Molly Deaver, a freshman majoring in international studies, lost track of how many concerts she’s been to, but estimates around 80. Thankfully for her wallet, her rock-obsessed mother funds her hobby as long as she gets to tag along.
Deaver began her foray into musical obsession by way of her Pearl Jam-enthusiast parents. As a child, Deaver fell asleep to duets of her mother singing along with Eddie Vedder.
“I grew up with parents that were really interested in music and liked going to concerts themselves, so [I became interested] at an early age and as I got older, it just stuck with me,” Deaver said.
When Deaver was 11, her family decided to make a vacation out of a Pearl Jam concert in Hawaii, the farthest she’s been for any concert. Now, Deaver sticks to the Southeast for the majority of her concert experiences.
Since her childhood, Deaver has slowly developed a passion for rock in all forms.
“I really like rock,” Deaver said. “Like anything from the softer stuff like Death Cab for Cutie to screamo like Bring Me the Horizon and a lot of things in between like Pearl Jam and Nirvana.”
As Molly Deaver’s music tastes broadened, so did her mother’s, Tracy Deaver’s.
“I really got involved listening to her stuff,” Tracy Deaver said. “Once we started traveling together we developed more of a friend relationship than a mother-daughter relationship. I think she feels like I understand a lot of things she likes. There are times when I’m still the mother because I worry about her safety, but I feel like its really just brought us a lot closer.”
Molly Deaver’s friends are impressed by the Deaver women’s relationship.
“It’s great,” Molly Deaver said. “You might think a teenage girl and her mom might not have that much in common, but it’s definitely something we really have in common. A lot of my friends like the same music I do, so when they come over she can really relate to the things we’re interested in.”
Molly Deaver’s favorite part of concert going is singing along with the band and meeting other fans.
“In my experience, whenever I go see a concert, I say I’m going to a concert with 3,999 of my greatest friends because you all have that one thing in common. You feel really connected to everyone around you. Every experience you’ve ever had with that song, you’re thinking about,” Deaver said.
(See also in OPINION “Concerts provide opportunities for interesting friendships”)
One of the Deavers’ fondest concert memory involves Flogging Molly circa 2007.
“We went to see Flogging Molly in Atlanta in 2007,” Tracy Deaver said. “We took her there and the crowd got kind of wild. She was pretty small and police pulled her around the front of the barricade and let her stand of the front side to watch the show by the stage.”
With her mother’s guidance over the years, Molly Deaver got to meet the lead singer of Wilco, Jeff Tweety, see Pearl Jam in Las Vegas, Nev., and will see them again in Chicago, Ill., at Wrigley Field this summer.
Tracy Deaver estimates the cost of their concert excursions is around $5,000, but chalks the monetary cost up to valuable learning experiences.
“I think it just gives her a different perspective on things,” Tracy Deaver said. “In many of these cases we’ve gotten to travel, maybe to places she would have never gotten to go. We don’t take traditional vacations; we’ve never been to Disney World.”
Molly Deaver has only been to one concert in Tuscaloosa, Taking Back Sunday two years ago. She said she thinks Tuscaloosa has lots of good concerts, but wishes more people she liked came here.
Leading in today’s Crimson White:
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