Darek + Stacie

I didn’t vote on Election Day, but I did see my most favorite band in concert: DEPECHE MODE!

I wasn’t sure what to expect because we were going to be in a Suite and I was afraid this meant we’d be sitting behind glass very high above and far away from the stage. I was afraid it would be more like watching a movie than attending a concert; but I was wrong.

We went in through the special Platinum entrance, went up the stairs to the special Platinum level, and walked through the carpeted corridor to Suite 1123. There were foods and drinks, leather seats, and an unobstructed view of the stage. I watched the opening band while I ate fruit, chips with spinach dip, and a huge chocolate-covered strawberry.

At 9:06, the house lights went down and the stage lights came on. The music started. And Depeche Mode came out.

When I was in high school I used to go to concerts like they were movies; sometimes I’d even go to 2 or 3 a week. I loved the music at high volumes and the feeling of being transported through it.

I stopped going to concerts because they started to make me sad. So many people who seemed so lost. I felt lost in the crowd, and it seemed like I was always behind the guy who was 6 feet tall, next to the girl in the tiny black dress throwing up on the ground, and in front of the screeching people who spilled beer everywhere.

But last Tuesday I was able to watch the show from above the crowd and even watch the crowd while still feeling like I was a little bit a part of it. I let the music wash over me without the claustrophobic feeling of too many people in too little space. I enjoyed sitting through it and not looking forward to it ending so I could stop standing, as I usually did at concerts.

Loud music is so manipulative. I’ve noticed that I like this less and less as I get older. But last week I let myself get lost in it, and I loved it. It’s so hard to describe, because music is so much more than words.

But it was awesome.