i've only recently started feeling like the old lady in a room full of youths when i go to shows. mostly because i'm just not that observant -- certainly not because i haven't been old enough to be clocked as that old lady for quite some time! but it's also because there are always a fair amount of elders at most shows i go to, even for brand new acts, which i find incredibly heartening. it means music discovery is alive and well for people of all ages. and while i occasionally get some sideways glances when i get up front, i chalk that up to the kids being less okay with "cringe" than the rest of us are. it's certainly their problem, not mine. and probably in my head, anyway.
At shows I've been to, it really depends on genre. Psych/jam/metal shows have more people of my generation. Punk skews young. I remember a Death Lens show I went to a couple years ago, I was talking to the band at the merch table, having a good conversation, and I said something about being a little older than them. They did that scoffing laugh that means well obviously. That stung a little, but you know what? More power to me for still going to shows. And also kids, as Abe Simpson said before you were born...it'll happen to you!
I don’t feel like I get funny looks at all tbh and I agree with you that the majority of gigs span a huge age range. I am always down the front though so maybe I’m just not spotting all the sideways glances behind me.
Agree with this. As someone considerably older than 36, I feel like finding new music and attending live shows is definitely slowing the aging process (at least mentally) I actually think it gives me a more positive view of the modern world (as hard as that is right now) not constantly being swaddled in nostalgia.
Agree Lou! At 52 I’m as excited as ever for new music and it feeds my soul to see young bands try things out. Whenever I’m feeling out of sorts I know seeing a new band will clear my head. Plus I’m still making new friends through seeing live shows and that kind of social connection definitely helps keep me young.
You guys are really young! I'm 65 and love listening to new bands. I went to 67 shows last year. I make a playlist every year of new music (released in last year) I liked. Really it's just for me. I love seeing up and coming bands in a small club. I live in Chicago and I believe there are more small clubs than any city in the country so there's an abundance of new bands playing. I make my adult kids go with me. Best show I've seen this year was Sprints; cathartic post-punk led by raucous band of young Irish.
To be clear, I listen to and see plenty of older artists. Nothing wrong with a good cover band either--can't wait to see Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy play Live's Rich Pageant this Thursday night. I try to see Chris Foreman at the Green Mill every month. But nothing matches the surge for a young band with something to prove, channeling the spirit that inspires them. And with all the wonderful music bloggers like Gabbie or Josh Terry, it's easy if not overwhelming to find new music.
New music, live shows (especially small venues) absolutely keeps you young. Nothing like the rush of discovering a great new album. Sharp Pins are terrific. I loved Horsegirl and Wet Leg's new albums but my favorite of the year was Jeff Tweedy's Twilight Override, in large part because of the younger band he's got that clearly inspired him to up his game and output. Another great live show.
For the record, I don't like the moniker "Old Head". I much prefer the term Robyn Hitchcock uses, "Groovers". My biggest worry is losing my hearing!
New music really is overwhelming! I always think about how I can dedicate more time to old (new to me) music discovery and just revisiting my old favorites.
And old heads is meant to be a term of reverence and endearment. Like the way old heads are the keepers of knowledge about a particular scene.
(SPRINTS was one of my first newsletter recs - I've loved watching them grow. )
Damn, I love this so much. Dusty rules. As a 37-year-old music industry person, I feel this A LOT. Constantly battling the "am I too old for this?" mentality. Similarly, I often think of the Steve Buscemi "how do you do, fellow kids?" meme when surrounded by my younger coworkers... but it's all in your own perspective. I may be an 'old head,' but I'm still out here listening to new stuff every day and educating people older than me on who Pink Pantheress is or why people care about Geese
Couldn't agree more with the whole concept, music discovery is essential at any age and every age...for me, at least. Also, I kinda love being an old head. I vastly prefer the shows where I'm the oldest person there than the ones where I'm average age or even on the young side. Makes feel like I'm hip and cool (I'm neither) and makes me feel connected to to, as Lou said, the modern world. Sometimes I even chat with the "kids" at shows. Love that music really does bring people together.
My favorite thing about Dusty's "old head" anecdote to begin this piece is that he was the youngest person in our group by at least six years haha.
I definitely feel comfortable as an old head in that I don't have to listen to every "hot new band," that I don't have to have an opinion about everything that comes out. But sometimes people ask me if I feel "too old" to keep finding new music to love. "I dunno, can you ever become too old to believe in magic?"
I'm still a new music lover and am avidly making my way through new releases almost every day. But I've dialed it down a lot this year relative to the last few years because I'd been losing touch with some of my old favorites and I also wanted to dedicate some time to filling in musical black holes or enjoying the many old-but-new-to-me albums I learn about on Substack on a daily basis.
