By Jane Harris
From the moment I was able to frequent concerts without the supervision of my parents (basically since I was handed car keys), my favorite part (besides the music) of going to a show has always been the people I’m able to meet and observe. At festivals, this love of mine is realized in the perfect way — if you are at the barricade all day devotedly waiting for a later performance, you are bound to meet others with the same idea who are probably also sweating in the summer sun as much as you are.
Sometimes, your barricade or pit-mates will tell you all about their connections to the band — the other night I met the ex-girlfriend of one of Brockhampton’s members — and other times they’ll expound upon their love for an artist while you wait. Once I met a fan who had traveled almost 1,000 miles to see Arcade Fire. Most of the time, the people I meet at smaller or local shows are very kind and are just as excited as I am to be there. Aside from the occasional aggressive, rude fans, even at large arena shows I can’t help but feel contagious good energy emit from the crowd.
That’s my favorite thing about live music: the connection made between the artists and the audience. Once the music starts, all the worries in the world fade away and I no longer care that I’m so sweaty from dancing or that the drive back home will be long. None of my new friends even care that I’ve never met them before this night. The uncertainty of whether or not you’ll see these people again makes your meeting them and being in the same little world for a couple hours all the more exciting.
Concerts are forgiving: you don’t have to look perfect in the dark, and as long as you’re safe and having a good time, you can lose it in the music. No one will care. At the end of the show, you’ll wave goodbye to your new friends, maybe exchange social media handles or numbers (if you really hit it off), or you might never see them again — which is perfect! It’s so precious to be able to share music and art that you love with a whole room of people who love it just the same, even if only for a fleeting moment.
Now, in recent Colorado concert news:
On Dec. 9 at Denver’s new Mission Ballroom, the members of Brockhampton brought some serious heat to counteract the night’s almost-freezing weather. With help from openers Slowthai, a rapper from the United Kingdom, and 100gecs, an experimental electronic music duo, the crowd maintained an electrifying energy throughout the whole night.
Brockhampton’s Texas natives made a stop in Colorado on their Heaven Belongs to You Tour, celebrated the release and success of their latest record, GINGER.
Their show was very high-energy, thanks to fun technical elements and the brother-like companionship of the group members. At one point in the night, for their hit “QUEER,” the band even invited some fans onstage to dance and sing.
Brockhampton’s show was an energetic, thrilling one — I wouldn’t miss them when they come back to the Centennial State.
In the upcoming weeks, be on the lookout for these popular shows: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats at The Mission Ballroom (Denver) Dec. 13, Modest Mouse at Belly Up (Aspen) Dec. 14, and Chance the Rapper at Pepsi Center (Denver) Jan. 21.