TWEENAGE HEAVEN IN MADRID

In April 2012, I took Aimee to her first 'real' concert at the ne Chatswood Concert Hall to see Steve Earle. Half way through, the Aimster was asleep (bless her) but, to be fair, she was only 9yo and half the audience was following suit - it won't go down as Steve's finest performance. Fast forward to the 26 Febrero 2014, and I've picked her up early from skool to stand in a massive queue outside a theatre cum nightclub called SHOKO LIVE - frankly, SHOCKER LIVE would have been more appropriate. It's a closely guarded surprise for her, as I'm taking her to see her all-time favourite singer/actor ROSS LYNCH and his boy band of the moment R5.

Rocky, Riker, ROSS YOU SPUNK, Rydel, Ratcliff

I think she's known about it and played along, but the smile on her face when I give her the tickets is priceless. What she definitely doesn't know is that dad, i.e. Don L, has arranged for her to be one of the 100 fans to enter early to MEET & GREET Ross and the band. I thought she was going to pass out with the excitement of it all.

In case you don't know, R5 is a boy band (even though one of them is a girl) consisting of 4 siblings and their best friend, and they are currently taking the world by storm , and are right up there vying with the likes of One Direction for the affection of impressionable young tween and teenage girls. (Cynical aside: you will, of course, be aware that this is not quite the musical diet Don L dines upon!)Why R5? All their names start with 'R'; there's RYDEL Lynch (she plays keyboards and sings), ROCKY Lynch on guitar/vocals, RIKER Lynch (sounds like he's been named after a prison!) on bass/vocals, and on drums is Ellington RATLIFF. The youngest member, and the undoubted star of proceedings is 18yo ROSS Lynch on vocals/guitar/blonde good looks/sleeveless tanktop showing off his 'guns'. Ross happens to also be a Disney actor (and, I suspect, where Aimee first heard of him), having recently starred in TEEN BEACH MOVIE and is the star of the TV series AUSTIN & ALLY (Cynical aside: if you're none the wiser then fear not, it's over my head too!). Anyway, we get in and Aimee gets to say hello and have her foto taken with the gang, Ross's arm around her shoulder, and her cheeks are as red as a tomato - it's a fabulous moment.

I think this is my all-time fave pic of my 'Black Pearl'

Then the group conduct a Q&A session with the select few, play an acoustic number and depart to prepare for the show. Priority entrance has got us standing 4 rows from the front in a sea of 1,000 screaming girls. Because it's a licensed venue (although not selling alcohol for this event) anyone under 18 had to have a guardian with them - the back of the room was filled with old fogies (and one in row 4!) trying to shelter from the storm!

Q&A time

Acoustic warm up for the pre-show guests

Out they come, and the chicas go berserk. For the next 80 minutes they play all their hits - I have no idea what they are, and they all sound the same. They are competent, at best, on their instruments, each song consisting of pretty simple chord structures played very loudly (volume is a sure fire way to counter a lack of ability), and the vocals are 'adequate'; the Marshall stacks are impressive. This is The Partridge Family on steroids, and I don't get it I'm afraid, but wait........

Ross rocks - sans sleeves

I look around me, and I'm alone (old enough to be the grandfather to most of them!), adrift in this seething, screaming, pogo-ing, arm waving, adoring horde of young kids, all of them singing along to every song the band roll out and performing some bizarre hand jive sign that replicates a heart. Can 1,000 kids all be wrong and just me right? Aimee is nearly delirious with happiness, like I've never seen her before, and I'm just about to tear up.

An ecstatic face in the crowd

The sea of chicas complete with crazy hands. Aimee is in the bottom right corner

My foot's started tapping to the beat, and even if they all do sound the same, it's a highly infectious sameness, and I'm remembering how my parents thought all the Beatles songs sounded the same. There is no denying that Ross, the centre of Aimee's attention, is indeed a charismatic young man, and yes, he's a good looking young boy. These 'kids' are energetic, they're clean cut, there's no potty mouths, there's no 'ink' on display, they're enjoying themselves and equally enjoying the adulation of Madrileno chicas. It's fun, it's 21st Century pop....and I love it! Can it get any better? Well, yes......when the show is over, R5 return to take their final bow and....wait for it....Ross flicks his plectrum to Aimee - OMG!!! I can't wipe the smile from her face!

THE PLECTRUM!!!

The aftermath

It's chilly outside and we've been standing up for 5 hours. It matters little as we go for a bite to eat, Aimee gripping her plectrum, poster and T-shirt as if her life depended on it. Thinking of the happiness she radiated this night brings a lump to my throat, and it's a night that I will remember with equal joy as Aimee, but for entirely different reasons. The music bug has bitten her now, and hopefully there's a few more in store for us to attend before I'm thrown on the parental chaperone scrapheap. R5 will one day be yesterday's heroes for Aimee and the posters will come down from the walls to be replaced by someone else (Word Of Caution: The Fab Four were my first musical love and still remain so today), but right now all The LegsyBoys LOVE R5. Rock on.......

The album cover - nice kids having a great time