I went to my first DC Chili-Cook off this weekend, and it was crazy. Beware of Darkness, RDGLDGRN, Silversun Pick-ups, Capital Cities, AWOLNation, and SoundGarden were all there. I was only attending for AWOLNation though.
My friend won tickets from DC101 and gave me two of them for me and Tyler. We had to get there SUPER early so we could get the tickets from my friend. We got there around 11 o’clock in the morning, and AWOL was scheduled to perform at 6 freaking o’clock. RDGLDGRN was first and they were really good so I suggest you guys look them up. I also experienced my first moshpit. I didn’t participate or anything, because, um, I would be pummeled and then I’d probably die. IT WAS CRAZY. They are basically just running into each other. Why? I ask again… Why? Doesn’t that hurt?
People were crowd-surfing like crazy. One girl was thrown on top of my head, so that felt good. When AWOL finally came on, I was in the thick of people, suffocating under the smell of sweat, heat, and weed. OH MY GOD so much weed. I hate the smell. But I eventually got used to it.
At one point during AWOL, a moshpit broke out behind me (always near my vicinity I swear. They were trying to kill me) so Tyler immediately moved himself behind me and tried to block the impacts BECAUSE THEY WERE LITERALLY CHARGING INTO EACH OTHER. The men had morphed into bulls. I got out of there as fast as I could because I wasn’t trying to die. I had to shove my way through people until I was finally safe at the side of the crowd where I could only get a glimpse of the lead singer by standing on my tiptoes.
I think my favorite part of the concert deviates far from the norm. I loved watching people crowd surf. It was fascinating. And the best part, when all the sudden a person fell, a collective gasp would emanate from everyone around close enough to see. We’d all watch to see if he was okay, waiting, wondering. When all of a sudden, he popped back up with fists in the air. Then everyone would cheer and pump their fists and carry on gyrating to the rhythm. It was so funny. More than once I wanted to hop atop the crowd, but yeah, no thanks. I still don’t want to die.
Also, everyone there was so cool, and accepting. People were dancing together, whether they knew each other or not. One girl, dressed in all black, with greasy pitch black hair and vibrant makeup danced with a group of boys and I don’t think her smile could have been any bigger. All I could think about was when she went back to school, and people would possibly start making fun of her again. But there, amongst a group of vibrating chests and booming beats, she belonged. I thought that was so cool.
Here’s a link to Capital Cities’ song “Safe and Sound” if you haven’t heard it yet. They were at the concert, and I fell in love so check them out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47dtFZ8CFo8
P.S. I have terrible sunburn.
sincerelystephanie.org 