Muse Concert (Sept. 12, 2007)

MUSE!

This last Wednesday was Jana's (my younger sister) birthday. My other sister, Larissa, had planned for the three of us to go to a concert that happened to be on that day--for the English rock group Muse. This also happens to be pretty much Jana's favorite band, so everything worked out there.

On Sept. 12, that wonderful day, I took work off and met up with Larissa to bake a birthday cake and get ready for the concert in the early afternoon. Soon Jana showed up, and around 6:30, after recklessly eating cake, frosting and Bunny Grahams for a couple of hours, we were dropped off in front of the McKay events center, where we found a rather longish-looking line awaiting us. We waited until the doors opened at 7, and from there we made our way to the floor in front of the stage.

Now, I've only been to a couple of concerts. I am not well versed or experienced in the ways of concerts, but I soon learned that this one was going to be way different than the others I'd attended. For instance, I had never experienced a concert from "the floor." This is pretty much the area right in front of the stage where everyone crowds and jumps and screams and dances and moshes and crowd surfs. I had only sat in the seats before. Now we were right down there, only a few feet from the divider that separated us from the stage. This was a very, very different experience.

When the first opening act started (a group called Immigrant), the speakers blared and shook and the whole place vibrated. I could feel it literally making the fabric of my clothes move like there was a breeze. Sweet. But then there was the issue of, "Holy crap...WHY didn't I bring ear-plugs, since I happen to enjoy my hearing?" Yeah, it was ridiculously loud. But that's the way a concert is meant to be, after all.

We endured a second opening act (I forgot her name... _____and the Lips) which went on FOREVER. Sorry, but I think that opening acts should keep it to just a few songs, and when they don't it's agonizing! Well, during these two acts, we noticed that there was some unrest amongst the members of the crowd. They began squeezing closer and pushing so that a few times we nearly fell over. By the end of the first opening band, Larissa was like "Whatever!" and went up to sit in the chairs, which wasn't a bad idea. But Jana and I decided to stay on the floor and hope for the best. We were both a little freaked out, but decided it was for the greater good that we stay and experience it.

After the opening bands, we waited anxiously for the main event--Muse--to come onto the stage. We were a little scared with all the pushing, shoving and squeezing, so we locked arms so we wouldn't get separated. At last the place darkened, and excited shouts and screams emerged from the masses. Pixelated screens above the stage lit up, and the band came out! There was much jumping and jubilation. The excitement that swept over the venue was impossible to describe.

We were standing on the right side of the stage (our right), and Matt, the lead singer, was on the left. D'oh! We picked the wrong side! But it was still amazing. Throughout the concert we moved and jumped and swayed and, at one point, were asked to hold up our cell phones to the darkened room as a slow song played. What happened to lighters? Oh well, it was still sweet to behold--an auditorium glowing with lit cell-phone screens.

The music was unbelievable, and hearing the band live was something I'll never get over. There was such an energy, such an excitement, that only live music can provide, and I was there in the middle of it all. I loved it! At first I was scared, but soon I was such a part of it that I didn't want it to end.

It wasn't long before the place began to feel disgustingly hot and sweaty with all the perspiring bodies moving together, and there was a stench in the air that could make you queasy. This is just one of those things about a concert you deal with, I decided. Near the middle, a few adventurous people tried to crowd surf, and near the end a circle opened up in the middle of the floor. At first I was like, "What the crap?" but soon realized that it was, indeed, the mosh pit. People started slamming into each other and dancing crazily. The way the crowd moved, by the end of the concert I was literally one person away from the mosh pit--the guy next to me was pushing the people into it and all. I'll admit I was a little worried--what if I got sucked in or something? Haha. But it was okay.

The encore was great, and we left the concert feeling full of energy and revitalized from it all. We went to Larissa's apartment and talked about the concert for an hour or so before I went home. I pretty much showered the moment I walked through the door--enough sweaty people had brushed (and squeezed) up against me that i was sure I smelled like a locker room.

So there is the story, in its glory, of my Muse concert experience. I think it might be an addiction or something, because already I can't stop thinking about how sweet it would be to go to another concert...although I don't look forward to the strangers rubbing up against me (I guess that's just a part of it, right?).