Noah Kahan at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, take two
Just want to remember (everywhere) everything about this
In 2018, I found a song called “Young Blood” by a kinda-goofy-looking guy named Noah Kahan. Life was tumultuous—within a six month period I’d returned an engagement ring to my emotionally abusive high school sweetheart, graduated college, interned at an elephant sanctuary far outside Chiang Mai, started my first “real” job, went on dates with my now-husband, plus a slew of other things I’m less proud of—and I clung to the chorus.
Keep your time, keep your mind, keep humble / Start your life in the middle of the jungle
Rub your eyes, be surprised, keep hungry / Stay alive, try to lose all of your money
You, young blood
Six years later I know all of Noah’s songs. Young Blood is still my favorite. And I finally got to see him in concert after lightning derailed our first attempt in July (his show was actually the entire reason we planned a Wisconsin visit this summer… and then stuck around for two full months to make the rescheduled date).
I’d do it all again.
Logistics
Concert necessities
Sean and I learned a few things from the hours we spent at Alpine Valley in July. This time, we once again brought:
Our Rumpl blanket
Water bottles
Chocolate chip cookies
Goldfish crackers
And we added my Kindle so we could read together before the show started. The crowd completely overwhelmed any cell service—having The Last Graduate on hand came in clutch. (Do people still say clutch? Anyway: Game changer. Highly recommend quietly reading in a massive crowd of people who might look at you a little strangely, because it’s extra joyous to feel in your own world with the person you love best.)
Timeline
5:00 pm: Arrived in general parking, changed clothes
5:15 pm: Took Scout to use the bathroom
5:30 pm: Walked to the venue entrance, sat on our blanket to read
6:30 pm: Almost got crushed by people sprinting down the lawn’s hill
6:35 pm - 8:00 pm: Read and snacked on our Rumpl
8:00 pm: Cheered for the opening act, Jensen McRae!
9:00 pm ish: Cheered even louder for Noah Kahan!!
11:30 pm: Walked back to the van
11:50 pm: Greeted Scout and took her to pee (amidst much chaos)
12:00 am: Made soup and granola, then piled in the bed to get cozy
2:00 am: Finally drove out of the parking area
Everything is better in a converted van
Bringing our dog without bringing our dog
Scout tagged along, too, though of course she’d hate being in the thick of a concert (not to mention pets aren’t allowed at the venue the first place). Thanks to our van’s temperature control, we were able to safely leave her behind in general parking while we danced and sang and gave each other sideways looks at the drunk girls falling over our feet.
After the show, more than 36,000 people rushed back to their cars. We joined the flow at a measured pace, greeted our enthusiastic pup—once we woke her from her nap, because she was dead asleep when we first opened the door—and took her to use the bathroom. Turns out cute cattle dogs are catnip for concert goers. I can’t express how proud our timid pup made me by being able to squat quickly, ignore the many people cooing at her, and head right back to the van. Did she love it? No. She was a little nervous. Did she handle it like a pro? Hell yes.
Cuddling up through traffic chaos
Then the car honking commotion started in earnest. We knew we’d be there for a while, so we turned on our cozy string lights, prepared some food, and invited Scout onto the bed with us. After a mediocre Netflix episode, we set an alarm for two am and let ourselves doze off.
I awoke at 1:53, our van’s kitchen still bathed in the red glow from dozens of break lights. Within ten minutes, though, the lot was clear—and we could head out.
I can’t overstate how lucky I felt to have my house. My own food, my own bathroom, my own dog all waiting for me. Concert traffic has never been more tolerable.
Emotions and art!!
Of course, the best part of the night was the concert itself. It’s mostly a blur, in a good way. The haze of a lovely, fully present experience you can’t quite reimagine afterward.
I’ve always found Noah Kahan endearing. He’s my age. He’s from a different part of the country, yes, but a similar climate with similar small-ish town experiences. He’s gotten to watch his dreams come true over the past few years (and he’s been open about sudden fame’s impacts).
Seeing him in person, interacting with the crowd—taking a bite from someone’s offered cookie and putting on a handmade fan bracelet and trying to be funny—just made me like him more. I know I don’t know Noah Kahan from Adam, really. But he made the crowd feel like maybe we do, or at least maybe we could, and the atmosphere didn’t seem forced or painstakingly constructed, and I was happy to be part of it.
My only emotional hitch was when he came into the lawn area alone, just him and a guitar, and asked the crowd to “cheer meter” whether he should play Young Blood or Strawberry Wine. (Come on, the choice should be obvious!) I think many attendees mostly only knew his latest album, Stick Season—and it was no contest. I came inches away from hearing my favorite mildly life-changing song in real time and lost the chance. Oh, I know it’s dramatic, but that loss is going to take me a while to get over.
But even through Strawberry Wine (a perfectly lovely song, just no formative nostalgia) Sean had his arm around me, grinning, singing along. Doing things—all of the things, from a rare concert to a common night reading next to each other in the van—with him never gets old.