hozier took me to church tonight

There is no way that I will be able to sleep until I blog about the concert I attended tonight. But I also keep getting distracted because I keep rewatching the videos and pictures I took. And my throat burns and I am 99% sure I will have no voice tomorrow morning. But totally worth it.

Dare I say that this was the best concert I have ever been to? I am scared to because is it possible for this man to have trumped Queen B?!

This truly was one of the most incredible musical moments of my life. I feel like I say that every time but this was so different than any other experience. I had to work hard and completely put myself out there and by the end of the night, I actually have a really great story to tell.

Hozier with Asgeir-
The Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA. February 14th 2015. Solo. So I was planning on going to Hozier for months. I had a brilliant plan to take Anna with me as a little homecoming present even though she had never heard of him.  I knew she would like him though. It was going to be perfect. We would go on Valentine's Day together and celebrate music rather than love.

As time went on and Anna came home, I realized that I had not paid my tithing in a couple months oops sorry so I sold the tickets to pay my tithing first and then I figured some would pop up on craigslist as they always do as time grew closer. Then Anna decides to let some boy come up to visit her over this weekend, dashing all of my plans.

Yes, I could have bought a ticket for somebody else to come with me but there is no one who I was willing to spend that much money on to come besides her.

Feeling bitter and annoyed, I decided that I was going anyway because nobody stops me when it comes to my favorite thing.

How ironic was it though that Anna and the boy were the ones to take me and drop me off at the show. I felt like I was a 15-year-old getting dropped off at the mall. It's about 7:10 or so when I pick up my ticket and then I start to panic as I watch the line to get in go back about 2 blocks. My heart sinks at the idea of having to go to the very back and stand awkwardly alone just to get a sucky seat like I had for Sam Smith. I had a very sad idea of what my night was going to look like.

I paced around the block, seeing if maybe there was a SINGLE familiar face but what would you know, not one. My heart sunk a little and I eventually slunk my way up to the very front and awkwardly stood at a distance by myself, simply not knowing what to do. I stood there for a solid 5 minutes before I decided to build up the courage to go up to the kids standing at the very front of the line.

Now this truly was one of the more awkward situations I have been in. I have never been more pitiful or desperate to be part of a group in all my life. I slowly approached and made contact with a "Hi okay so I know this is going to be so weird and so lame but I am at this show completely by myself with no friends so I was wondering if I could stand with you guys?"

This one girl gives me one of the meanest looks I have ever received in all my life. I'll just quote the conversation from here. MG stands for Mean Girl

MG:Well this is the front of the line.
Me: I know, I was just hoping to have someone to talk to.
MG: Okay that's fine.
Me: So where are you all from?
MG: Bothell (this is without looking me in the eyes and slowly turns around to whisper something to one of her friends)

I make a desperate attempt to see if they will let me actually stand with them and so I turn to another girl and ask her if she would be okay with me going in behind them. Another girl overhears and asks me if I am part of the squad now. I so pathetically reply with a "I want to be if that's okay!" I make up a story of how I just barely moved up here and don't have that many friends and my friend bailed on me super last minute with a date I KNOW I AM THE WORST HUMAN. Some of it was kinda true though! All of the people feel bad and they said I can hang with them. I am absolutely relieved but MG is not thrilled. These people had been waiting in line since 10:30 that morning!! I honestly felt so bad and I absolutely hated being that person. But I also was completely by myself and felt more bad for myself.

Suddenly the line is moving and it is game time. We all start to walk briskly to the entrance. I am in. I am in the front row, far left and eternally grateful. Here is a picture I took I took of the opening act. I definitely feel like I was much closer than how it looks here in the pic.

I have secured my spot. The girl I am standing next to is Krista who is still in high school. She is super nice and I talk to her and her best friend Deeyanna for the most of the night. MG is on the complete other side, front and center OKAY THERE YA HAPPY YA PUNK?? Seriously the girl needed to chill.

I always buy a shirt at every concert I go to. I always like to go before the show starts so I don't have to deal with the crowds later. So I go to purchase said shirt and then make my way back to my new friends and sweet spot. The guy takes a look at my ticket and tells me I can't go back in because my ticket is for the BALCONY!!! My heart dropped into my stomach in that very moment.

