I probably hadn’t been to a concert since I was in high school. I think that the Z-107.7 Summer Jam of 2001 was my last one. Bush, my favorite alternative band from my adolescent years was performing at the Pageant. I had to see my crush, Gavin Rosedale, and I wanted to see him with you. I had gotten the tickets about a month before and had been waiting anxiously to go.
You Me at Six was the opener. I didn’t have a lot of expectations for the opening act but I enjoyed them. We were watching from the top level and when they were done, we migrated towards the standing floor in front of the stage. I was surprised by how easy it was for us to be so close to the front of the stage.
There he was, standing just a few feet away from me. There’s nothing sexier than people do something they love and are passionate about. I stood there for an hour and a half soaking in his stage presence and reminiscing of my youth. We couldn’t have gotten any closer. I was so close to him that I could see drops of sweat drip off his face and body. I was afraid any closer and it would get on me. That unfortunately, was also a little disgusting. I’m so glad he decided to lose his space jacket. Based on other pictures I saw of his tour, he didn’t really bring an extra change of clothes.
Gavin was a bit older than the version of the man I was so smitten with but his voice was still the one that I loved. They played many songs from Sixteen Stone, including Little Things, Machinehead, Everything Zen, Alien, Glycerine... They couldn’t have ended the night with a better song, Comedown, my personal favorite from that album. It compliments the soft, yet raspy, texture of Gavin’s voice. By the end of the night, I felt like I was thirteen again. I thought about you performing when you were in band.
When the concert was over, the band members threw items out into the crowd. You had already left to close your tab and was waiting for me. As people were pushing forward to try to catch them, I started walking away. I didn’t need anything, because the experience was enough. I was ready to end the night knowing that I had a great time. People in front of me fumbled trying to get a drumstick he threw and it rolled in between my feet. I picked it up and made my exit. Gavin played the drums for a minute with the drummer and I wondered if that was the one he touched.
We had a little issue with coat check because I lost my ticket. After the manager came over and it was all sorted out, we left with my coat and my new drumstick. I had such an amazing evening. This was one of the first times that I realized that things are always great when we are together. Things have it’s way of working out in our favor, as if the universe is telling us we belong together.
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