Twenty One Pilots

                          
Last night, I took the kids to the Twenty One Pilots concert. They were so excited. They came downstairs in their TOP tee-shirts and red eye shadow around their eyes. "What is that about?" I asked. They rolled their eyes. "Josh Dun does it, so we are paying homage to him." They asked like I was supposed to know that. Like I was supposed to give a sh*t about what kind of eye makeup some pop-rock guy wears. Newsflash: I don't care and ain't nobody got time for that.

I put on a Twenty One Pilots shirt too. I didn't want to dress like myself, because I would be super out of place. Twenty One Pilots is okay. I know all of their songs because the kids have made me listen to their album OVER and OVER and OVER again. When they were younger, it was the Wheels on the Bus on repeat. Now, it's crappy pop songs.

I can tolerate TOP infinitely more than other pop artists. I swear to God if they make me listen to that horrible Ariana Grande "Side to Side" song or that Ed Sheeran "Shape of You" song one more time, I am seriously going to lose it.

Twenty One Pilots music is kind of catchy. They don't drop F-bombs or talk about doing drugs, drinking alcohol or banging bitches. As a mom, I can appreciate that.

We picked up their friends and showed up to the venue. The line was long. We were waiting and one of their friends from school showed up, I'm going to call him Honey Badger. This kid is the funniest. "Can I just hang with you guys? My mom is working here." I shrugged.
"Do you have a ticket? What section are you in?"
He pulled out his ticket, "I'm not in your section but I'll still sit with you guys."
Well, okay. We got our tickets scanned and went to our seats. They were pretty much nosebleed seats. They were $50 but I had to buy FIVE tickets.

I could see the look on my 12-year olds face. "Listen, don't complain. It is a huge treat just to be here."
Honey Badger patted her on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll get us onto the floor." I rolled my eyes. Fat chance.

Honey Badger kept changing seats as people showed up but sure enough, he stuck around. Before long, the lights dimmed and the opening act came out - Judah and the Lion. I thought they were really good. I was impressed. They played a few songs and then the lead singer said, "I'm going to throw it back to my favorite song from fourth grade." Then they started playing Mr. Brightside by the Killers.

        
I thought, Didn't this song come out within the past 10 years? How is it that this is this grown-ass man's favorite song? I feel sooooooo old.

It was actually 13 years ago, but my sense of time is jacked up. I'm still old.

After Judah and Lions, Jon Bellion came out and did his thing. I thought he was really good. Then, it was intermission before the headlining event.
"It's hot in here. Let's go outside," Honey Badger suggested.

The kids thought that was a good idea and I just fell behind to ensure they didn't get into any shenanigans. Honey Badger was walking around like he owned the place. He had swagger. We got a whiff of some funky-skunky marijuana smell. "I know what that smell is because I've been to L.A.," Honey Badger said. I was dying.

We went back to our seats and waited for Twenty One Pilots to come on. The kids were on their phones. Then Honey Badger said, "Come on! We're going to the pit!"
"What? How? There are 6 of us!"
"I got the hook up," he said with a grin. So much swagger.

I was not believing this kid but we got up and followed him anyway. Sure enough, there were 6 wristbands waiting for us. I could not believe it. My kids were jumping up and down. All the girls crowded around Honey Badger and started hugging him. "Oh my God! You're the BEST!" Honey Badger was like

                                          

They were trying to get a good view but there were a lot of tall people. My oldest was trying to convince Honey Badger to give her a piggy back. I was trying to talk him out of it. They are both 12 but she is much bigger than him.
"How much do you weigh?" I asked.
"93 pounds."
"I weighed that when I got married," I said it outloud, mostly to myself, amazed that I was ever that thin.
"My mom was only 18," my daughter announced.
"I have to be 21...." Honey Badger said.
"To get married?"
He paused for a moment. "No, to play the piano. That's what my dad says but I'm probably not going to follow that rule.

My daughters were like
                                    
                                    Dude! I can't believe you just said that to my mom. 

Kids now-a-days are wide open. I was like, "Thanks for sharing, lets never talk about that ever again."

The show started and the kids lost their minds. They were jumping up and down with their hands in the air, screaming out the lyrics. It was an impressive show. They were playing from different stages and we were right at the edge of the pit. When the lead singer ran by my daughter reached out and touched him.

She started to cry, actual tears. I'm going to have to hear about that sh*t FOREVER. During the last song, red confetti rained down over us. "This is the best night of my life," they said. Best money I ever spent.

Afterwards, we thanked Honey Badger profusely and parted ways. We sat in traffic forever and then I dropped off their friends and headed home. They didn't get to bed until 12:30 am.

I thought it would be rough getting them up for school the next day but they were in some kind of post-TOP-concert adrenaline rush. My oldest jumped out of bed. "Oh my God! I can't wait to tell everyone that I touched Tyler- it was so lit, fam!" Translation: I am excited to inform everyone that I touched the lead singer from Twenty One Pilots. It was a really amazing experience.