You don’t know cold until you’ve stood outside Douglass in the middle of February, wearing a tank top, with shoulders clad in just-washed hair that’s hardened into poetic looking but awkwardly rough icicles. That marked the beginning of my experience at the Gym Class Heroes concert last Friday night, as I stupidly decided that bringing my bed-like coat would be too much of an inconvenience, since I wouldn’t have to wait outside for very long. Obviously, with my hair as witness, I was wrong.
Luckily the line moved pretty quickly, and upon presenting my ticket to the people at the door, I received a snazzy turquoise wristband, which was awesome until I learned that some of my friends received neon green ones. Though I’m still a bit jealous, I remain loyal to my turquoise one, and it bobs up and down beside me right now as I type.
Inside, the dining center was set up like an actual, obviously shrunken down, concert hall that one might find in any major city, equipped with a stage, professional lights, band banners and even a T-shirt stand at the back. I tend to buy shirts that I never end up wearing when I go to concerts, but since I didn’t really know any of the bands playing and I didn’t have any money or desire to mooch off a friend, I held back.
Considering that we got there kind of late, the floor seemed relatively empty, as people were walking around, buying souvenirs and perhaps focusing on breaking their icicles. We found a spot toward stage left in the second row of people. I could see everything, and I still had room to dance. Even though I only knew one of the songs of one of the four bands playing, I was pumped.
When the first band, k-os, started, I could feel the vibrations all over my body. It’s debatable whether or not this was a good thing. I hadn’t noticed that we had picked a spot right next to the two-story speaker, and while it was good to be close to the music and hear it nice and loudly, some of the long-held notes were actually physically painful to experience. Some of my friends had to leave and go all the way up to the balcony because their ears literally couldn’t take it. I stuck it out, though, as I always love to be close to famous people, even if I have no idea who they are.
The second performer, POS, wasn’t as loud, as he was just a sole rapper with a DJ in the background. I had never heard of him, and while some of his words were slightly clich, the majority of his lyrics were inspirational and thought provoking. His beats were also pretty fly.
The third band, the RX Bandits, was much more rock oriented. The first band, k-os, had a lead singer/rapper and backup instruments, and as I said before, POS was a rapper and a DJ. The RX Bandits, on the other hand, were strictly rock. And I’m sure they were great from far away, but from where I was standing, the loud overlaps of instruments produced nothing but muddled “k-os.” (Get it?)
Finally, it was time for Gym Class Heroes! I had long been exhausted by the roller coaster that the speakers had become for me, mixed with pushy girls with too much makeup and their cigarette-reeking boyfriends who clearly weren’t over 14. Basically, I was ready to go to bed at 8:30. I just wanted the Gym Class Heroes to sing the one song I knew and then call it a night. But when they got on stage, my attitude changed. I loved the style and personality of the band, not to mention the lead singer who was quite the cutie-pie (I still like my boyfriend more, don’t worry). They finally played the one song I knew, “Cupid’s Chokehold,” along with a few newly acquired favorites, like “Taxi Driver,” which cleverly uses band names in its lyrics.
I was dancing the entire time, and when I looked around, I was one of the only ones. Some of the lead singers throughout the night even complained that nobody was dancing. But I had fun, got my $12 worth and took a nice nap afterwards. At the end of the concert, the lead singer of Gym Class Heroes ran through the crowd, and I was able to take lots of pictures and even almost touch him. That was the highlight of my night, even though I never caught his name.
Roth is a member of the class of 2010.