Something about keeping in tune with new music definitely feeds the inner child. I love live music, but growing up in Bermuda was very limiting in that regard. Now that I live in the UK I'm able to see many more gigs than ever before and I'm loving it. I already have 7 or 8 concerts lined up for the year, a mix of more recent artists (Ethel Cain, CMAT, Tyler Ballgame), some artists from my younger days (Kravitz, Alanis) and artists somewhere in between (Cat Power, FJM, Sharon Van Etten).
At some of those shows, particularly the more recent artists, I guess I'm more likely to be an "old head" but I'm just there for the tunes and enjoying a good time and have never really thought about it that way. The only thing that's different nowadays is that I get my earplugs in before the shows start so I don't exacerbate my noise-induced hearing loss — I want to be able to enjoy live shows as long as I possibly can!!
I used my new earplugs at my first concert of the year last month and they were brilliant. I tried earplugs about a decade ago and quite frankly they sucked and I ended up taking them out after a couple songs. But they’re so much better now. The sound quality was brilliant but the volume was just reduced. I love them.
I completely agree with you Dusty! It's why I've kept a weekly Top Ten songs of the week list for the past 45 years! I'm constantly in search of new music which, at 63, definitely helps me feel as alive as I've ever been.
That's impressive consistency. I've just changed to qobuz and feeling my way around a new platform is making it a little bit harder to dive in but at least my algorithm is fresh
Yeah, I've been trying to dive into qobuz too but I'm finding it hard to understand what it is doing with my Spotify playlists. Are they still playing them through Spotify??
54 and Sharp Pins one of the best live bands I’ve seen in near 40 years of gig going, so I felt I was bringing a lot of perspective to that judgement.
(Actually the oldest gig I can remember is Pink Floyd in 1975, but that wasn’t really my choice and it was the stage show rather than music I remember)
I think it’s also possible for older musicians to be ‘cool’ in a way they didn’t use to be - took our daughter and another teen friend to see Heavenly on Sunday - friend is a huge Heavenly fan, and they both really rate the new album over the old stuff. We weren’t as excited about musicians who were nearly 60.
That’s way older than when the Velvets reformed to play their old stuff. No one really cared about new Iggy Pop or Who stuff. New Dylan was for people who had grown up with him Maybe the closest would be Neil Young as a figure from the 60s who was still putting out something musically relevant in the 90s?
i rarely savor old bands putting out new stuff (well, that's not strictly true, but i should say i focus on newer bands on the premise that the olds have had their time in the sun) but there really are some gems. heavenly is a great example -- what an incredible new record. and this reminds me to shill for the concert ticket i'm giving away to their show in philly: https://www.newbandsforoldheads.com/i/189551631/giveaway
I think that’s been another surprise - bands like Stereolab or Slowdive coming back with strong albums, where you are not saying ‘the best Dylan in years’ or trying to claim a return to form. The Clientele also seem to get better as they go along.
It’s not always true - there are plenty of forgettable reunions, but it used to be a given that bands were a spent force creatively, or that you would dread ‘and here’s something from the new album’.
I've had the same experience at the Rex Club in Paris when I was 29. An Extrawelt live at the Rex Club. At the middle of the night, I've got aware that with my friends we were the oldest in the nightclub.
I just went to Golden Plains for the many-th time. No one there looks sideways at the 50 or 60 year Olds, we are all there for the same thing...listening to solo artists/bands from all over the world bring their music to the stage to share. And, some of those 50 year Olds still know how to party and embrace new acts like they're 20. It never gets old to listen to new sounds and it sure helps when it's bookended by bands like Basement Jaxx and DJ's like Francois K that played absolute classic tracks from Talking Heads, Wham and Kate Bush. 💯 Percent here for it as someone celebrating 50 and singing my lungs out .
I turn 60 later this year and look about 70. Such are chronic ailments. Grey turned to white, walk with a cane. No matter. My last live show was Clowncore and I loved it. Afterwards, some young punter came up and said "You look like you've seen a few shows. How was this one for you?" My retort: "Yeh I have and this one was awesome. How was it for you?" Reply: "Bloody loved it. I wanna keep doing this until I'm older than you." All I could do was smile...
My husband and I were at an Eric Lindell show in NOLA about 15 yrs ago. Halfway through, he sips is beer and announces: “Man, there are a LOT of old people here.”
So I did a room check. Sure enough, there were a lot of old people there. And they happened to look just like us. I told him to just focus on the music and enjoy.
Thanks for inviting me to write this, Gabbie! Had so much fun working on this and reflecting on the very cool concept of your site.
a veritable treat to have you here
i've only recently started feeling like the old lady in a room full of youths when i go to shows. mostly because i'm just not that observant -- certainly not because i haven't been old enough to be clocked as that old lady for quite some time! but it's also because there are always a fair amount of elders at most shows i go to, even for brand new acts, which i find incredibly heartening. it means music discovery is alive and well for people of all ages. and while i occasionally get some sideways glances when i get up front, i chalk that up to the kids being less okay with "cringe" than the rest of us are. it's certainly their problem, not mine. and probably in my head, anyway.
