An Exclusive Look at the Best Show of 2018
MAD 4 IT
A blog for music junkies
Best Show
Written by Mad 4 It
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In my short 21 years of life, I have seen some incredible bands and artists perform live; from country concerts to rap shows to punk, I’ve experienced a little bit of everything. Out of all the artists I’ve seen (68 of them as of today’s date), there is one show that stands out above them all and is truly the best show I’ve ever been to (so far).
In my previous post, I placed The Story So Far’s new album Proper Dose at the top of my “Best Albums of the Year” list, and also mentioned that it was probably one of the most anticipated albums to be released in 2018 in the pop punk genre. After releasing this album, The Story So Far went on tour with one of the best line-ups in pop-punk history (in my opinion, of course), touring with the bands Movements, Citizen, and Turnover. The tour was highly anticipated, and most of the shows sold out. The tour started on November 14th in Portland, Oregon and ended on December 1st in Los Angeles. I saw the show on November 30th, in Tempe, Arizona at the Marquee Theater. Prior to the show, I had only seen The Story So Far once before, traveling 8 hours to Ventura, California to see them with Good Charlotte back in 2016. So, I was stoked to have them come to Tempe with such a sick line-up. I had also been a big fan of Citizen for quite some time and had already seen them twice prior to this show. I had only recently been introduced to Turnover, and they were on the top of my list of bands to see in 2018, and who I was most excited to see on this tour. I had also never heard of Movements before I saw the line-up for this show, so it was really fun to discover a new band, and learn their songs before seeing them live.
The show was packed, even though this particular show in Tempe was not sold out. During Movements set, it was pretty laid back, with only a few crowd-surfers, and hardly any moshing at all, but I was highly impressed by their performance and thought they were a great live band. Citizen was amazing too, as always. They did a little bit of everything, from their old bangers to their new album, and I thought they were way better this time around than when I had seen them previously. Turnover was absolutely incredible. Austin Getz has probably the most soothing voice I’ve ever heard. It was just so smooth and effortless. I was definitely impressed by all three of the live performances from these bands. You can tell that each band was having the time of their life on this tour, and it showed in their performances. I was a little surprised at how mellow the crowd seemed to be throughout the opening acts. I had expected there to be quite a bit of moshing and crowd surfing, but it was fairly calm and relaxed. That all changed when The Story So Far came on to perform though…
The lights went down, and suddenly, before Parker even came on stage I was shoved, hard, into the mass of people around me. It was like the whole crowd had been saving their energy for this moment. The moment we had all been waiting for, the debut of the new album, the anticipation of hearing the signature TSSF songs like Quicksand and Roam, and the resurfacing of the band on tour. The circle pit began immediately, taking down anyone in its path, pushing, shoving, punching; it was mesmerizing to watch. People were stage diving and crowd surfing like I had never seen before, like it was the last time they would ever get the chance. I had been to shows before, rough shows, shows with crowd surfing and moshing and all of that, and shows where everyone was super involved in the performance they were watching, but nothing compared to this. Everyone was singing and screaming in unity as if we were just one person in the crowd. And the crowd was rough, but not the kind of rough that makes you scared to be a part of it; the kind where you put all of your energy into it too; pushing, screaming, and just letting go of everything else in the world and being completely immersed in the experience. It’s hard to describe, really, the way the crowd was acting. It was like as soon as the band came on stage we were hypnotized…brainwashed, even, into a sort of cult or something. It was the coolest fucking thing I have ever seen. And those are the things that make shows great…when you just feel this overwhelming sense of belonging and importance, and when a band or artist can make everything else seem so insignificant. The Story So Far did that. This whole show did that. Every band was perfect. Just looking back on this show is so difficult for me because I want to relive it so badly.
I guess maybe that’s the true mark of a great show…when the memories are so vivid. When you can still feel the sway and push of the crowd, the heavy bass and drums vibrating your whole body, the adrenaline still running through your veins, and wanting to do it all over again, just by thinking of the memories.
This show was by far the best show I’ve been to yet. I know there will be more, and I can’t wait for a show to top this one. But, until that happens, Movements, Citizen, Turnover, and The Story So Far are ranked number one for my favorite and best show yet.
Sidenotes:
** Circle pit: a circle pit is something that typically happens more at punk, hardcore, or metal shows. Its where a circle forms and the people on the outside of the circle act as a barrier for the people inside who are moshing or thrashing or pushing people as hard as they can. (its oddly very courteous and friendly, if you fall or get hurt people help you).
Tell me about your best show in the comments!
xx
Maddisen V.