Yesterday Nicole took me to my first rock concert (excluding seeing TSO in Austin, that was technically FHE) where a venue in Salt Lake City was hosting several popular bands. We went to see Switchfoot and Anberlin, two of our favorite bands.
I've never been to a real rock concert. I really enjoyed the music and how well the musicians performed. It was the first time I've ever seen real rock stars acting like rock stars on a stage making a bunch of fans go crazy.
Switchfoot's music is awesome A: because it's rock music, B: They don't just scream the whole time, C: Their lyrics are meaningful and usually have to do with charities they've worked for or experiences that inspired them, D: They're sincere people, they really love their music and fans, not seeking the sleezy things they could seek that come with being rock stars. They really are in it for the good they can do with their music.
Being in the audience was interesting...we got there an hour early almost and there was already a dense ball of people right in front of the stage. When I say dense, I mean like 2 people per square foot almost. Nicole and I tried to stand on a curb to see over the crowd but tall people came and stood literally an inch in front of us. Most of the time all I could see was the back of some dude's head.
The concert was outdoors, changing the atmosphere a bit from what you might normally expect of a rock concert. But that didn't stop people from doing silly things. Up close to the stage people like to shove, push, and try to work their way to the front. You have to stand your ground well. People also like to crowd surf and throw things. You have to keep an eye out or someone will land on top of you. Nicole and I laughed as people tried to crowd surf up to the stage but were yanked down by security guards.
The music was loud! It was so loud I couldn't hear anything for 2 minutes after they stopped playing. I could have told the stranger in front of me my deepest darkest secrets during a song and they wouldn't have been able to hear me say anything.
Watching the crowd at the venue was entertaining. There were all kinds of people, from old geezers who still like to rock to young middle school kids with their older siblings. There were LDS kids, high school students, and even some pimps with their ho's. Budweiser was being sold all over the place. Almost every corner of the venue had some drunk people passed out with medics and friends trying to revive them. Why do people drink beer?
Overall the music was excellent. It was like listening to Beethoven's 9nth only the volume was turned up to the "jet engine" amplitude and people were aloud to jump up and down and scream and sing along. I really loved it and would go again to hear Switchfoot anytime.
