That was three years ago. And when three months ago I found out they were coming back for another world tour, this time their own, I hesitantly gathered the courage to try again. The day came and though my friend was coming with me, I was more nervous than ever. For the entire week before I had whole memory reruns of what happened before. It was more paranoia than anything, but my mind had already accepted defeat.
When my friend picked me up, I practically held my breath and had my fingers crossed up until we arrived to the Hollywood Palladium, fearing we would get stuck in traffic for an hour and that would be the end of me. Again. It’s safe to admit it was paranoia and a looming fear of repeated history. |
Image from ONE OK ROCK Official Facebook
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Everything smoothed out upon arrival. The line was long, but it moved pretty quickly and within half an hour we were inside. I’m sure I stopped breathing altogether when it came time for the security to scan my tickets. One, two beeps of approval and my lungs filled with air again in a sigh of relief. Inside, there was a tempting bar, but I opted to keep sober despite my nerves.
The merchandise was another temptation which I regrettably also didn’t buy. The experience this time was enough memoranda. The building, though small on the outside, was much more grand on the inside with dazzling chandeliers and moody lowlights. |
The subtle blue lights calmed my nerves as I anxiously waited for the lights to go off and the concert to begin. In the pitch black, "Take me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver began playing, throwing many off but causing a widespread chorus of concert-goers to scream the lyrics with all they had. The song transitioned into the opening song and so the madness began. Though I didn’t recognize Stand Atlantic and Waterparks, they certainly had music I enjoyed and soon I was singing along with broken lyrics. Throughout the first group’s performance I noticed the girl standing next to my friend was significantly drunk.
Whatever was in her hand, the “concert special” I’d assume, reeked heavily of alcohol and she was no different as she swayed side to side and really felt the music. |
When Waterparks announced their next song was their last, the audience lunged forward, trying to squeeze as close to the front as they could. All concert-goers tried desperately to get impossibly close to the stage for ONE OK ROCK, the final act. There was a widespread panic in me momentarily and the color drained from my face. I don’t do well in crowds from a past experience and the way people pushed and shoved drove my anxiety through the roof. The girl next to us had sobered up by this time and was also clearly panicked whereas my friend was so accustomed to pit culture she wasn’t even phased.
"As soon as ONE OK ROCK came up to the stage, the crowd lunged forward once more, making it impossible to move around and manifesting into a claustrophobic nightmare." |
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