At shows I've been to, it really depends on genre. Psych/jam/metal shows have more people of my generation. Punk skews young. I remember a Death Lens show I went to a couple years ago, I was talking to the band at the merch table, having a good conversation, and I said something about being a little older than them. They did that scoffing laugh that means well obviously. That stung a little, but you know what? More power to me for still going to shows. And also kids, as Abe Simpson said before you were born...it'll happen to you!
I don’t feel like I get funny looks at all tbh and I agree with you that the majority of gigs span a huge age range. I am always down the front though so maybe I’m just not spotting all the sideways glances behind me.
this is yet another argument for always being in the front tbh
Agree with this. As someone considerably older than 36, I feel like finding new music and attending live shows is definitely slowing the aging process (at least mentally) I actually think it gives me a more positive view of the modern world (as hard as that is right now) not constantly being swaddled in nostalgia.
Agree Lou! At 52 I’m as excited as ever for new music and it feeds my soul to see young bands try things out. Whenever I’m feeling out of sorts I know seeing a new band will clear my head. Plus I’m still making new friends through seeing live shows and that kind of social connection definitely helps keep me young.
Yes! This exactly!
“Swaddled in nostalgia” - what an excellent phrase!
You guys are really young! I'm 65 and love listening to new bands. I went to 67 shows last year. I make a playlist every year of new music (released in last year) I liked. Really it's just for me. I love seeing up and coming bands in a small club. I live in Chicago and I believe there are more small clubs than any city in the country so there's an abundance of new bands playing. I make my adult kids go with me. Best show I've seen this year was Sprints; cathartic post-punk led by raucous band of young Irish.
To be clear, I listen to and see plenty of older artists. Nothing wrong with a good cover band either--can't wait to see Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy play Live's Rich Pageant this Thursday night. I try to see Chris Foreman at the Green Mill every month. But nothing matches the surge for a young band with something to prove, channeling the spirit that inspires them. And with all the wonderful music bloggers like Gabbie or Josh Terry, it's easy if not overwhelming to find new music.
New music, live shows (especially small venues) absolutely keeps you young. Nothing like the rush of discovering a great new album. Sharp Pins are terrific. I loved Horsegirl and Wet Leg's new albums but my favorite of the year was Jeff Tweedy's Twilight Override, in large part because of the younger band he's got that clearly inspired him to up his game and output. Another great live show.
For the record, I don't like the moniker "Old Head". I much prefer the term Robyn Hitchcock uses, "Groovers". My biggest worry is losing my hearing!
New music really is overwhelming! I always think about how I can dedicate more time to old (new to me) music discovery and just revisiting my old favorites.
And old heads is meant to be a term of reverence and endearment. Like the way old heads are the keepers of knowledge about a particular scene.
(SPRINTS was one of my first newsletter recs - I've loved watching them grow. )
Damn, I love this so much. Dusty rules. As a 37-year-old music industry person, I feel this A LOT. Constantly battling the "am I too old for this?" mentality. Similarly, I often think of the Steve Buscemi "how do you do, fellow kids?" meme when surrounded by my younger coworkers... but it's all in your own perspective. I may be an 'old head,' but I'm still out here listening to new stuff every day and educating people older than me on who Pink Pantheress is or why people care about Geese
Ha ha ha oh my god I can't believe I missed an opportunity to post a 30 rock reference
Couldn't agree more with the whole concept, music discovery is essential at any age and every age...for me, at least. Also, I kinda love being an old head. I vastly prefer the shows where I'm the oldest person there than the ones where I'm average age or even on the young side. Makes feel like I'm hip and cool (I'm neither) and makes me feel connected to to, as Lou said, the modern world. Sometimes I even chat with the "kids" at shows. Love that music really does bring people together.
My favorite thing about Dusty's "old head" anecdote to begin this piece is that he was the youngest person in our group by at least six years haha.
I definitely feel comfortable as an old head in that I don't have to listen to every "hot new band," that I don't have to have an opinion about everything that comes out. But sometimes people ask me if I feel "too old" to keep finding new music to love. "I dunno, can you ever become too old to believe in magic?"
ha! i hope you look at them like they have two heads
I'm still a new music lover and am avidly making my way through new releases almost every day. But I've dialed it down a lot this year relative to the last few years because I'd been losing touch with some of my old favorites and I also wanted to dedicate some time to filling in musical black holes or enjoying the many old-but-new-to-me albums I learn about on Substack on a daily basis.
