On Thursday, October 5th, I attended my first concert, and it was the best night of my life.
Originally, my plans for Fall Break were for my friend Teagan to spend the night that Thursday. Then my friend Sawyer texted me on Wednesday night, asking if I was a fan of the band, The 1975. I said I knew about two of their songs and had my thoughts on the lead singer, Matty Healy, and Taylor Swift’s speculated relationship. I was very curious as to why she asked this, considering we had just been talking about geometry (yes, we’re nerds). She then proceeded to ask me if I wanted to go to their concert the next day, which I perceived to be the opportunity of a lifetime. Of COURSE, I said YES!
I immediately ran to my aunt to tell her the great news. While she was straightening my hair, we ironed out all the details. What I’d be wearing, when we’d be leaving, when we’d be on our way back, if she needed to send any money with me – you know, the usual.
My aunt ended up getting me early from school at 2:30 PM on Thursday, considering we were leaving around 4:45, and I wanted enough time to get completely ready. I wore fishnets, black shorts, a black crop top that tied in the front, and of course, my classic black Converse.
I took my phone, headphones, water, mini-Pepsis, some lipstick and perfume. I carried that all in a cooler my aunt gave me, but I didn’t take anything into the arena except for my phone. I also brought a pillow and blanket since we’d be back home at around 2:00 AM and we’d be pretty tired. The concert was at the Desert Diamond Arena; the drive was supposed to take around 2 hours and 15 minutes, but with traffic, it took about an hour longer.
We were in section 201, which if you’ve been in this arena, you know how steep it is. And I have a TERRIBLE fear of heights. We got there well before the concert started, so to keep me from freaking out, we got up and walked around. Sawyer’s dad ended up buying us merch! We got the same shirt, and unintentionally both wore it on our first day back from Fall Break. After getting merch, we decided it was at least worth a shot to ask guest services if they could move us down, and surprisingly, they did! To section 115. It was SO much better and not scary or high up at all. While we were walking toward our new seats, the curtains were dropping down. Perfect timing!
The concert opened with the song The 1975 and closed with Give Yourself a Try. Personally, my two favorite songs were About You and Somebody Else, a song I’ve liked since before I was in middle school. I know those are some of their most popular songs, but they truly mean a lot to me which made it even greater when Sawyer offered to record all of Somebody Else for me. I recorded the beginning of most of the songs, but I recorded most of About You since a friend asked me to.
About halfway through the concert, the lead singer Matty Healy appeared on a second stage which was so close to us! He performed Be My Mistake and everyone turned on the flashlights on their phones – it was beautiful.
The concert started around 8:30 PM and ended around 10:30 PM. I got dropped off at home around 1:30 AM. When we were leaving the arena, I didn’t even feel real, it was such a great experience and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to go. Shout out to Sawyer’s dad for scoring free tickets and shout out to Sawyer for even thinking to invite me. On the way home from the concert, we got Taco Bell, and honestly, I was so hungry at the time, it was the best thing I’d ever had.
If you ever have the opportunity, see The 1975 in concert! It’s the only concert I’ve ever been to, but I know it’ll be hard to top. It was honestly the best night of my life, and I would go 100 more times if I could. As someone who loves music, to a whole different level, I’m surprised it took me this long to finally get to my first concert, but the wait was worth it. I’m so very excited for the shows that await me in the future.
