From the packed field below to the people in the tippy-top nose-bleed seats (like us), the crowd buzzed with energy. Most sung loudly along with the lyrics from the band: “I wanna be the minority / I don’t need your authority / Down with the moral majority / ‘Cause I wanna be the minority!”

When I glanced over at my kids, they didn’t know the lyrics, but were definitely engaged. My older kid had his “I’m not smiling because I’m so intensely paying attention to what’s going on” look on his face and my younger son was bouncing on his seat and clapping. They don’t know Green Day songs well, but between Weird Al parodies of them (my older kid went through a big Weird Al phase) and hearing them on the “classic alternative” iTunes station, they recognized a good number of the songs.

Looking around before the concert, I thought I might mainly see people my age – Gen Xers and Milleniials who came of age when Green Day got popular. But to my delight, the crowd was truly multigenerational. There were young Gen-Xers and older Millenials, sure, but many had brought their Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids along like we had. Because it was in the baseball stadium and started relatively early, it was about as family-friendly of an atmosphere as you could get for a punk show. Many of the kids and teens were clearly Green Day fans in their own right. I was delighted to see some of them in full 1990s punk gear – fishnets, purple and black, chains, etc. – in all of its over-the-top glory. (Even if it reminded me of my long-lost purple and black Hot Topic pants from college.)

There were also quite a few younger fans of the band The Linda Linda’s, who were opening the show. They’re absolutely the next generation of punk – the youngest member is 14 and they rock. It was very cool to see Green Day passing the torch in many ways. I suspect in some cases, the kids were bringing along their parents.

On the other end of the age spectrum, there were also a number of Baby Boomers. Some were by themselves, but many were with their Gen X and Millenial kids.

While the music was far different, the experience reminded me of my parents bringing me to rock concerts when I was a kid. My parents are both huge classic rock fans, especially singer-songwriters. My first non-kids’ concert was Billy Joel – I was probably 8 or so. When I was about 11, we saw The Who perform all of the album Quadraphenia (still one of my favorite albums). I asked for tickets to see Elton John and Billy Joel together for my 15th birthday.

Many of the concerts were at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, probably the most beautiful outdoor music venue in the country. Sitting on the lush lawn or the upholstered indoor seats, we saw Journey and Foreigner, Steve Miller Band, Carole King, Crosby, Stills and Nash and more.

Those concerts are beloved memories with my parents. They shaped my love of music, especially live music. Being in a crowd of people all into the music is electric. As a result, I was very open to attending concerts with my high school and college friends, making a whole different set of wonderful memories.

The impacts also went past music. My parents sharing their passion with me showed me to embrace my passions and spend money on experiences rather than possessions. Them bringing me to these concerts demonstrated that they took me seriously as a person. My parents believed I could handle myself and appreciate the experience instead of whining about it being something I didn’t want to do.

So at the Green Day concert, it was so cool to see – and be part of – the passing on of this collective experience. While I don’t know if my kids will love concerts the way I do as an adult, I hope that these experiences will also become cherished memories.