When baby has already sat for his first celebrity photo shoot, his first major red-carpet appearance and rock show couldn't be far behind. So it comes as only a defcon level-1 surprise that new dad Matthew McConaughey has swapped the bongos for one-month-old son Levi as his go-to accessory of choice.

The actor told CNN that he and baby-mama, 25-year-old model/handbag designer Camila Alves, haven't shied from taking the kid out on the town with them. He says it's all so the little Drumstick will be "equipped to be around the sights and sounds of people."

Here's hoping that the sound of thousands of people screaming the lyrics to "Jack and Diane" is an experience the kid can check off his bucket list, never to be repeated. Mom and Dad had baby in tow for a John Mellencamp show in L.A., reports People -- a first concert choice that's perhaps cooler than, say, The Doodlebops, but nevertheless one that we're sure little Levi might find embarrassing once he's old enough to understand the concept of "permanent hearing damage." (Aw, dad -- I forgive you, bro. I don't need to be able to hear out of my left ear to be a pro surfer, but couldn't you have at least splurged on the Springsteen tickets?)

Not that we know anything about parenting, of course. If someone gave us a baby, we'd probably call it Mittens and teach it to mix us Manhattans. And really, with other celebrity breeders obsessed with shielding their tykes from the inevitable media glare there's something oddly refreshing about McConaughey's take on in-the-spotlight parenting.

Just last night, he and Alves were on the red carpet for a launch party celebrating her new line of handbags. According to E! News, McConaughey was toting Levi in a baby carrier when he arrived, with a blanket strategically shielding the kid from the flashbulbs' glare. According to E!, having the kid around didn't stop McConaughey from enjoying the open bar -- although they did note he ordered his margarita heavy on the "mix."

In any case, McConaughey has come out saying he doesn't want Levi's arrival to mean the end of his legacy as Hollywood's more shirtless answer to Owen Wilson.

"Everyone talked about how, oh, you have a kid, life changes, it's like 180 degrees on a dime full stop, wow," he said to CNN. "And a lot of them had an insinuation under that like, you have to stop living your life as you live it. That hasn't been the case."

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