When You Know You're Old

So last night I went to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut at Radio City Music Hall with my husband and like 5000 of my closest friends. Sometime in the early part of the concert I discovered I am officially old.

After the stupid, unending greetings from morons in suits (mayors, ambassadors, governors, various organizational presidents, etc.) Natalie Portman came out to be the evenings' MC. Love her. Rami Kleinstein performed. Love him, have his albums. But wait, he's 46! I thought he was so cool (younger). Oh well.

Matisyahu performed. All I could think of was ICK. The rapping, the reggae, and all I could think about was how he was mouthing the mike and how all that slobber would need to be wiped off. How unsanitary. I am not a fan.

The Idan Raichel Project performed. Wow. I love them, have the album, seen them in concert, etc. Really love them, as in, my husband's ring on my cell phone is the opening part of one of his songs (Mimamakim). But then Matisyahu came out and ruined one of my favorite Idan Raichel songs. I love the IRP but am a bit wary of my love for them because they are "World Music" and people who listen to world music are OLD.

Later on there was Yael Naim, who is a major pop star these days because her music was in a Mac commercial. Oy, she's awesome. But come on, New Soul is just not her best (check out Levater or even her cover of Brittney Spears' Toxic. That is GOOD), it's just her poppy fun one.

But by 10pm I was cranky and ready to go home. Then there were tech glitches, things stopped moving along quickly, and I got super annoyed. Kvetchy. Of course, I only paid $36 for my ticket and was out on the town with my darling husband who was being quite patient, so I should have been ready for fun. Not. Then there was a STRING QUARTET. No offense but it was totally out of place. I love classical music, especially contemporary music of that genre (I sound totally uneducated here, but I do like it). But not that AT ALL. And then Paul Shaffer and Richard Belzer came out and did a stupid stand up comedy routine that was totally borscht belt and imho, not funny, and Paul Shaffer ended with the theme song from the movie Exodus on the piano. OLD FOGY. I felt ancient and even more kvetchy.

Luckily then they trotted out a gray and balding David Broza, who used to be hot when I would go to any concert anywhere and everywhere to see him thump his guitar. He's still got it but then I was horrified to find out that he wrote Yihiye Tov 30 years ago. I really am old.

When we got home at 1230 I felt quite bitchy because the babysitter wanted to chat instead of leave promptly and I was tired and needed to check my email. And then my son woke up and was asking for chocolate milk and didn't fall asleep soundly for a full hour. And when I woke up in the morning I was totally cranky and slept through a full hour of 2 episodes of Miss Spider's Sunny Patch or whatever that show is called.

I feel a bit shocked. Not totally but just a bit. Apparently I am an annoying middle aged mom, cranky and exhausted. Tough night out. I should stop complaining so much and embrace what's left of my youth! Now it's the next night and I need to go to bed.