Recent clips of Frankie Valli performing at the age of 90 have reignited the conversation about elder abuse in this country. While celebrity cases shine a light on the problem, it’s important to identify cases of elder abuse in our day-to-day lives. Last week, a 37-year-old man named Matt Reynolds was convinced by a group of younger “friends” to go to a hardcore show even though it is painfully clear he has aged out of such activities.
One of the friends, Chuck Bowman, 28, said that they had good intentions of inviting Reynolds to the show at the non-airconditioned VFW hall located at the end of what locals refer to as “Oxy Alley.” “It took some convincing but he said he wanted to go just as long as it was not on a weekday night and that it would end no later than 10:30. That should’ve been our first clue this was a bad idea.”
“He showed up late because he said he had to stop at a drug store to get earplugs and some Dr. Scholl’s inserts for his Vans,” said another friend Dara Roberts, 26. “Then he couldn’t find the QR code on his phone he had been emailed when he bought the ticket and kept saying couldn’t he just give them five dollars and a can of food like every other hardcore show he’s ever been to. Poor guy is really out of it.”
When the first band Realm Of Brutal Assault started playing the older friend appeared to be confused by the giant horseshoe-shaped pit that opened up with just a handful of people doing spinkicks and windmills. He later asked why no one was up front singing along and that it was almost as if “no one even cares what the lyrics are anymore.”
Midway through the third band Retribution Fist’s set Reynolds began to fidget and said he needed to sit down complaining that both his knees and back were hurting from just standing in place for a moderate amount of time. Out of desperation he made his way back to the merch area and pretended to be working at one of the tables just so he could sit down on one of the fold-out chairs.
Unfortunately, the friends say Matt was unable to see the headliner X Violent Fucking Hatred X as he said it was getting late and he had physical therapy in the morning. Later Reynolds would confess to his friends he was not having a good time and at this point he can only sit through two bands maximum. Despite all of this the friends say they are planning to get Matt to go with them to the 3-day Purification Of Blood Fest when it is scheduled on the hottest day of the year next summer.