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I bought tickets to my first Buffett show at DTE in Michigan this summer. I plan on going with my wife and 7 and 9 year old boys. Because I've never been to a Buffett show I'm wondering if anyone would advise against taking boys of this age.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks

To the concert, probably not too young. But NOT to the tailgate. Fer sure.

You'll get several different perspectives here. I'll give you one (cause I really only have my own opinion to share).

Took our keets to their first at Alpine when they were 10 and 12. Alot of it depends on what kind of stomach you as a parent have for your individual kids being in the mix of tailgating activities. In general, I'd consider the tailgate lot to be PG to R rated. There are activities approaching X rating, but you have to look a bit more for them. If they were to openly describe "what I did/saw this summer" when returning to school, it could be one of more colorful responses.

As far as the concert itself, it was no problem. If the kids have been around people drinking and having a good time, it may be little new. Although there are beligerant drunks in any crowd, my experience is that the parrothead crowd is better natured. There may be some extra-curricular recreational substance use going on, but it hasn't been too overt in my experience. Other parrotheads sitting near are usually real supportive of keets, especially first-timers. Someone gave my daughter their blow-up shark, which was a hit for Fins.

My wife and I took our kids to the STL show a few years ago. We did not tail gate b/c of the kids. Just sit at the back of the lawn where it might be a little calmer and you will be fine. Also bee prepared to explain that strange smell in the air.

surfpirate wrote:Now between you and me ..... YOU and YOUR WIFE will be handcuffed in the amount of fun
you can have by worrying and watching your children.
For that reason I would leave them at home with a baby sitter
and enjoy the show more for yourselves.

Yeah, I neglected that part in my initial response. I totally agree with surfpirate. It will alter your own experience as your brain may do a tug-o-war between parental responsibility and enjoying the experience.

I took my daughter to a Buffett concert a couple years ago when she was only about a year and a half old and it went fine on the lawn aside from the late night fussiness. If she wasn't in the midst of the terrible three's, I'd consider taking her again this year. There's no reason why your kids couldn't handle it at their ages with parental supervision. There are always calmer parts of the lawn, so move if needed. The prices for seats make me question spending the money on kids that age, but if you can afford it, go for it. If they like the music, give them the experience. If they're indifferent, leave them at home and let loose without them.

I started taking my daughter to Buffett shows when she was 7 and she's now 17. She really enjoys the shows in Vegas, was really disappointed in the one in San Jose and gives San Diego mixed reviews depending on which year you want to talk about.

I would strongly suggest earplugs and make sure that they try them on for size prior to the show. I do agree with the comment about your activities will be limited by the fact that you are hanging out with your kids. The other challenges are going to be the mob scene getting in and out of the venues. You will want to be certain that you are holding hands all the way through in order to insure that you don't get separated.

When we take the kids, we take them to an indoor venue. In my mind, the outdoor venues are for adults only. YMMV.

I didn't take my youngest until she turned 16......I didn't want her to learn beer pong on the street.

I haven't taken my daughter yet because I don't want her to think that it's acceptable to flash the camera for the CILCIA video! My 19 year old son has sure enjoyed that part though!

My son is grown, but there's no way I would have taken him to a concert at such a young age. One, it's adult time for me. Two, there's so much going on that I don't think they're ready for. And that would go for any adult music concert. Your mileage may vary.

Took my Grandson to his first concert last year when he was 4. He already new and loved Jimmy's songs so he was super excited. We took him to the Woodlands because we knew it would be more kid friendly. Went to the hotel first, made him take a little nap. Then went early enough to walk around and see the sights and thru the small parking lot party. We sat in the pavillion, all was great and he absolutely loved it. He started fading toward the end. (As you can see in my pic below, he was tired) But Fins brought him back to life and he jumped on the hotel bed kicking a beach ball for an hour singing. My husband did carry him thru the crowds leaving though. Then all the adult kids went to Frisco 2 days later! He doesn't get to do Frisco because it would very much limit the fun you can have. (and his mom doesn't want him in that just yet). But he's pumped up and ready for The Woodlands again this year! As much as we grown kids are ready for FFF5!! So my advice is to pick the venue or maybe skip the tailgating. But it'll be a memory they will always have. But you really should experience a concert and tailgating without kids also. Parrotheads are the best fans ever!!

