Parenting Teens: The Second One with the Michael Marcagi Concert

Welcome back, dear readers, to the exciting conclusion of our adventure at the Michael Marcagi concert at the El Club in Detroit.

Last week you read the scintillating details of how my daughter begged me to buy her tickets to a general admission concert at a small venue in Detroit, how my husband and I decided to escort her and her friend to the big, bad city, and how my teen was waiting in the front row for the Michael Marcagi concert while my husband and I randomly met this rising rock star without her–ha ha!

Let’s see what happened next.

In The Room Where It Happened

Now that my husband and I had met Michael, we wanted to be in the room where it happened, so to speak, and actually catch his act versus stand in the side room with the bar at the El Club.

But how to join the crowd, aka the throng of 500 Millennials/Gen Z?

Turns out many of them had to go to the bathroom or get another drink after the opening act.

So as each person left, my husband and I inched into the concert room.

Inch. Inch. Inch.

Soon we were actually standing in the concert room. Woo hoo!

It appeared we had 30 minutes to kill before Michael would take the stage at 9pm. And since I’ve been married to my husband for 30 years now, it’s not like we needed to talk to each other.

Thus, I struck up a conversation with a couple of women who looked to be from our generation.

They were actually standing behind us, and since my husband and I are both tall, I asked the ladies if they wanted to stand in front of us since we would be able to see over them.

They did. And as we chit chatted, we learned that they were the mom and sister of Michael’s lead guitarist, Kyle! As my husband and I were now close personal friends of Michael’s, the four of us passed the time gabbing about the boys and their band.

Kyle’s mom and sister both lived within an hour of the venue, so this was a great opportunity to catch his show. We also learned that Kyle had been the lead guitar tech on the 5 Seconds of Summer tour last summer. That’s a pretty big deal!

Then, somehow, Bucyrus, Ohio came up in the conversation.

Katy, you mentioned Bucyrus, Ohio last week. What’s the big deal? you’re thinking.

Turns out Michael Marcagi, who is from Cincinnati, has a connection to Bucyrus, Ohio. My Grandma Jean lived in Bucyrus, Ohio! I visited her there most summers from California. Bucyrus is in the middle of Ohio, hosts an annual Bratwurst Fesitval, and grows a lot of corn.

It’s kinda NOT a big deal.

Me thinks I’ll have to ask Michael about Bucyrus, I thought, as he took the stage.

The Main Event

What can I say? The concert was a blast!

The music was good, the crowd was loving it, and I enjoyed seeing my daughter’s head in the first row as she bopped along to the music.

Truly, it was a terrific concert and a lot of fun.

After The Main Event

My daughter and her friend were glowing after the concert. Her friend got his autograph before he left the stage and my daughter was gifted his guitar pick!

(I bet they were as excited as the time I met Rick Springfield.)

She was also appreciative that we picked up a concert t-shirt for her. She really wanted to stick around in hopes of getting him to sign her shirt and take a picture with him.

That’s when I spotted Kyle coming out to visit his mom and sister. I saw him take another fan’s shirt and tell that fan he’d get Michael to sign it.

“Kyle!” I shouted, and he turned around.

(Honestly, I don’t know what came over me.)

“YOU KNOW HIM?” my daughter asked, shocked.

“Can you get Michael to sign this?” I asked, shoving my daughter’s concert shirt towards him. That’s when Kyle told us that Michael would be out soon.

And he was! My daughter got to meet Michael after all:

After taking their picture, my husband and I thanked him and I asked him about Bucyrus. His eyes widened with surprise.

It’s not every day you hear someone mention the bustling metropolis that is Bucyrus, Ohio.

Turns out he also visited Bucyrus in the summers as he had family there. And, at least one of them was a teacher, just like my grandma. I bet if we had time we could ascertain that the Marcagi and Mack families knew, or at least knew of, each other.

Six degrees of Michael Marcagi!

All’s Well That Ends Well

And so our big night in the big city came to an end. The girls took their shirts and guitar pick with them, while my husband and I left with new friends and fond memories of the Michael Marcagi concert at the El Club in Detroit.

Music fans, if you missed it last week, here is Michael Marcagi playing his hit “Scared to Start” on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Enjoy!