Mom and 13-Year-Old Son Rock Out with The Black Keys

By Cailin Acosta

LA MESA, California – Recently, my 13-year-old son came to me asking to go to a concert. He and his twin sister have earbuds and listen to music in the car. I don’t check their music accounts since I know they are not into some of the hardcore rap with explicit lyrics. The days of MTV and the racy music videos are a “sign of the times.”

My husband is not into music as much as I am. In his car commutes, he listens to sports radio and NPR. My car commutes have always been set to Alternative Rock, Classic Rock, and Garage. Either the local stations or The Black Keys station on Pandora Radio which plays anything from Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Hendrix, The White Stripes, The Strokes, and of course The Black Keys.

I never played the “kiddie music” some of my friends played in their cars to either please their kids or put them to sleep. I figured if I were driving all around town, I needed to keep my sanity and listen to what I liked. I am always pleased when I look in my rear-view mirror and I see some air guitar/air drums and can hear them singing along.

My son expressed interest in going to see a live rock concert, so we looked up bands that were coming into town. His first choice was Linkin’ Park but the closest they were coming to San Diego was Los Angeles. As we were driving home in January 2025, the kiosk sign on the 8 East freeway at San Diego State University said they would be hosting The Black Keys. I turned to my son and said, “What about The Black Keys?” He said “Seriously? That would be so fire! But will Dad let us go?” I told him, “Don’t worry about Dad, we are going!”

I was going to purchase tickets to attend The Black Keys in 2020 at the Open-Air Theatre at San Diego State University, but due to COVID-19, the concert was canceled.

I secured my tickets for my son and me for the Wednesday, June 4 show at the Open-Air Theatre at San Diego State University. My son started listening to some of The Black Keys’s older albums and asked me what to expect at a live concert. All I could tell him was to brace yourself, it is going to be something I can’t put into words since it will just blow your mind.

The Black Keys hail from Akron, Ohio. Akron has an established Jewish community dating back to the 1800’s. The lead singer and guitarist, Dan Auerbach, is Jewish and recently celebrated a birthday. I knew I made the right choice by exposing my son to his first live rock concert since I felt the connection of why I have always listened to The Black Keys. They do not sing about Judaism but are just so talented on the guitar riffs. It is hard to explain the thrill of the slow cadence and then the immediate pick-up.

The night we had been waiting for came and we made our way to the Open-Air Theatre and our seats. My son wanted some “merch,” so we checked out the booth. He wanted a tour shirt with “San Diego” on the back. We found it so bought it. I told him he needed to wear this to school the next day so that  those who know good music will be jealous of where we were last night. I told him it was an old tip from “back in the day”.

He asked if they had CDs to purchase. The attendant said they only had vinyl which, surprisingly, he knew what that was.  I said we don’t have a record player. I told him records were a thing of the past before I was even born. However, vinyl is making a comeback and music experts are saying that vinyl provides the clearest recording. It appears that bands are reverting to this nostalgic medium.

The Black Keys took the stage, and we stood most of the time recording, taking pictures, and singing along. Auerbach made a nod to the force of San Diegans in the audience and the affectionate vibes.

The whole time I kept looking at my son with a huge smile as we rocked out with our air guitars/air drumming and singing and thought, I am making memories we both will never forget. I was so honored he wanted me to take him and “show him the ropes.”

A part of that was explaining the music industry’s take on the “encore.” As Auerbach bid adieu to the crowd, the stage went dark, and people started to leave. My son said, “Hmm, well, that’s strange they didn’t play “Lonely Boy.” I told him to wait since they were backstage, wiping off the sweat, chugging water (or beer), having a smoke (or a joint), and deciding what tunes to come back with. He didn’t believe me at first and I said to “keep the faith.”

Sure enough, they showed back up and played three more songs, the last one being “Lonely Boy.” He asked how I knew they would return. I told him every good band does this and that I have been to shows where there was more than one encore.

It was after 11 p.m., and a school night so we left as the lights and recorded music were coming on, so it was apparent it was time to leave. As we were walking to the parking structure, I asked him if he had fun. He said it was mind-blowing, particularly the lights that were synchronized with Auerbach’s guitar riffs.

On the way home, I asked, what is our next concert? His response was “Yeah, right, will Dad let us go to another one?” I said, “Don’t worry about Dad, I will handle it.”

*

Cailin Acosta is the assistant editor of the San Diego Jewish World.