Rock Concert In Need Of Moral Attention

PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 15, 2007 – I am a 43-year-old mother of four living in Calgary. I am a single working mother doing my best at raising my kids with good moral values in the Roman Catholic faith.
I have two teenage daughters (13, 15) that I spend ample quality time with.
I have always trusted my daughters and their choices. I am not a prude, and I do allow them to listen to certain bands that I would prefer them not to listen to, but the music out in the world lately seems like it’s always laced with some type of issues, so I have become more lenient and accepting with what they have on their ipods.
I have taken my daughters to see several concerts over the past couple of years. When they have a favorite band and want to go to a concert, I don’t deprive them. However, I do supervise them at the concerts.

My oldest teen had been talking about going to see KATONE in concert at the convention center here. I had never heard of this band before my daughters began listening to them, but that is not uncommon for me. They had been playing their songs around the house and I admittedly found them to be catchy. I agreed conditionally to take my daughters to see KATONE when they came to town. This was a decision I would later regret.
When we arrived at the concert last Wednesday, I noticed the typical kids dressed in black drinking in the parking lot. There were many mixed groups of people attending the concert and I noticed some other kids were with their parents.
When we got inside, there was what looked to be a very young local band playing on the stage. I could barely hear them playing. It didn’t seem like they were plugged into the PA system. My oldest daughter informed me that this was the opening band.
And then it was time for KATONE to come on. Right from the very beginning the language was terrible. I believe in the theory that if you are good you don’t need to fall back on swearing. But if swearing was the worst part of the night I could have been alright with it. What came next was a collage of very explicit sexual scenes projected on a back screen that I feel was extremely inappropriate for even a rock concert. What followed was more terrible language along with more vulgar scenes. During the concert there were several flickers of extreme violence being shown while the music was playing, and the lead singer motioned frequently during one song like he was slitting his wrists. The backdrop also displayed visuals of a very young girl suffering from loneliness and despair, and showed in step by step detail how she hung herself in a closet at the end of the song. Other scenes included two naked angels painting each other black, rocks breaking through stained glass windows, gambling references, scenes of a school shooting, and a large heart transforming into the star of Satan.
Spotlights frequently searched the audience for girls who felt the need to lift up their shirts. Needless to say, we left the concert early. I had seen enough for myself and my daughters.

What I do not understand is how a band can get away with any of these things night after night. In my opinion, there should be a type of warning, this way parents would know whether to allow their kids to attend such a concert, or even listen to the music.

After we got home, we discussed what had happened, and I looked the band up on the internet. What I found was very little to suggest or to warn me of what I was walking into earlier.
I learned a little more about the band’s lead singer and his music, but only after happening upon a lyrics page did I gain any understanding of what my daughters were really listening to.


Shocked and concerned in Calgary