On April 7th, 2013, a dream was
realized. Probably more dreams than just one, but still.
In a big city, a slightly smaller division, in a humongous
stadium - I saw Green Day live, for the very first time. Some
may say, "it's just a band," or "lol, was
that your first concert?" Not only was it my first
concert, it was the best night of my life. There was this
rush of energy throughout the entire space, from the second
those life-changing men came out onto the stage to well after
the encore ended. It was this spectacular atmosphere, and
there was so much noise and love and music.
I remember it like it was yesterday, but as I'm writing
this now, it actually was. I remember that day in September
that the tour was announced, the day I begged my mom for
tickets. The day I came home and she told me that I could go.
The day that I placed the order. I remember the day that
Billie was sent to rehab, the day that I found out that the
concert was post-poned, or even worse, cancelled. I remember
the day I found out my concert had been one of the few
rescheduled, and I remember the days leading up to the
concert.
My dream has always been to met my idols, the men who changed
my life and who changed me. I may have not gotten to
meet them, but he.ll, even being in the same room has
been enough.
These men are my idols, they cut out the mold that I have
flowed into. They are an inspiration. A life-changing group.
These men have inspired me to pursue art, find more good
music, keep living for myself, not others. I can't say
they necessarily saved my life, as I was never suicidal, but
a change was made. Billie makes me want to be strong, for the
sake of my friends and loved ones, he makes me want to be
fearless and smile through my tears. Mike makes me want to be
the loyal friend, the partner in crime, the one who is always
there, no matter what. The best friend. And Tre, well... Tre.
He makes me want to go to clown college. [Laughs] No, not
really. Tre makes me want to be the person that makes every
smile, the one who doesn't give a da.mn about what anyone
is going to say. Tre makes me want to be confident, not
afraid to make weird noises, or just be crazy.
They make me want to be myself.
On a sub note, I want to say more about Billie. He isn't
my favorite member, that is not why I'm writing this, but
this is of importance. Billie was sent into rehabilitation
after an incident at the iHeartRadio Festival. I will not go
into detail, but it was shocking, to say the least. Billie
suffers from insomnia and anxiety, amongst other things. He
would try to supress stress with alcohol and prescription
overdoses. This led to a meltdown, and later, a canceled
tour. This seemingly strong man finally broke. Bulletproof,
but suddenly an eggshell. He made it through though, the
detox, the rehabilitation, the stress and the panic. He
survived. I can't materialize into words how proud I am.
That he actually finally went to get help. I appreciate that
he never goes into anything half-as.sed. It inspired me that he was
brave enough to go through with it, get better. Come back
better. I couldn't have been prouder of him, seeing him
walk back onto that stage, arms up, grinning, waiting for the
adoration of their fans.
The entire band knew what to expect, and they got it.
That is just a few sentences of expression about what this
group means to me, had I put everything into writing,
you'd still be well into your fifties and reading this
very piece. I was so excited to see them in person. See the
people who made me myself, who made me laugh, smile, and cry,
and spend hours and hours on the Internet blogging about
them. I wanted to hear Billie's voice and guitar strum in
person, and I can tell you that it was the most amazing thing
I have ever heard, and nothing will ever, ever compare to it.
Jason's guitar, Mike's bass, and Tre's drums
brought the room to life, made it all the more loud and
energetic. Looking over the balcony, seeing 15,000 other fans
there for the same reason as me, to see the people I love. I
was almost crying. It was melodic, in an angsty, or sometimes
happy way. It was like an injection, the music coursed
through my veins, but also unlike an injection, clearing my
vision instead of hazing it and sharpening my ears, making me
void to the sound around me but making every detail on the
stage a trillion times brighter and more noticeable.
You could hear emotional changes, whether Billie Joe was
smiling through his singing or not.
He was.
But there was this feeling. A feeling of accomplishment.
Pride.
I'd made it. I'd make my dream become a reality. A
two and a half hour reality. It was surreal.
This feeling is inexplicable. There's little tiny bursts
of energy within you, burning brighter and brighter and
making you grin yet cringe with a bittersweet sorrow. This
feeling lasts for a few days, but you realize that after a
time it will cease to be dominant. It is a feeling of power,
joy, courage. All because of a band, all because of dream,
all because of a song, just a single note it enough to send
you exploding with overwhelmed endorphins.
Nothing was more important in the moments that concert
existed. It may sound cliche but,
"In that moment, I swear we were infinite."
But I was, I felt infinite, like I could go on forever and
just stay there and listen and not care about a single thing.
I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world.
I had originally planned- or well, hoped, to get a drawing
signed, or even a photo with Billie or Mike or Tre. I was not
able to this, but that's okay, because with a band like
Green Day, eternity is a promise. I will have many more
chances later in life, and I swear on the behalf of my Idiot
integrity that I will do this. Even when Billie is lugging an
oxygen tank behind him as he stage drives, or as Mike's
make-up drips off his eventual wrinkles, or even Tre's
sparkly unicycle wheelchair rolling around behind the drum
set. They will be old and crusty, but still playing, and when
there's a show, that's where I'll be.
There were-
No, there are many great things about Green Day. About their
music. About that concert. It would be impossible to list
them all, but trust in a person's love for music.
My favorite part of the concert though? I had many. I only
wrote about a few of them. The very, very best though?
Billie was clean. Not dru.nk, nor dr.ugged. He was ecstatic to be there,
but the ecstasy was natural, not narc.otics. That was the best part.
Knowing they were all there in themselves, not in a drug
induced haze. Knowing that the sheer beauty of everything
there was derived from dedication and talent, not screwed
with by a drunken slur.
The best music. The best band. The best night.
Ever.
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Chlohoey · 1 decade ago
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omffg anna this made me crying i'M SO HAPPY THAT OYU GOT TO OG AND JUST
ANNA