This year specifically, but really since the start of Post-Covid, I have been observant of my ~aging~. I turned 29 recently; that penultimate year before yet another decade has passed without warning, without consent. I’m conscious of how my body reacts to certain food or drinks, or situations and experiences. I’ve learned to notice the internal signs of struggle and subtle cries for help, that were really always there but mostly misunderstood and silenced. I’m coming to terms with being able to not do things as I once could, and part of that is concert-going.
This week, we’re chatting about concerts, culminating the week with a discussion on our dream music festival, and lucky for me I was just at two, almost back-to-back.
On Friday, Zack and I saw my favorite band, All Time Low, here in Columbus. The other two bands on the docket: Games We Play and Mayday Parade—the first, I had only one song saved and they’re relatively new on the “scene” (whatever that even means these days), but Mayday Parade is definitely a throwback to Warped Tour 2009 and was among the bands I listened to repeatedly in my tumultuous youth.
Then, on Sunday, Zack and I saw his favorite band, The Cure, outside of Cleveland. They only had one opener, named The Twilight Sad, from Scotland and they were…fine? Weird? An opener? Who cares about the opener when you’re there to see The Cure, right?
These two concerts, happening with a 24hour break in between, was definitely a tribute to the past in many ways. Though Zack had never seen The Cure, they’re (obviously) an older band (with most of the albums coming out before we were born), but still cemented themselves in his musical life. Meanwhile, I have seen All Time Low well over five times (this was possibly my seventh or eighth time?) in five states and two countries (I saw them in London 💅). I’ve been listening since their debut album in 2005; I have their lyrics tattooed on me—they’re that band for me, the one I grew up with, the one that shaped my music-listening trajectory.
Both All Time Low and The Cure sounded incredible. It’s certainly more impressive of The Cure to still sound the *exact* same as recording, at almost 65 years old, but many of the pop-punk / Warped Tour scene bands have aged poorly (or not at all, sadly). For example, Mayday Parade was… meh? And I’ve seen them before, in their heyday (mayday heyday???). Of course, I have to say the obligatory “live sound mixing plays a huge role here” as well as at what point on the tour was this because both are true statements and do fit into the equation, but when ATL comes out and just kills it (and I’m not just saying that, Zack would agree with me), it’s pretty obvious. And then, when The Cure finally got on stage, you could have told me they were lip-synching and I would have believed you but NO, Robert Smith is just *shocker* that good.
Even though these artists are “old” (again, the dudes of ATL are not considered geriatric [yet] as compared to the Cure dudes), they still sounded great. Even though I’m younger than all of them, I felt like fucking shit after both. After the ATL concert, I was in such physical pain I had to cancel all my plans on Saturday. I slept most of the day, as I had no back pain while laying down and unconscious. I chalk up the pain to jumping around all night and wearing probably not the best bra for that experience (my breast weight wasn’t distributed well enough on my shoulders and therefore my mid-back/shoulder blades were all fucked).
Then, on Sunday, we had a two-hour drive to the pavilion venue to see The Cure, and long car rides are already hard for my back. From there, the evening only got progressively worse. Even though our seats were under the pavilion, it poured the entire time walking from the car (easily 30mins), waiting in line (another 20mins), and finally getting to our seats, to only realize we were on the end of a row and not actually really under the pavilion at all. Once the first (and only other) band finished and the Cure crew began assembling their stage, the heavens opened up even more, this time including thunder and lightning, and the show was rain delayed. The venue made everyone on the lawn retreat to their cars for safety. People were running into the pavilion and crowding around us and our seats we paid extra for so they wouldn’t get booted out, while we all waited impatiently for the show to begin. Finally, an hour late, Robert Smith took the stage and played for the full 2.5 hours he was told he’d get, even though the place has a curfew of 11pm. At 11:30, they finally began playing “Boys Don’t Cry” and I convinced Zack to begin the trek to the car—which we promptly lost in the dark and mess of parking. We wouldn’t be out of the parking lot/venue for another 50 minutes, and then a two-hour car ride home.
It was too much, guys. It’s Tuesday now, and I’m still recovering. Thankfully, my back wasn’t the main problem like it was after the ATL concert, but the tired hasn’t fully subsided yet. Jamie Lee Curtis recently pondered why there weren’t more matinee concerts, and Jamie Lee, I could not agree more. Though I was and am so grateful and privileged to have seen these performances, the recovery time for me has doubled since a decade ago. I wonder if the ATL dudes and Robert Smith feel the same…
Shit We’re Loving: WATCH
Shelby’s Pick: Classic All Time Low music videos
The amount of times I have repeatedly watched these.
BONUS VIDEO I TOOK OF THEM AT THAT 2009 WARPED TOUR TRYING TO GET A TRIANGLE MOSH PIT STARTED AND FAILING MISERABLY.
Show Your Support: Bee City USA
In 2023, OTF will now spotlight four charities, showing our support on a quarterly basis instead of monthly. Though this does mean we’re not highlighting as many organizations as before, this will allow for more time on the important aspect of writing, while still doing what OTF was created to do which is support writing and each other. For the new quarterly SYS organizations, OTF will donate $200 to each hand-selected charity. This Spring Quarter (April, May, June), we spotlight Bee City USA.
With Earth Day happening late April (the 22nd), and with spring being a time for absolute renewal, we chose an environmental charity to support this quarter. Bee City USA provides a framework for communities to come together to conserve native pollinators by providing them with a healthy habitat that is rich in a variety of native plants, that provides nest sites, and that is protected from pesticides. As the name suggests, the focus of Bee City USA is bees, and primarily our native species.
Since 2019, there have been more than 2,566 habitat projects (think gardens, meadows, orchards) completed, totaling over 3,800 acres.
The steps that Bee City affiliates take to conserve our native bees, including creating safe habitats and hosting community events, will also help other pollinators, including butterflies and moths, as well as the non-native honeybee. One of the most impactful actions any affiliate can take is to encourage others to think beyond the honeybee—there are more than 3,600 species of bees in this country!—and recognize the true diversity of bees that sustain our communities. For the quarter, OTF has already donated $200 to Bee City and encourages you to give and/or promote what you can.
Daily Intention:
Today I choose…
to reminisce.
Here’s some nifty buttons for you to press, enjoy: