Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We Are Having .. tour

Last night, the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey hosted the You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having 20-year reunion tour, and I was there with my 13-year-old son in tow. It was his first rap show, and I was determined to make it memorable—mostly for him, but also for me, happy to be out with my camera.

The lineup was stacked: Mr. Dibbs, Sage Francis, and Atmosphere. But before the music even started, I decided to take my son on a little adventure. We spotted, Sage and Dibbs hanging out near the merch table.  Both were happy to hear it was his first show and gave Jalen daps.  We saw Ant roaming the venue too, he was also cool and approachable.

The show itself was a blast. Mr. Dibbs shredded the turntables like it was 2003, with 1200 Hobo energy and Sage Francis delivered Make Shift Patriot with the same raw power it had when I first heard it after 9/11. My son stood wide-eyed as Sage spit truth bombs into the mic. I leaned over and said, “See? This is what real rap sounds like.” He nodded, but I’m pretty sure he was just humoring me.

Atmosphere closed out the night, and it was everything I hoped it would be. Slug’s lyrics hit hard, Ant’s beats were flawless, and the crowd was electric. My son even bobbed his head a little, which I’m choosing to interpret as him finally “getting it.”

Driving home, he was quiet, probably processing the fact that his dad might actually be kind of cool. I didn’t push it. I just let the silence hang, basking in the glow of my temporary coolness.

Twenty years is a long time, but last night felt like no time had passed at all. The beats were the same, the rhymes were the same, and the sense of community was the same. Plus, I got to embarrass my son in front of his new rap heroes, which is basically a parenting win.