In 7th grade I had not yet been to a concert that wasn't courtesy of our town's public library and consisting of a man wearing suspenders who was singing about staying in school. I would frequently reassure myself that "that guy wasn't that bad" and "he's better than no concert at all". However, in actuality I desperately wanted to go to a concert that had more people in attendance than books.
Late in my 7th grade year, my wishes were granted when I got a ticket to see Ben Kweller at the spring concert at a small college in my town. I bought his CD Sha Sha with an iTunes gift card and listened to it obsessively for the weeks leading up to the concert.
My favorite track on that album was Commerce, TX. Every time I listened to it, I thought "Ben Kweller knows just how I feel". In retrospect, making such an assumption based upon that particular song was stupid of me. Aside from being about nonconformity (which was as far from being my reality as possible), it had completely nonsense lyrics.
When the concert came, Kweller didn't play Commerce, TX in his regular set. I was pretty pissed: "Maybe Ben Kweller doesn't know just how I feel. What a jerk."
Fortunately, an encore was demanded. As Kweller literally cartwheeled back onto the stage, a fat and very drunk college student threw his arm around me and cheered in sheer joy for the return of "the Kwellster". I tried to worm away from his sultry left armpit, but when I heard the first chords of Commerce, TX, I gave up. From his embrace I sang along with Ben Kweller at the top of my lungs.
There are few moments in my life that I remember being so purely happy and excited. Every time I hear Commerce, TX, I am immediately brought back to that student's armpit and reminded of music's ability to completely sculpt emotion. Even though I've since learned that guy who played at our library, Justin Roberts, was nominated for a Grammy for best children's album, I still consider Ben Kweller my first real concert experience. I won't ever forget it.
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