Now I will be honest, I was not proud of the girl that I was this night. I did not like manipulating strangers to give me a spot next to them on the front row. I did not like the behavior of the girl I became when this usher denied me access. I began to plead, whine and beg, trying to tell them my whole story, hoping they would have some pity. I explained that I was completely alone and that I had just barely made some friends who were saving me a spot and that the people had let me in earlier with all the hustle and bustle. The usher explained that they could not allow it and that I could go to the other entrances and see if they would let me in. So I did just that. And every one of them suddenly denied me. So I am about to start crying. This would happen to me. I was such an idiot for getting a shirt. This was just my luck, that I would end up not getting to see Hozier up in the flesh, it was too good to be true, for me to just be able to go have an amazing seat. I desperately look around, hoping someone will jump out and say they have a ticket I can use. I start walking around the place. I walk back to the entrance to try to see if they will exchange it at the box office only to see that there is no re-entry so really what am I expected to do??

I was then blessed by Heavenly Father for paying my tithing in full because I just so happened to hear a woman in the corner telling an usher that she had an orchestra ticket but needed a balcony ticket. So without hesitation, I approached her with crazy eyes, looking like I'm about to burst into tears, practically crying "I have a balcony ticket!!!". She cautiously takes the ticket from me, checks it out and then trades me and I immediately turn around and run back to finally be allowed back into my rightful spot. I've got my spot and my shirt and I am good to go. Here is a picture of me with my new friends who were the absolute sweetest and nicest and I am forever grateful that they let me crash their party. Below that is a picture of "THE SQUAD". MG is the last one you can see looking at the camera at the far end.

MAKING FRIENDS AT CONCERTS!

Asgeir was the opening act. He is this guy from Iceland who I thoroughly enjoyed. He reminded me of a more eerie chill Sigur Ros. I bopped my head along for his set. He ended with an INCREDIBLE cover of "Heart-Shaped Box" by Nirvana. One of the best covers I've ever heard of any song. And what better place to play it then in Nirvana's hometown of Seattle?? The crowd went absolutely nuts over it. Here is a video of the cover. Gives me chills.

Then. There was Hozier. He gets on about 9:30. even though the show started at 8:30. I knew it was going to be a later night. The crowd goes ballistic. I don't know if I have felt that much energy from a crowd in a long time. He opened with "Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene", which is one of my favorites...ugh they are all my favorites. From the first strum of his guitar, you could tell that this guy knew what he was doing and that he absolutely loved what he was doing. I feel like he was smiling at himself the entire time. And him and I definitely made eye contact once, MAYBE twice. But for sure at least once.

My favorite moments from the show was when he performed "Angel of Small Death", "Jackie and Wilson" (I am so seriously considering naming my children Jackie and Wilson now), "From Eden" and "In A Week". The bass was so loud. I could feel it in my chest and that is one of my favorite feelings in the world.

Basically everything he did was perfect. Seriously. Every word and note that came out of his mouth was honey. He was so cute and nice and I died over his accent. I really was not attracted to him at all but after tonight, I think so differently. I have never been a huge fan of the "mun" (man-bun) trend that is going around. But after seeing him, I am completely changed.

I was surprised that "Take Me To Church" was the last song that he sang in that set. I would have expected it to be his encore. But this was probably the most powerful part of the concert definitely. He then leaves and I have never heard a crowd cheer so loudly for an encore.

He comes back out and gives me the song I was waiting for, Cherry Wine. I couldn't believe that that was going to be his last song! So thank goodness it wasn't. Hozier then performed 3 more songs in addition to "Cherry Wine"!! That's 4 encore songs!! It was absolutely brilliant. I kind of loved that he did that. That's the way to do it! It thrilled me that he wasn't leaving just yet.

He did a cover of "Problem" by Ariana Grande which was fun and everyone danced to. And then he really ended the night with "Work Song".

Morals of the story:

1. It is possible to have an amazing time and to adventure by yourself because you might get opportunities you wouldn't have if you didn't step out of your box.
2. Everyone should go see Hozier live.
3. Being front row is the difference between an okay experience to an unforgettable one.
4. If you pay your tithing, God will bless you.

THANK YOU HOZIER.