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So on Saturday the 7th of February, I went to my first concert. I mean, I went to a festival in 2012, but I wouldn't class that as a 'proper' concert. At the festival, I was free to walk around, I could move in and out of the crowds as I pleased. (If you're not aware, I suffer from quite severe anxiety. Please see my 'Dealing with Panic Attacks' post if you're interested.) But I'm 17 years old and this was the first 'proper' concert I've been to.
I went to the Kerrang magazine tour at Leeds O2 Academy. I know the O2 Academy isn't a massive building, but this was a big step for me. My friend asked me the Saturday before, originally, believing it was only 2 bands performing - Don Broco and We Are the In Crowd. (I really suggest you check them out, by the way) I remembered my Resolution and I just said yes. Saying yes in the first place was the first step, but then the panic set it. I'd been suffering from quite a bad bug that week for a start but my anxiety, overall, was beginning to get the better of me.
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But before I knew it, Friday came around and I decided to dive headfirst and agreed for my friend to enter a competition to meet Don Broco before the show - which we won! But then I learned there were going to be 3 more bands performing, 2 of which were heavy metal. This meant 2 things - 1. I had to spend more time there and 2. Mosh Pits.
Long story short, my friend assured me she wouldn't get me involved in the pits and I got there without having any major panic attacks. We got to the venue and 5, and were then taken into a dingy basement where we were told to wait for the band (who were the coolest people ever, here's a selection of photos):
(There are 4 members of the band, and I'm slightly gutted I missed one. But what can you do?)So, afterwards, we were brought into the main venue. And, low and behold, I survived! I didn't suffer from a single panic attack and enjoyed it thoroughly. It just goes to show what can happen when you start saying 'yes' to things. For a whole week I was panicking about this, even waking up in the middle of the night because of it. And for what? I look back at last week now and can't help but feel a little stupid. Now I've done this, I feel like there's not much I can't do.
I'd never even heard of most of the bands I was going to see in just a week's time, if anything, this was something I had to do to prove to myself I'm not as useless as I was a year ago. That sounds a bit harsh on myself, but it's true. I was, pretty much, a useless friend to people. Never wanting to join them at concerts and parties. But now I'm a completely different person compared to what I was this time last year - and that's a good thing.
I feel like now's an appropriate time to promote the bands I went to see so;
Don Broco We Are the In Crowd Young Guns Beartooth
Bury Tomorrow
Thanks for reading,
R.
