My Music Moment

Attending a concert was one of my huge goals in high school. I had a lot of bands I wanted to go see, and I always heard the best stories from going to concerts, but my schedule never allowed for it or I didn't have the money. It seemed like there was always something in the way. It wasn't until my Junior year that I finally was able to go to concert and see my favorite band at that time, Imagine Dragons. The concert had AWOL NATION headlining, an up and coming rapper named ZEALE opening, and then Imagine Dragons as the act in between.

ZEALE was an awesome intro to the concert. His music was interesting and loud, he got the crowd involved during his songs, he even did a free style that I still swear by as one of the coolest moments of my life! But what I really appreciated about ZEALE was the opportunity to see how a crowd typically acts at a concert. The crowd was iconic, and resembled crowds that I had seen online or in movies. There were people who would push their way to the front, people who would stay close to bar and get obnoxiously intoxicated, and then there were people like me. The ones who stayed in the middle and didn't seem to be noticed at all. Finding a nice place to be comfortable and not bothered by others was how I was nurtured as a kid, and as a result I ended up being closer to the back of the crowd so I wouldn't have to worry about getting in people's way or bothering anyone. The whole concert scene was new to me so I felt out of place, like an outsider, until Imagine Dragons came on stage.

I didn't know what to expect once the music actually started. The lights went dim, the crowd went silent, and the band started up with heavy fog and deep drums. I can't remember everything they played or in what order but I remember that I felt more relaxed to have a familiar band on stage, and feel like a part of the crowd. Looking back, Imagine Dragons had qualities similar to a participatory performance, as they focused on getting the crowd singing, moving, excited, and feeling a sense of "flow". Their total set was about 45 minutes or so and I loved every minute of it. The sense of flow I experienced had me singing along, waving my hands, and pushing my way to get closer. At the time I would never make myself more noticed than a fly, but at that moment I forgot about being the new guy and decided to join everyone else.

After they played their set, we heard they'd be at the merchandise table for autographs, so as complete fanboys we went and purchased their shirts, then got them signed ASAP. That shirt is to this day an index to what I great time I had and how I felt while experiencing my first concert.