On the Cusp

Okay so it's almost a month until my 18th birthday, and until now I have never doubted my hatred for being born in the later part of the year. Slowly, friend by friend has turned over to the dark side of adulthood, in all its club-attending, alcohol purchasing glory.
But for me, the clubs and alcohol weren't my source of jealousy. I have lost count of the times where an amazing band has made their way to Australia, only to play shows that are 18+  and my heart sinks and I curse my parents' choice of timing. I go through the seven stages of mourning, and always end up feeling angry at the band for not considering their younger fans.
But now that I am only weeks from complete gig-freedom, I wonder whether I will still feel the same way towards artists who choose to have 18+ gigs when I am no longer a victim of it. Will I be able to remember how it felt when I no longer have to think about whether I can attend or not? Or will I even care?

It's the classic case of biased perspective. Whenever I ask my older friends what it feels like to be at an 18+ concert, they always rave about the lack of "twelvies" or kids that might ruin the drunken fun. Then I remember, according to that opinion, I myself am a "twelvie" and I get a little offended. But how I see it, the focus should be on the act, rather than the crowd, and the fact that some people cannot witness a great gig simply because they can't drink baffles me.
But of course, this will probably change, and this is my point: as I head into the big bad world of adulthood and age restricted gigs, I will most likely rave about how awesome it is not to have children around me, just like my friends once did to me.

Only recently has this thought really occurred to me, as I was becoming part of the older demographic in an all age audience. In May this year, I bought a coveted ticket to "Flume" one of the most highly acclaimed Australian artists right now. Especially in the Gold Coast/Brisbane area, no one could stop talking about the upcoming show. Myself and a group of friends, including my fifteen year old sister arrived at Riverstage in Brisbane, only to be surrounded by large herds of twelve to sixteen year olds. And of course as a seventeen year old on the cusp of turning eighteen, I could not allow myself to be considered as part of that demographic, and I ended up feeling... left out? Even though I had every right to feel at home surrounded by my fellow minors, the thought of being considered one of "them" honestly distracted me. Rather than focusing on the artist in front of me, I just kept thinking:

"Why the fuck am I surrounded by a bunch of kids?"

Flume is great at recognising his younger audience: but does that give way to annoying older fans?

There is definitely an air of snobbery in that instance, but I can't deny the feeling of isolation (excuse the terminology, HSC English does that to you) in a situation where I should be appreciative of the artists' consideration of younger people.

So I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens in a month, and decide where my loyalties lie: in the innocence of all age gigs, or much more frequently occuring 18+ shows.

Any adults out there feel any preference? Enlighten me, I'm only a child!

Kacey xx