Letting Fate Decide II: The Outcome.

I am the sort of girl who goes to concerts and stands in one of three places: at the back, away from the action; in the middle of the mosh pit, where there is no chance of me seeing anything; at the barrier, off to the side where the crowd isn't so rough.

But since I was lucky enough to get to Soundwave this year, I decided it was time to live a little.

So, sure. During Tonight Alive's set, I was in my usual middle-of-the-pit place. I could still see a little, and I love their music, so I didn't mind. It was especially nice to see them cover Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name..." and have them joined on stage by Bert McCracken of The Used. The sun was shining and people were going crazy, so I was sweating like nobody's business. Despite this, it felt great - and while I was standing there, I developed a plan.

When their set finished and people started moving away, I raced straight to the barrier and grabbed hold - knowing full well that after All Time Low played the opposite stage, Papa Roach would be playing the stage in front of me. And as they were my main reason for attending, I wanted to get the best experience out of them.

And wasn't it an experience!

Half way through All Time Low's set, it started raining. Pouring. The band were asked to stop playing because their equipment was being soaked, and the crowd were advised to take cover. A lot of people did, but I decided to agree with the guy next to me and stand my ground. I knew that if I left the barrier, there was no way in hell I would ever get back to it.

It is worth mentioning that when the rain finally stopped, All Time Low were unable to continue. Their equipment was likely fairly damaged. But Alex Gaskarth still took to the stage, without his band to back him up, and led the crowd in a sing-a-long of "Weightless" and Queen's "We Will Rock You". It takes a brave person to get on stage like that and get an entire crowd singing, especially knowing there were disappointed fans out there.

Papa Roach...played an amazing show. And for the first time in my life, I felt like one of those band-crazy girls. Not because I stood there screaming, "I love you!" but because two things happened to me that have never happened before. First, I touched Jacoby Shaddix's hand as he passed the front of the crowd. I've never been able to do this before. And second, when Jerry Horton threw his picks at the end, the two girls beside me scuffled for it and it ended up landing on my hand. I've never caught anything thrown before.

I gave the pick to the girl beside me, because she looked like she wanted it a whole lot more than I did. I was happy with just the memory of it having landed on my hand.

And so yesterday I danced in the rain, sung my heart out, took some shitty photos - and all of it by myself, despite the fact that people wrongly assume I'm too afraid to do things on my own.

I only stayed for those three bands. They were the only ones I really wanted to see. And by the time Papa Roach was over and the adrenaline wearing off, I was soaked and freezing. The last thing I need right now is to get sick! So anyway.

Thank you, Fate, for deciding I needed to go to Soundwave. Despite being physically tired, I had a blast.
March 1st, 2015 at 09:40pm