So, I went to Nashville with my sister this past Friday, Nov. 14th for The World Tour with Pierce the Veil and Sleeping with Sirens.
OMG. JUST. OMG.
First of all, shoutout to my grandparents, who graciously dropped the rest of their day to come to me and my sister's rescue and take us to Nashville. We went through so. many. things. To try to get there, guys. First, Kae'sha's car wouldn't start. Then my friend Simon's car wouldn't start. Everyone was leaving for the soccer game at Emory that night and other friends I knew who had cars were going places and such.
It was crunch time. We had to find a ride to this thing! Thankfully, Nashville is an hour behind our time, so we still had a good amount of time to find a ride.
And lo and behold, the grandparents stepped in and went on a date in Nashville after they dropped us off for the Meet & Greet line. Heck yes. MEET. AND. GREET. My sister and I have never really had VIP Access to something like this, so it was going to be exciting.
Now, let me just go ahead and say, I've been to concerts before, but they were more like conferences with concerts embedded into them. I think the only real concert I've been too was a TobyMac concert in high school and, dude, we had some nosebleed seats. It was still a good concert tho. But it was nothing like what I experienced last that night.
So, my first concert that I was SUPER pumped to go to. So that means I'm not one of those people who goes to almost every single PTV or SWS or OM&M concert that ever happens. There's nothing wrong with those people at all, in fact, I wish I could afford and have time to be one of those people. So, needless to say, I wasn't really expecting what happened that night.
Here are some experiences I had in the 7-hour concert period:
- Met some people in line who knew EXACTLY how my sister and I were feeling. See, I can fangirl hard if I really want to, but I wasn't going to that night because nobody wants to deal with crazy, screamy fangirls. And some girls in line were supa chill and we just bonded over how PTV and SWS are just too freakin' awesome.
- THE MEET & GREET. I tried SO HARD not to freeze up when I was getting my picture taken with them. But for Sleeping with Sirens, all I could say, was "thank you" and with Pierce the Veil, I gave Vic a BIG HUG and told them that I loved them so much, to which Vic replied, "We love you too!" My heart. Also, the fact that Jaime pointed out that I matched my Converse to my sweater and Vic said I had it all together made my night. So, that effort I put into matching is noticeable...lol
- LOST: warm white coat and SIGNED PTV/SWS poster: yeah. that happened. And I was really upset that I lost my poster. More on this later...
- When everyone else around you jumps, YOU JUMP. Vic yelled, "JUMP!" and I wasn't planning on jumping because, c'mon, there was no room for any of that. But when you're so squished to people that you literally cannot move and they all decide to jump...you best believe you WILL jump, whether you like it or not LOL
- I found out what mosh-pitting ISN'T. There were so many times people tried to start a mosh-pit, but what resulted was either A. we all just got more squished in together or B. There would be a circle with guys and pushing each other in and out, some pushing to try to start something, others pushing to say, "PLEASE. JUST. STOP."
- ADVANTAGE: Being so squished that your arm rests upon the shoulders of someone and you're able to take pix/vids of Pierce the Veil on stage. Yeah.
- SHOUT OUT TO THE SECURITY PEEPS. Cause after the concert I was searching for my puffy white coat, and they were up front with a whole bunch of clothes, asking if anyone was missing any of them. And my coat sat in the midst of it all. So, white coat = retrieved. Dirty and gross, but retrieved. Those guys do their job well. Two thumbs up for you dudes.
- Post-concert state? My diaphragm was hurting so much from screaming that my back was hurting too. My legs were sore from standing. I was afraid my calves were going to cramp up because I was on my tiptoes for so long trying to take pictures and breathe. And today? I just ached all over, and I felt like I was in some sort of daze all day. But I'm okay haha. The concert was totally worth it!
Tips for Concert-ing
DO NOT wear a hoodie or long-sleeve shirt. I wore my PTV sweater because it's probably one of my favorite articles of clothing that I own and I wanted to meet them as I wore something that had their faces/name on it. That being said, I should have changed into a t-shirt afterwards, because as soon as This Wild Life was done and Beartooth came on stage, I felt like I was gonna have a heat-stroke and I was fighting to get my sweater off me (I had a shirt on underneath, no worries).
