of the song where Roger Daltrey gives that final primal scream hit, the lights went out for a few seconds. When they came back up, Jett and her band were onstage, playing the end of the Who song. It was still one of the coolest entrances by a rock band I have ever seen.
I enjoyed the show, and became a huge Jett fan. I saw her again in the mid-90's at a now-closed club called Myskyns. At that show I managed to get an LP signed, but didn't get to meet Joan. I had managed to get Jett's manager's contact info from her publicist, and when I arrived onsite for the Warped Tour a couple of weeks ago, I called her manager, Kenny Laguna. I requested an interview with Jett. Laguna replied that she was trying to rest her voice. He began to ask me questions about Jett, apparently trying to size me up. I advised that Joan had been my first conert, and Laguna invited me to come hang out on the tour bus later that day.
Well, long story short, after waiting for nearly 25 years I finally got to meet the artist who first inspired me to get interested in live music:


She was incredibly nice, and very witty, even when forced to pose for a picture naxt to my warm, wet, stinkin' armpit. When I informed her that she was the first rock concert I had ever attended, she smiled and said, "I'm glad I could be your first." Later that day she walked out on stage and played a killer 30 minute set (all Warped Tour bands have 30 minutes to play), including "Bad Reputation," "I Hate Myself For Loving You," "Crimson and Clover," "Do You Wanna Touch Me," and of course "I Love Rock and Roll." The thing that struck me most about Jett was that she looked almost exactly the same as when I saw her back in 1982. The photo below is one I took of Jett at the Warped Tour:


Good stuff.