Pop! Goes the concert!

Can you relive your youth at a pop concert with your child at your side? Sam Pope and her husband Carl decided to put it to the test with daughter Holly at a Crowded House performance...

• Apparently, we're old farty-goers
• We gave it some wellie
• Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
• Powerful nostalgia for parents
• Avoiding the rush hour
• Bring on Iron Maiden
• Top tips for taking a child to an outdoor concert

Apparently, we're old farty-goers

I've not been to many concerts and I can't think of anything worse than sharing dodgy portaloos and sliding around in mud at music festivals. You might conclude that I am not much of a raver, a fact that I embarrassedly became aware of aged 21 at an Everything But the Girl concert. My boyfriend and I were the youngest audience members, surrounded by a middle-aged, middle-class audience, who swayed in their chairs and then formed a neat, orderly line to leave the building at the end.

Since that incident I haven't ventured out to others but when I saw that Crowded House was playing at Westonbirt Arboretum I was tempted. Chill-out music amidst wonderful trees sounded too good to miss. My husband (a fellow fan) and I booked two tickets and decided to take our five-year-old daughter, Holly. We had considered leaving her at home with a babysitter but she likes music and it wasn't as if this was an Iron Maiden concert (as a friend rudely commented when he more or less accused us of being boring old farts). Besides, it would be an educational and cultural experience.

The 19th of June dawned ominously. Outdoor concerts just shouldn't exist in the UK. There was a severe weather warning for heavy rain and as the day progressed the ground got soggier. By 7pm, as we packed flasks of hot chocolate and tea in the car instead of bottles of alcopops, and digestive biscuits instead of hash brownies, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we'd have to wear wellies and kagools. How cool was that? Nearly as bad as the middle-aged crowd at Everything But the Girl, with their chinos and Oxford shirts and floral dresses and sensible heels. Holly still dressed up as a rock chick in a lurid pink top, black skirt and black leggings and practised on her air guitar. At least her spirits hadn't been dampened.

It was just over an hour's drive to the arboretum and we'd planned it to arrive just at the end of the supporting act's set to minimise the chance of Holly getting too bored, cold or wet. As we tramped from the car park to the main arena, we noticed that most of the people there were our age with children, some carrying headphones to protect their ears. Everyone was in wellies too so this boded well.

Inside the arena the heavens opened and it started to pelt down on the hundreds of fans gathered for the concert. We certainly had taken the weather with us. A kind forest ranger gave us a free waterproof cape for Holly, who got lost inside all the plastic and holes for limbs. We set up our portable garden chairs and munched on pieces of lemon drizzle cake - appropriate food for the weather. We decided to stay near the back of the arena so Holly could run around with the other children and make noise and not bother anyone else. Luckily she'd had a sleep in the car on the way over and this had given her a second wind as Crowded House didn't take to the stage until 9pm.

The concert was excellent: the group performed well, the music was spot-on. They could actually sing live, a rare occurrence nowadays. The noise levels weren't too bad for Holly and she enjoyed sitting on dad's shoulders, waving her arms in the air like a professional rock chick. She looked bemused by mummy and daddy singing along nostalgically to the songs, but then again so did every other child observing their parents doing the same thing. You mean there's life before kids? You bet. Being at that concert was like one big trip down memory lane. And that makes me feel old to admit that. I was now a middle-aged concert-goer. I sneaked a quick look for younger people looking at us in horror of one day becoming ... us, as we'd done a decade ago.

Avoiding the rush hour

It was also a bit lame to leave the concert at 10pm to avoid the end rush but with a young child you don't want to push your luck. We'd heard the best songs, anyway. During a brief break, we gathered our belongings and headed off, together with a few other families, walking along floodlit paths to the car park and hoping we'd remember what row we were in (there were no numbers to help). The rain had held off for most of the time but the wind was chilly and the air was damp. We wanted to leave on a high note, plus I was desperate for a wee and wouldn't use the portaloos. You couldn't get to a free one anyway. Luckily Holly didn't need to go but had she I think we would have taken her outside the arena and let her go in the bushes.

In the car, Holly was suddenly overtaken by tiredness. We wrapped a warm blanket over her and she fell asleep immediately, happy with her experience of the concert and at staying up with the adults. We'd had a great time listening to some classic songs. OK, we're not big fashionable ravers. But at least the music we listen to is something that Holly also can enjoy, although she's more partial to Queen and adores head-banging so maybe I should keep an eye out for the next heavy metal rock concert coming our way? I don't think she'd appreciate going with the old farts, though: we're definitely not Mummy and Daddy Cool.

• Be realistic. If your child's still a baby, outside concerts might not be the best thing unless the music is more gentle than a rock group.
• Check out suitable ear gear in case the music is too loud for their delicate hearing. We didn't do this with Holly because it never occurred to me (*blush*) but if things do get too noisy and you don't have some headphones it might make the experience traumatic for everyone.
• Take some nice snacks and treats along. Forbidden food can be good - it will make the experience more memorable. Holly loved tucking into some crisps and cake - it made it seem more like a party for her.
• Take a camera! Record your child's first ever experience at a concert so you can embarrass/remind them when they're older... If they're old enough, let them take a picture of you too!
• Try to use a loo before the event. Portaloos tend to be few and far between, plus they're never the nicest things to use (and after one episode I am always afraid they're going to fall over sideways with me in them).
• Because this is the UK, bring clothes for all conditions. We took layers to keep Holly warm or cool, plus waterproofs. Umbrellas were banned so you need something with a hood.
• Even though it's a bit sad to leave a concert early, it can be good for beating the crowds. There were hundreds of cars at our concert and it can take up to an hour - or more - to get out if you're stuck in a queue... and then you're stuck in traffic all the way home.
• Remember to take a favourite teddy or blanket for the journey back so they settle into the car and fall asleep. You don't want a cranky child screeching in the back.

Where to next?

• Festival families - are music festivals better left for pre-baby days , this family thinks not!
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