I'd totally bring my kids, realizing that I have to be a different person with my kids at a concert than I am when I'm at a show without them. And that I might have to explain some not-quite-pg13 behavior. They are 7 and 13 now, but we took my daughter twice when she was 5/6.

Every year, there's the topic on whether to bring keets to a show, here's a story from 1 of my previous posts, "Keets and Concerts....Continued" from 2006.

A while ago there was discussion on whether to bring your keets to a Buffett show. If I may, I’d like to relate our experience with our keet @ Great Woods. She’ll be 10 in September. We arrived in the RV lot about 9:16 am on Thursday. We parked, set up and proceeded to enjoy the day. We bring little gift bags from Oriental Trading, (where else ?), and G plays a trivia game w/any keet she sees. Everyone gets 1 for playing, and it kills some time. After lunch, usually 3 or 4ish, she’ll take a nap for a couple of hours in the camper. This is perfect timing since this is when the lot is the most fun for the adults. After nap, it’s dinner & into the show. She’s fully rested and ready to dance for 3 hours. This time, we lucked out w/decent seats to the left of the stage near the lower speakers. I went looking for earplugs and a security guard gave us her set. When the basketball game came out, G was able to play & even get a basket. We were close enough for eye contact w/the band. G got waves from Tina, Nadira, Peter and during 1 song Jimmy even waved & smiled at her. When WDWGD&S started we went w/the coconut ear muffs. She held up a sign that read “Get Milk &……Moo” Jimmy even noticed that. She made the screen during that song a couple of times. For 3 hours she never stopped dancing. Near the end of the show, she worked her way towards the stage w/her poster. The guards let her stay near by. During fins, the camera caught her again having a blast. Charleston noticed her and brought her to the middle of the stage near the gates. At the end, he let her go near the stage & Jimmy walked up to her and said ”This is for you” & handed her a signed flip flop. Charleston then handed Jimmy her poster & he signed that too. I’m not sure who was more thrilled, G or her parents. Back at our seats, a stage hand gave her a pick from Peter. At the end of the evening, G told us that was the most fun she ever had. I think that’s why we all love Jimmy & his shows, it’s fun for all. I guess it depends on the keet and how they’ll act towards & with adults. As a family, we had a blast. Memories to last a lifetime. And I don’t think we infringed on anybody’s fun or their right to have a good time. We will see you all @ the next show.

My youngest she-keet was 11 for her first show and she did just fine. The only real problem for keets (if it's a typical JB crowd) is that everybody will be standing and it's tough for short people to see anything. You definitely don't want floor seats unless you're towards the front of the crowd.

SeattleParrotHead wrote:My youngest she-keet was 11 for her first show and she did just fine. The only real problem for keets (if it's a typical JB crowd) is that everybody will be standing and it's tough for short people to see anything. You definitely don't want floor seats unless you're towards the front of the crowd.

We asked the people in front of us if our keet could stand on the arms of their chair, I would then stand right behind her so anyone behind us could get a better view.

SeattleParrotHead wrote:My youngest she-keet was 11 for her first show and she did just fine. The only real problem for keets (if it's a typical JB crowd) is that everybody will be standing and it's tough for short people to see anything. You definitely don't want floor seats unless you're towards the front of the crowd.

That's not just a problem for keets!

I think it comes down to personal choice and what you think you're child can handle. Personally, I'd take a dozen kids over some of the rude, drunken "adults" I've encountered at some shows. For really young kids I think it's kind of pointless...the ones I have seen usually fall asleep and the family ends up leaving when the break rolls around. Is that worth the money? Only the parents can answer that. But the one thing I will reiterate if you do take your kids is ear protection. We're already seeing way too much hearing damage from cell phones, iPods, etc...loud music just compounds the problem. Don't take the risk...once the damage is done, it's permanent.

They may be old enough to see Jimmy, I think they are too young to be in the lot. I have seen worse tailgating.

Too young, period.

I'm of the opinion that it's too young for kids that age to be "taking in" the adult craziness,
and I think it is adult laziness to not consider that the kids are not going to last through show,
that possibly their other adult friends may have to alter their "adult fun" behavior in order to "spare" them,
and why the heck can't a babysitter be found anyway?

A Buffett show is nothing that such youngsters will miss in their young lives.
There'll be plenty of time still to grow up and see crazy concerts.