Flashback

Marisha Perry
2/9/07 6th hr
Flashback

“Oh my gosh!” I cannot believe we are actually here! It’s only noon! And we are going to see Death Cab tonight!” I giddily exclaimed.

“I know! I wasn’t even sure goin to Sasquatch Festival would even work out.” Nicole stated.

“Too bad we have to wait in these stupid lines.” I groaned. We moved slowly down the muddy trail closer to the entrance.

“Oh sweet, I can see the Wookie Stage!” Scott announced. I was jumping with excitement, trying to see it from his height.

“Who are we going to see first again?” I anxiously inquired.

“Big City Rock,” Katy answered.

“I looked them up on Myspace, and they’re not bad!” Scott expressed. We let the badged men look through our bags and collect our tickets. Random people were standing to one side, slapping guests’ wrists. What is that? I wondered to myself. I walked over to investigate.

“Ooh, oh my gosh!” They’re giving out ‘Tobacco Smokes You’ slap bracelets!” I burst out. I ran over and offered the woman my forearm and with a decisive clap it curled to my wrist.

“Okay, let’s head over to the Yeti stage” Someone decided. Maybe ten or so people were already there.

“Spot up front! Hurry, before more people come and someone else steals it!” Nicole screamed and took off in the lead. I grabbed the warm links of the metal fence about fifteen feet away from the famous band, wedged between Nicole and this short, thin girl that couldn’t stop moving her body or wagging her bobbly head. Big City Rock was welcomed on stage.

“Ooh, they’re pretty hot!” I shouted to Katy and Nicole, referring to the band members. They introduced themselves and started playing. I hadn’t really listened to them before today, but I danced along, as much as I could with the limited amount of space I could fit in. After the third repeat I had it down - “I am just a man, man in a city, city in state, state in a country, a country in a world, part of a system, drivin’ through the city, stereo is on. People going everywhere, people getting nowhere, with a will to carry on.” I connected with the musicians. A few songs later they sang “I Believe In You” and every few times the song mentioned “with you” The lead vocalist and guitarist, Nate Bott stared into my eyes, sang and pointed right to me! I jumped up and grinned back.

After they were done with their songs, we didn’t stick around. We all ran off, trying to find their CD and exploring the T-shirt store. We had some down time, evaluated and decided who wanted to see who. Brad and Emily were going to see Matisyahu, while Katy, Scott, Nicole and I would hang out at the Wookie Stage watching We Are Scientists, and then all meeting up at Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah. And then from there, hang out at the main stage for the rest of the bands, until midnight. Having some down time, we walked around, becoming familiar with the place.

We walked over to the mainstage getting in the lower area, evidently the mosh pit, arriving early for the Arctic Monkeys. While we were waiting, I had to the endure the unpleasant musical “talent” of Pretty Girls Make Graves that I was definitely not fond of. We inched our way to the front of the crowd, and then The Arctic Monkeys came on. The crowd went wild. After the second song, moshing was inevitable. I was bounced and knocked around, hair, clothes, limbs, shoes tangling and colliding with strangers that were in my personal space. Someone’s elbow tried to jab through my brain, and the back of someone’s head hit me square in the eye. But I didn’t let that stop me. I immersed myself in the emotion of the moment, listening to the lyrics, jumping up and down, sweating from probably every pore. The sun beat down on our faces, making the moshing pit a sweat lodge. I clung to the back of Claire, we were separated from everyone else in our group. I had to keep my arms up, so I could pass along the next person that decided to crowd surf right above me.

I could go on and on for hours about this day. I could explain that Katy and I got seperated from the group for an hour or so, talk in detail about listening to Death Cab live, or that a few drunks interacted with us when we were separated from the guys. It was pretty intense, but it was one of the best days I have ever experienced throughout my life thus far. If I could relive any moment, it most definetly be would be attending Sasquatch Festival last year. But I’ve found one problem. I didn’t realize it that perfect day, but I found out not even a week after. Four words: Seeing Adam Brody live. He is the drummer for Big Japan, and Seth Cohen in The O.C.. But last spring, I hadn’t really heard about Big Japan. I didn’t know much about it, and I didn’t know he was in it. I knew he was the drummer in some band, but I never would have imagined that he was at the Gorge, in Washington, playing at Sasquatch Festival! Not only that, but he came on right after Big City Rock. I was in the front row. The closest anyone could get. If I wanted to, with the right velocity, I was so close I could have spit on the lead singer’s shoes.

I am a huge fan of Adam Brody, with he being such a talented actor and so easy on the eyes. And knowing that I would have been twenty-five feet from him, seeing him in the flesh, tears me inside out. If I could go back in time, I definetly would have stayed at the Yeti stage, soaking he and his music up, rather than pointlessly walking around. Now, that I’ve seen pictures online of other people at Sasquatch standing by him after his show, it kills me to know that that could have been me!