Survival

Saturday, October 7, 2023

I almost died seeing Sleep Token live for the first time tonight… but it was worth it.

Finally. Today is finally here. The day that I have been counting down to since I bought the tickets. Day 3 of Aftershock and the day that Sleep Token takes the stage. Albeit, a MUCH small stage that they should be on, but still, a stage.

From the moment we got into the car, I told the boyfriend that my plan was to watch Avatar, then head over to the stage Sleep Token would be on later in the evening, and park myself there and wait. I think he thought I was joking… until I did just that. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was having none of it. I was determined to get as close to the rail as possible. I was, naturally, hoping for the rail, but it turned out that I was not the only one with the same idea. He decided to go back where “it would be safe”.

Now, I had been saying since I saw the schedule, that they are completely underestimated Sleep Token’s popularity, and putting them on the smaller third stage was a HUGE mistake. Considering that within an hour of my standing there, I couldn’t see where the crowd ended, I’d say I was right. In fact, all of my new “friends” all said the same thing. Only my love for, and desire to finally see Vessel live, and the addition of my meds, kept me from a full blown anxiety attack before the show even began.

The second the lights went down, it was pandemonium. The first couple songs, there was some jostling, but it wasn’t too bad… until they began Hypnosis. That’s when I was sure that Sleep Token was the last thing I was going to see before I died. The only saving grace was that I was in a pack of women, all surrounded by dudes trying as best they could to protect us all. Between making sure the small girl beside me didn’t get trampled (I literally pulled her up a couple times before she would’ve gone down), crowd surfers (this isn’t p.c., but there should really be a weight limit for crowd surfing), the rush of the bros with too much testosterone who only go to shows to act like Neanderthals, I felt like I was in war.

Sleep Token are amazing live. Vessel’s voice is just unreal, and even though they all wear masks, don’t speak, and go from one song into another, it was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. Not that I’m bias. The set went way too quickly. When it was over, several of us women hugged because we all survived. We were all bonded by battle. I was drenched in sweat (not all mine) and water thrown from idiots in the crowd. I LOOKED like I survived a war.

I enjoyed every second of it.