Something about keeping in tune with new music definitely feeds the inner child. I love live music, but growing up in Bermuda was very limiting in that regard. Now that I live in the UK I'm able to see many more gigs than ever before and I'm loving it. I already have 7 or 8 concerts lined up for the year, a mix of more recent artists (Ethel Cain, CMAT, Tyler Ballgame), some artists from my younger days (Kravitz, Alanis) and artists somewhere in between (Cat Power, FJM, Sharon Van Etten).
At some of those shows, particularly the more recent artists, I guess I'm more likely to be an "old head" but I'm just there for the tunes and enjoying a good time and have never really thought about it that way. The only thing that's different nowadays is that I get my earplugs in before the shows start so I don't exacerbate my noise-induced hearing loss — I want to be able to enjoy live shows as long as I possibly can!!
we're v simpatico on trying to adjust the new/old ratio
I, too, am a recent (and proud) convert to earplug wearing. Grateful to no longer care if it looks cool, because I can enjoy the music so much more!
I used my new earplugs at my first concert of the year last month and they were brilliant. I tried earplugs about a decade ago and quite frankly they sucked and I ended up taking them out after a couple songs. But they’re so much better now. The sound quality was brilliant but the volume was just reduced. I love them.
Yes, the earplug scientists really upped their game in the last few years, I guess, because they are vastly improved.
I completely agree with you Dusty! It's why I've kept a weekly Top Ten songs of the week list for the past 45 years! I'm constantly in search of new music which, at 63, definitely helps me feel as alive as I've ever been.
That's impressive consistency. I've just changed to qobuz and feeling my way around a new platform is making it a little bit harder to dive in but at least my algorithm is fresh
Yeah, I've been trying to dive into qobuz too but I'm finding it hard to understand what it is doing with my Spotify playlists. Are they still playing them through Spotify??
no, they wouldn't be if you transferred them over
54 and Sharp Pins one of the best live bands I’ve seen in near 40 years of gig going, so I felt I was bringing a lot of perspective to that judgement.
(Actually the oldest gig I can remember is Pink Floyd in 1975, but that wasn’t really my choice and it was the stage show rather than music I remember)
I think it’s also possible for older musicians to be ‘cool’ in a way they didn’t use to be - took our daughter and another teen friend to see Heavenly on Sunday - friend is a huge Heavenly fan, and they both really rate the new album over the old stuff. We weren’t as excited about musicians who were nearly 60.
That’s way older than when the Velvets reformed to play their old stuff. No one really cared about new Iggy Pop or Who stuff. New Dylan was for people who had grown up with him Maybe the closest would be Neil Young as a figure from the 60s who was still putting out something musically relevant in the 90s?
i rarely savor old bands putting out new stuff (well, that's not strictly true, but i should say i focus on newer bands on the premise that the olds have had their time in the sun) but there really are some gems. heavenly is a great example -- what an incredible new record. and this reminds me to shill for the concert ticket i'm giving away to their show in philly: https://www.newbandsforoldheads.com/i/189551631/giveaway
I think that’s been another surprise - bands like Stereolab or Slowdive coming back with strong albums, where you are not saying ‘the best Dylan in years’ or trying to claim a return to form. The Clientele also seem to get better as they go along.
It’s not always true - there are plenty of forgettable reunions, but it used to be a given that bands were a spent force creatively, or that you would dread ‘and here’s something from the new album’.
fully agree!
I've had the same experience at the Rex Club in Paris when I was 29. An Extrawelt live at the Rex Club. At the middle of the night, I've got aware that with my friends we were the oldest in the nightclub.
I just went to Golden Plains for the many-th time. No one there looks sideways at the 50 or 60 year Olds, we are all there for the same thing...listening to solo artists/bands from all over the world bring their music to the stage to share. And, some of those 50 year Olds still know how to party and embrace new acts like they're 20. It never gets old to listen to new sounds and it sure helps when it's bookended by bands like Basement Jaxx and DJ's like Francois K that played absolute classic tracks from Talking Heads, Wham and Kate Bush. 💯 Percent here for it as someone celebrating 50 and singing my lungs out .
I turn 60 later this year and look about 70. Such are chronic ailments. Grey turned to white, walk with a cane. No matter. My last live show was Clowncore and I loved it. Afterwards, some young punter came up and said "You look like you've seen a few shows. How was this one for you?" My retort: "Yeh I have and this one was awesome. How was it for you?" Reply: "Bloody loved it. I wanna keep doing this until I'm older than you." All I could do was smile...
My husband and I were at an Eric Lindell show in NOLA about 15 yrs ago. Halfway through, he sips is beer and announces: “Man, there are a LOT of old people here.”
So I did a room check. Sure enough, there were a lot of old people there. And they happened to look just like us. I told him to just focus on the music and enjoy.