It’s kind of strange buying tickets for an artist from YouTube. It so happened that this was the first time I actually spent money to go see a concert that I wanted to go to. Other times, I either worked there, or was invited by friends who had prepaid tickets. It was a nerve wracking experience going on a school night to a concert that I paid for a month in advance. Not to mention that I had a quiz the next morning consisting of three chapters (yeah accounting sucks). Tonight, I had to turn off my brain and consume the music.
7:00pm
I waited for my friend to come but I knew she was going to be late, so I held onto my ticket and waited for the concert in my seat. It was a little strange being surrounded by a bunch of people you don’t know. However, it was quite to experience to be sitting at the Rio Theatre for a performer who’s always been seen on the small screen making amazing covers.
I tried to hold my seat for my friend, yet the manager was coming around and filling the empty seats. Apparently, they had a “no saving seats policy”. Of course, I got paired up with another guy that was alone, and except for the awkward “hey dude” there was no other conversation that came out of it. I was anxiously waiting for my friend to appear, while awkwardly trying to not be too close to the guy next to me, and not thinking about my quiz tomorrow all at once.
8:00pm
Underneath the whirlwind of thoughts clouding my mind, the opening act came on stage and played a few songs. He started off with a Ed Sheeran cover, which ended up clouding the originality in his voice as with the rest of his songs. His voice broke through at the end when he began playing his original in a more upbeat tone, which was sorely needed. You can immediately tell the crowd really wanted to see the feature act, which made the atmosphere both really awkward but chill.
9:00pm
During the intermission I began reflecting and waiting for my friend again. I was still feeling uncomfortable with the stranger beside me. I noticed an open seat behind me, and I really wanted to tell the guy to move. But then Daniela appeared on stage. She instantly began singing songs from her original EP while playing her guitar. She had both an electric and acoustic guitar on stage during her performance. Throughout the show, there was a hypnotic, chill vibe that struck everyone’s heart. This was Daniela’s first tour and first landing point in her North America and Asia tour, and her nervousness comforted the atmosphere and put everyone in a hypnotic, quiet, relaxed state. Her songs began giving me the goosebumps, and even though I was alone during the experience, I felt connected to everyone around me. I got out of my seat and felt that I needed to move around a little, so I ran to the front and got a nice close up experience.
10:30pm
Daniela tricked us by saying it was her last song. My friend still hadn’t shown up, so I had to text her, letting her know that the concert wasn’t over yet. Daniela did a combination of covers and originals, each sounding beautiful and pitch perfect. It was a strange feeling when I left the concert and was reflecting on the experience. I wasn’t used to not having anyone to talk about the concert with. Plus, nobody I knew was there with me. My friend finally showed up but it was too late, having to drive from her job in Langley to get there. We hung out at Mcdonalds and I showed her my pictures, videos, and my enjoyment from the concert.
What is my take from this experience?
Sometimes things don’t work out as we intended, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Do I recommend going to a concert by yourself? Maybe not, but depending on the energy and the vibe it can be some great alone time.
UX/UI Designer studying Digital Design and Development (D3) at the BCIT Burnaby Campus. Jarell’s interests are vast, such as running his own photography business, design, music, tech and writing. He loves to go on hikes whenever he can, or work as a background performer when the seasons right. He’s also into tv, movies, and video games, as well as being a Vice President of Internal Communications for BCIT eSports. Check out his portfolio: jarellalvarez.com