Madeline Finn – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the indie rock artist, Madeline Finn, talks about the story of her first experience with live music. You can check out the story, after the break.

I was about 7 years old and had just gotten into the idea of being “obsessed” with certain things. My affinity for Spongebob Squarepants was just kicking in and I had spent way too much of my time researching WWII. Among these obsessions, none was greater than my absolute infatuation with *NSYNC. As an only child from a single mother who mainly listened to country (and some kick-butt Motown that my little brain just wasn’t ready for), pop music guided my fledgling music lover into a little human with real tastes and preferences of my own. I had an *NSYNC themed birthday party, *NSYNC computer games and my most cherished possession was the slowly growing collection of marionette dolls stemming from the “No strings attached” era… I never did get the Lance Bass one and my heart is still broken.

Somehow my kick-ass mother saved enough money to buy two tickets to the *NSYNC and Eden’s Crush concert at the Cleveland Browns stadium. Eden’s crush was another growing obsession, there was a reality show that had put the group together that my mom and I watched all the time. Funny enough the lead singer of Eden’s Crush would go on to front and form the group The PussyCat Dolls, whom I lost interest in as I entered my emo kid phase. I remember my mom tieing my baby blue bandana around my head, in true JT fashion, and immediately putting on the tour shirt my mom bought me at the show. We had to walk up to the back…and I mean the BACK of that stadium. Picture the most nosebleed of nosebleed’s and that’s where our tickets sent us. Still, my excitement couldn’t be contained.

Eden’s Crush put on a good show and it seemed like HOURS until I finally got to see Joey Fatone in the flesh…even if he looked like an ant from afar. They took the stage and I lost. my. shit…I’m sure I didn’t have a voice by the end of the night with all the screaming. Even though I wasn’t in the pit there was this rush of energy that I became so addicted to. The lights, sounds, and thousands of people all there to do the exact same thing..incredible. I sang at the top of my lungs and yelled as if they could actually hear me.

“JOEY I LOVE YOU!!!”

The whole stage set up was grand and even more grand though the eyes of a first-grader. They were literally flying above the crowd, dancing with incredible precision and the pyro was better than any fireworks I had ever seen. My musical prowess had not yet been cultivated so I gave zero f*%ks about if they were lip-syncing or not….(although I am going to choose to believe they were not to protect my inner child). By the end of the evening, I was completely wiped, putting everything my little kid body had into that experience.

It might not be as cool as Black Sabbath or Metallica and my pre-teen wouldn’t dare admit that…but now as an adult, I am honored and thankful that I got a nosebleed seat to witness one of the most intense movements of 2000’s pop culture. Did it shape me as the artist I am today, probably not. What it did do is show me that there is joy to be found in the collective experience of music. Joey Fatone if you’re reading this I still love you…

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