The Machine
I had a chance to bond with my nephew Garrett, 15, when we attended a performance by The Machine at the House of Blues, on July 20. The Machine is a tribute band that does an uncanny recreation of the music of Pink Floyd. Garrett’s love of Pink Floyd was developed and sustained by his mom, and by the look of the audience at the HOB, there are a healthy amount of baby boomers passing along that love to their children.
The teen years are tough on parents but they are also tough on aunts. While we found a lot of things to do together when he was younger, lately it has been harder to find common ground and shared interests.
Therefore it was great fun to hang with G-man at the show, even though I’m not a Pink Floyd fan. His passion talking about his favorite songs and albums, and watching him scream out the lyrics during the sing-a-longs was a blast. He declared the show “better than I expected,” high praise from a teenager. Of course I was a mildly dismayed that the show was over two hours long. When a band is doing 10-minutes songs, the encore goes on forever. Still, it was a great night that began with a great crab and scallops dinner at Steamers, followed by the show and a late night stop at the Margate Dairy Bar for dessert. Next up for us are a trip to the Delsea Drive-In in Vineland and Pine Creek Miniature Golf in West Amwell, the ultimate miniature golf course.