'You will end up where you are meant to be' -Tyler “Telle” Smith
Unlike anything I have ever seen before, there was literally a line of people wrapped around Sunshine Theater for the Witching Hour Tour. It was a completely sold out show! Thankfully my 16 year old niece and I got to the building around 4:30pm because we were only about 1/3 of the way down the line. Most people had been there since like 3pm. I have never been to Sunshine Theater so I thought us arriving around 2:30pm would have been way to early. Turns out I was completely wrong; we should have turned up around then. But eh, it wasn't too bad. Finally, around 6:30pm they finally opened the doors for all of us to flood in. After a brief security pat down we were on our way.
To be honest, I was really only there to see In This Moment. I hadn't even actually heard of DED or The World Alive before buying the tickets for this show. I have loved In This Moment for years! I had in passing listened to one or two of each of their songs. I had truly no idea what I was in for. DED took the stage, and immediately there was a moving presence. DED is a nu-metal Band from Phoenix, Arizona, not far from our home of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They were energetic as hell, albeit they were kinda that band you listen to when you are angry. That isn't a bad thing, I am a firm believer that every emotion needs a good soundtrack. One of my favorite songs was “FMFY”. If you aren't sure what the abbreviation means, YouTube the song, you'll get it! And they kept this energy flowing for the whole set, which was pretty amazing to me.
On a personal note, a lot of things have been going on in my life. A lot of changes have made me very sad, some of them have made me very angry. And listening to “FMFY” kind of helped me work on those ones that were making me angry. It was like the best form of anger management I have had in years.
So, after a brief intercession, they began to set up the stage for The Word Alive. The crowd began to push a bit, kinda started to sardine us. Of course, we had kind of made some 'friends' in the line who were shielding us from any real harm, which was nice because I was without my towering husband to keep me safe. Mind you, the 16 year old I had with me is like six feet tall and kinda hefty, so I didn't think I was completely screwed. But still having the six foot six powerhouse Keith would have made me feel better.
The minute The Word Alive started their set I was hooked! The metalcore band also hailed from Phoenix, Arizona. And (I sincerely apologize, guys give me time I am so gonna catch up with your discography and I will know every word by next year I swear!) while I do not remember names of the songs, I picked this to be my soundtrack of uplifting in my depression. Tyler not only was comical on stage (inside joke about breasts- mind you not as bad as it sounds), he also got real with the audience. He has had a rough two years (boy do I ever relate to that), and he talked about people leaving us too soon. This hit me, hard. See, my brother in law was 16 when he committed suicide. And it just left the biggest hole in our lives. One that I am not sure will ever feel okay ever again. And while I have had many more (too many more) people leave way too early, it was losing someone that was such a light in the darkness that just- got it just rips your guts apart and obliterates your heart. You just wonder will it ever be okay again. Mind you, I didn't know my brother in law very long. I had only met him 2 years prior to him taking his own life, but that kid just made you love him the minute you meet him. Another thing I loved about this band is how grateful they were to be playing for us. It was so uplifting to see how humble they were. I didn't want their set to end. I wanted them to stay forever.
So then In This Moment began to set up. And mind you folks, they were playing all sorts of music in between sets- and it was almost goosebump worthy to see this whole crowd of so many diverse backgrounds and such to come together to sing this song. I don't know, maybe that sounds stupid, but I love it.
But soon, the sardine can began to get smaller as people were crushing each other to push people out of the way to get closer to ITM once they took the stage. One of the new 'friends' we had made in line got attacked by some guy, and I was not going to not let something be done. To be completely honest, the security team was no help. This guy was in the front grabbing this girl in a headlock and choking her. So I reached back and got him off of her. And while I love In This Moment, three songs in I pulled my niece out of that crowd before someone crushed us to death.
What I did see of the band I was there to see, was great. Their theatrics didn't disappoint. She was just as beautiful in person, but yeah no band is worth dying to see. I do hope that if they do come back again, that I get to see them again. Because I was really enjoying the hell of the show ITM was putting on.
I guess that is kind of the reason I have tried to avoid going to big shows. As much as I love those bands I love and want to support them, sometimes their fans are toxic as hell. And I mean, I get that you get into a show. Hell, I got into this tour! I was jumping up and down, screaming with the rest. But what exactly is the point of crushing people or trying to choke them to death. It just ruins the night for everyone else. My niece's birthday surprise was completely ruined by a couple of idiots.
So this was my experience with The Witching Hour Tour. I found my new favorite band who I will see every time they come to Albuquerque! Hopefully though, next time we won't get crushed and flustered so that I can meet the guys of The Word Alive!
-SAMMI SPELLS-
