“If we mess up, we mess up in front of a good fifty people,” I previously said in Taking the Stage, the documentary which followed Aftershock as we prepared for our school’s recent talent show. I never imagined that our first gig would be in front of a whopping 500 students, friends, and adults. As we waited for our turn to perform in the practice room, Oliver received a text from his father in the audience that read: “The crowd is really loud so make sure to have your amps turned up.” I didn’t take this advice seriously until the curtains opened and the crowd roared.
Weeks before the concert, I watched videos of bands performing live on YouTube. Most of these videos were old and filmed at quiet suburban schools. The audiences in these videos respectfully watched and gave a timid applause at the end of the act. This was not the case for our gig. During the show, I recall glancing to my right and witnessing a mosh pit of a couple excited spectators. Initially, I didn’t think the audience would enjoy the music we played, but the crowd’s roar and enthusiasm said otherwise. Even though the audience wasn’t full of metalheads, they provided a wild vibe that made the show a thousand times more enjoyable. The video doesn’t do the crowd’s energy justice and next time, we’ll turn our amps louder.
The video below captures our entire performance of “Orion” by Metallica. (Headphones are recommended while watching the show.)
