Excitement and nerves pulsate through every vein in my entire body as I stand behind the black velvet curtain on the rickety wooden stairs that lead up to the stage. I can hear the people roaring along to the music in one single voice, dancing to the same beat, filled with the same anxious anticipation of the captivating performance that is to come. The hearts of these people beat along with the electrifying drum line, and their chests pound along with the bass, constricting so tightly that they can barely breathe. I watch this happen every night from behind the black curtain. The crowd struggles to stand upright, swaying on their feet and shifting side to side like a massive human pendulum. Everyone’s eyes watch the stage enthusiastically as they try to nudge their way to the front of the venue. The people waiting for the show are unified in a shared understanding of the music and an overwhelming excitement. The eagerness in the building spreads like an epidemic, and I myself catch the feeling as I get ready to appear on the grand stage.
The many months spent planning and preparing for the day to finally arrive when my band and I can put on a show full of unforgettable memories is almost unbearable. My stomach twists itself in knots and the butterflies inside create a nervous, chaotic mess. Before the show, I scope out the venue. Each building has its own unique background and this one tells the tale of many a night filled with dancing, music and memories. The venue is an older building made up of a copious amount of cement to hold together the burnt-orange and brown tinted brick. The walls are made thick for the sole purpose of containing the bumping music that is performed within the renowned structure’s barriers. A sign made up of large, black letters is plastered across the front of the building to display today’s highly-anticipated date and the name of our small-town band. I will never get used to this sight. The inside of the venue holds a bar with “21+” signs posted behind the bartenders. Dozens of bright, multi colored cups filled with icy cool water line the perimeter of the bar. They sit ready for the numerous parched fans that will soon take turns receiving a glass to quench their thirst. Beyond that is where the real magic happens. The doors are opened wide, revealing a room empty of any furniture; the floor slants down towards the stage, allowing the late-comers to see the excitement from the back. By now, the room is full of people who are devoted to the music, so I slip away backstage to watch the opening act.
The neon lights circle around the whole room, illuminating the hundreds of people in a vividly iridescent glow. Faint music plays in the background as the crowd stands with their eyes glued to the stage so as not to miss the precise moment when the show truly begins. The musicians finally bounce onstage and begin their opening song with an energetic introduction, feeding off of the crowd roaring back at them. The music builds on itself, echoing throughout the venue, reverberating off of its brick walls. The bass makes the floor rumble and vibrate, coursing its way through all of the shoes and crushed water cups. The bright spotlights zoom in on the band’s faces. The music increases, along with the temperature, and the artists’ hearts and souls pour out onto the stage beneath them. The singer crescendos in ear-splitting, booming volumes to match that of the room that is endlessly yelling lyrics back at him. The overwhelming feeling of unity and a strangely close connection between band and fans engulfs the venue in inexplicable exhilaration.
In what seems to be just a split second, the musicians have taken their final bow and left the stage. I shake myself off and fall in line with the rest of my band members. I take my place back behind the black magic curtain on the unlit stairs off to the side of the platform. The adrenaline is coursing through my veins as I listen to the crowd cheer us onstage. The black drape separating us is pulled back and releases the sight that I have always dreamed of experiencing for myself. I run onto the stage behind my band members, positioning myself in front of the whole room. Everything around me starts to spin and I have to take a moment to catch my breath. My head is pounding hard, throbbing as my heartbeat quickens and my ears buzz with the sound of the enthusiastic charisma that the crowd is throwing my way. I share their same passion and I feel their overwhelming excitement as their intense eyes watch my every move. This feeling can be described no other way than ecstatically overjoyed to every sense of the word. The audience responds to the simple switch in tone as we grab our instruments by pouring their emotions out in a completely unified, deafening tone of jubilation. The night has only just begun. I grab ahold of the mic stand and we begin our first song, all the while, the crowd stays dedicated to our music, never wavering in their ability to band together and leave me with an unforgettable show.