Bring your own water bottle. I know, it's awful to bring anything to concerts, but if you're gonna bring a bag with your wallet or cell phone or whatever, pack some water so you don't have to pay money for it. Cause I cannot express how H O T it gets in there, man.
HOLD ONTO YOUR SIGNED POSTER FOR DEAR LIFE. Or this'll happen...
It was rolled up and held together by one of my hair ties in my bag and with all the pushing and shoving, it slipped out and was crushed underneath the feet of hundreds of fans. I was upset that I had lost it. Souvenirs rock, man.
But after retrieving my puffy white coat from the security guys, my sister looks down and asks, "Is that it?" And I look down to see my poster all folded up, torn up, creased in a million places, and still tied together by my hair tie. A pure hot mess.
Notice in the picture how I still have it up in my dorm room though. See, my old perfectionist-self would have probably cried seeing my precious, signed poster damaged like this. But I looked at it and was so grateful that I had even found it in mostly one piece that I took it with me, determined to straighten it out as much as I could and put it up in tha dorm.
And shoot, it doesn't look too bad. In fact, it gives it some character. And the signatures are still legible so YAY.
Even though you've rehearsed what you're gonna say to the bands you meet, you most likely still won't say it. BUT THAT'S OKAY. It could still turn out to be awesome. Since SWS and PTV have been touring for a while, I'm gonna assume that they've encountered ALL TYPES of fans and know how to handle it. And shoot, they were such sweet guys, super humble. That's what's up.
Hair DOWN for Meet & Greet pix, hair UP for the concert. I cannot stress this enough. Y'all know what my hair looks like, right? Well, it went from totally decent human being, to cave-woman in a matter of minutes. Imagine a mane like mine getting pulled by hundreds of fans during this concert...OUCH.
It's not always fun being in the front. I was in the front (sorta) for Pierce the Veil's concert. It was fun and stuff, even though I was constantly getting shoved and elbowed and whatnot. I was able to get some okay pictures, like so... (***DISCLAIMER: I am definitely not a pro-photographer, and being pushed around doesn't help picture-taking. But these I think are the best photos I got of Vic. And it's not that Vic is my favorite of the group, I just couldn't really turn myself so I couldn't get pics of Jaime or Tony :( Mike is in the back of some of these though. El Fuentes Hermanos for tha WIN.)
And after Pierce the Veil's concert, I was totally parched and I felt like I really needed some air. Some girls were trying to shove themselves to the front, and I figured I'd let them have my standing spot and I'd go in search for some water with my sister. And then we decided we'd just stand in the semi-back for Sleeping with Sirens' concert because there was no way we were gonna fight that crowd for close spots LOL.
And these are the pix of SWS I got from standing in the semi-back:
Shout out to my sister's camera cause it was so dang good that pictures still looked decent, even from the semi-back of the crowd. And so, standing in the front isn't always the best, and standing in the back isn't too shabby either.
Enjoy the moment. I'm setting a bad example here with all the pictures, but someone expressed to me how they read an article from a musician's point of view about seeing a sea of cell phones and cameras during their show and how it really bothered them that the audience was watching them through their screens and not actually being present. That thought hit me while I was at this concert, so I tried limiting myself to a few pictures and videos here and there. Because ultimately, the video isn't going to sound as good as the concert itself. So stand there and watch the actual show. Be present in that moment and enjoy it.
STRETCH AFTERWARDS. I'm still sore from the concert after I stretched my arms and legs afterwards. I don't wanna think how stiff I could have been had I not. I know, it's weird to think that you should stretch after a concert, but if you've jumped, danced, or head-banged, then I advise you to.
And here I am. Back on campus, extremely tired, but extremely grateful that my sister and I were able to go to the concert, thanks to my grandparents. I had an amazing time. Oh! And I got some sweet merch that I get to wear on campus...
Post-concert depression is totally a thing, just so ya know.
Also, This Wild Life is officially my fall/winter soul music. Seriously, I'm so glad I was introduced to those guys during the concert, cause they ROCK!
Hope y'all have a great week! I think my last month of the semester is gonna be INTENSE. Trying not to freak out over here LOL.
luv ya!
Mishy (^^) <3
