It is not every day that a child-star-turned-musician visits Harrisonburg. So when Drake Bell of Nickelodeon’s “Drake and Josh” sitcom came to town last Friday, a crowd of around 50 turned up to spend the afternoon with him in the basement concert venue of the Golden Pony.
Passersby looked quizzically at the sidewalk bordering the restaurant and bar where a line of young people curved out of the entrance and onto the street. A couple of them would stop and ask, “What’s going on here today?” to which someone would excitedly respond “Drake Bell is here!”
At 12:30 p.m., the doors to the venue opened and concert-goers began descending the steps into the dimly-lit downstairs to a standing area before the tiny stage. The crowd consisted of, as expected, mostly college students in their early 20s who were just old enough to have been fans of “Drake and Josh” during their childhood. For those who are unfamiliar with Bell and his claim to fame, he played the dreamy — or so I thought at 10 years old — teen who would engage in mischief with his brother Josh and their bothersome little sister Megan. Mostly, he would play his guitar and flip his hair.
For about an hour, the crowd milled around waiting for the act to begin. As heard from those around us, many were there during a break between classes, so as time wore on, it became more concerning as to whether or not it would be possible to stay for the entirety of the concert. When Bell finally took the stage the crowd excitedly cheered as he strummed his guitar in preparation for his opening number. He went into an unfamiliar acoustic song that the audience, though seemingly confused, excitedly swayed to.
Throughout the concert, it became clear that many in the audience were there because of his former fame rather than knowledge of his new music. Between songs, hecklers from the crowd would shout out comments such as, “do a Drake and Josh reference!” which earned an annoyed look before dutifully responding, “You callin’ me a liar?” to which the crowd shouted back, “Well I ain’t callin’ you a truther!” citing the TV show. Bell’s demeanor throughout the concert seemed a bit rushed, perhaps due to the late start of the show and the timing in the middle of the day.
The true shining moment of the concert, however, came at the very end when Bell began the opening lines to his 2005 hit “Found a Way,” which also happened to be the Drake and Josh theme song. The audience sprang into action, scrambling to pull out their phones to record the moment. A group of guys began jumping up and down and the audience sang the chorus enthusiastically. After the song had ended Bell gave a quick “thank you” into the microphone before whisking away to the parking lot. Though the wait was long and the music was, at times, standard, the charm of the show lay in the opportunity to relive just a bit of the collective nostalgia of a childhood favorite.
