concerts: part 2

Digitour 2015. I went to this event with my friend Mia, and we both had VIP tickets. During VIP, I met chris collins, crawford collins, sam pottorff, alec bailey, twaimz, luke korns, rickey thompson, alex from target, and lastly, danny edge and paul zimmer. i was dm'ing paul zimmer before VIP started, and once paul recognized me, he couldn't stop smiling and hugging me (which made me Weak™). once VIP was over, mia and i rushed to the stage and linked arms with all the other VIP girls before the crazy GA girls ran in to push all the VIP people out of the way. we got into a full on shoving war before the show, but once it started, it all mellowed out. i saw twaimz perform the llama song, watched my friend get twerked on by rickey thompson, and met one of my internet best friends (kat). it was definitely a cringy-yet-memorable day.

me meeting paul :)

Ed Sheeran. i went with one of my best friends, abbi. we spent the night screaming our lungs out and laughing like crazy with each other. the entire show was put on by his guitar, his loop petal, and his voice, yet he still managed to keep the crowd completely on edge. he made the entire room feel like a comfortable family reunion, rather than thousands of strange faces. i don't think i could ever forget the way the arena was lit up by thousands of iphone flashlights during 'photograph', or everyone's hands bouncing up and down during 'bloodstream'.

One Direction. july 15th, 2015 was actually a very strange day; at noon, i was on a charter boat in the san juan islands, and seven hours later, i'd purchased the cheapest seats i could find, picked up my cousin madison at dairy queen, and we were two of the 35,513 bodies in the centurylink stadium in seattle, ready to be absorbed in nothing but pure, genuine one direction for the next couple hours. having been a fan of one direction for a third of my life, 'excited' was a bit of an understatement. so, between the times the boys came out and went away again, it wasn't a surprise that i'd lost my voice and my cheeks were stained with glassy tears. i was so happy, i didn't even care that we were seated in section 128 and louis tomlinson looked like he wasn't bigger than a speck. when i was 10, i watched the 'what makes you beautiful' music video and called dibs on harry, but overtime, it grew to be more than just a liking for some of their songs. i grew up with one direction. there have been times where all i had to do to calm myself down was listen to 'don't forget where you belong', and hearing that live was unforgettable; the stadium was illuminated with purple and white lights and all 35,513 people felt like family when we were screaming the word 'home' over and over again during the bridge. i felt so at home it made my chest hurt. whether it was harry wearing a cheese hat or the amazing fan signs, i couldn't have asked for a better night.

panorama during don't forget where you belong

5 seconds of summer. only nine days later (july 24th), i got to see my favorite band in the heart of seattle. i'm going to be completely honest and admit that i burst into tears on the way to the arena, whimpering "i love them so much" over and over again, trying not to smear my makeup. the arena was dark and red before the show started, and when the lights went out, every bone in my body was trembling with excitement. i was standing twenty feet in front of the four boys who--at the time--i knew better than i knew myself. seeing them in person and hearing their voices in real life instead of my headphones was unreal. i drowned in the guitar and the lights and the swirling audience around me. i turned around during 'wrapped around your finger' and looked at the people around me instead of the stage. we all had one thing in common: these boys meant everything to us. i knew every chord and every lyric by heart and experiencing all of it--from calum's well-known state champs shirt to michael's raspy, angelic voice--put pieces of me together.

:))

concerts: part 1

(Welcome to my rant about the concerts I've attended)

I've gone to many concerts in my life.

James Taylor. I was almost two years old. I have no memory of the night, but hearing 'Sweet Baby James' always feels like the memory of my second home, where I lived from ages 2-6. I imagine my dad playing guitar in his den as I sit in my nightgown with my stuffed bear, who's now so worn out you can see right through her stuffing, or the sun setting as I'm running in circles in our big, green, perfect backyard with my little sister, Riley.

High School Musical. I went with my three bestest friends of the time (you can find a few more stories about the Fab Four ™ on this blog post). We ate at a strange Asian cuisine restaurant beforehand and then watched Sharpay slay us right before our eyes from the upper side of the stage. We danced and sang along gleefully as our mothers tried to keep happy smiles on their faces while listening to a bunch of bops from the movie my entire generation was raised on.

Kenny Chesney. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of country music. The only time it fits into my life is during the summertime when I'm surrounded by my family. But, I was raised on Kenny Chesney. So July 7th, 2007, was a pleasant summer evening, and the CenturyLink Stadium was filled with people holding beer bottles and dressed in cowboy hats. My dad had me on his shoulders most of the show. I wore my prettiest white dress and gripped the biggest sunflower I could pick from our big, green, perfect backyard, hoping to throw the yellow petals onstage after the show. However, Kenny seemed to have a different idea--he whipped around the stage and pointed to me, and my dad gently placed me on the stage. I cautiously walked my way over to him in front of thousands of people, shaking. My view of the audience was nothing but a sea of lights from video cameras, until Kenny pulled me into a hug, kissed my forehead, and handed me a signed guitar in exchange for my sunflower. Even though being on stage was a bit terrifying, I knew it felt right.

Kenny kissing my forehead feat. my sick pink crocs

American Idol (Season 10). I was so committed to American Idol in 2011, so my grandma and my mom believed it would be fun to take me to their show. I looked at Pia Toscano, Stefano Langone, Haley Reinhart, and Lauren Alaina with the biggest heart eyes, and couldn't have possibly enjoyed the flashing green strobe lights any more than I had.

Digitour Jack & Jack (please understand that thirteen year old me was obsessed with Magcon for reasons I still don't fully understand). I went with my friend Nina, but we met up with other people from our school while we were in line. It was my first G.A. experience (at the Complex of all places), and I was absolutely freaking out when I saw Gilinsky and Johnson for the first time (I also saw many of the other boys on the tour that I adored). Nina and I somehow ended the night being front and center, inches away from the Jacks. The body guards provided water, and most of it ended up down my shirt. But, even though Magcon is dead, all of Jack & Jack's early songs still have a special place in my heart.