“And I’m so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere” -Weightless by All Time Low
As Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “Do one thing every day that scares you ”. I’ve started to challenge myself with things that might seem like an easy, no-brainer to some people, but can actually be difficult for those of us that overthink.
Right before Christmas, I decided to buy a single concert ticket on a whim just a couple hours before the show was scheduled to start. It had been a crazy week at work and I just needed to do something that would allow me to unwind and have some fun. I spent some of my teenage years listening to All Time Low, and when I saw that they were coming to Chicago, I tried to get whoever was free to come with me. Naturally, all my friends had plans on a Friday night, so I talked myself into buying one lone ticket.
While getting ready, my mind started to wander. Who goes to a concert alone? Would people notice I wasn’t with anyone? Would they think I was lonely or weird? I even thought that maybe I shouldn’t go and just lose the money I spent. But, I talked myself up and called the Uber to head to the show.
The House of Blues was packed and I quickly realized that no one would know (or care) if I was alone. Groups of people were blending with others and for all each person knew, I could be a part of the group of people next to them. Once I decided that no one cared if I was alone (and after I was able to sneak around all the tall people) I relaxed and was able to have fun.
During the opening act, the crowd began to cheer and point to the balcony. All Time Low was cheering on their fans and everyone was excited to see the band. It was a cool experience to see them get excited for the audience and vice versa.
I’ve been to a lot of concerts, but they’ve been in much larger venues, so the intimate environment was a nice change. But it was definitely different from any other show I’d been to. For some reason, I thought people only threw bras on stage and crowd surfed in movies. Not the case for this show. I think being able to see the engagement between the band and the concert-goers was a big part of the reason it was such a fun night.
I watched a couple argue and cry in the middle of a concert, made friends with a girl who had too much to drink (and continuously told me she loved me), chatted with a girl who eventually got kicked out for crowd surfing and was pushed out of the way by another (tall) couple - yes, please push the short girl who’s clearly blocking your view out of the way.
Even though I didn’t know anyone and didn’t have my friends to talk to throughout the night, it was a night full of overcoming fears. 10/10 would recommend.