Last Night - aka - Finch was Awesome

15 Nov 2005

It's the second act of a three act show. The crowd is restless after a 30 minute break to setup the stage between bands. The lights go down and the crowd goes silent for a moment before breaking out into shouts.

The lights flash on. The band is standing there. Nonchalant and ready to rock. They start into their first song. It's fast and it's good. The lead bass tears off his hoodie and throws it to the crowd. The hoodie flies up into the air, again, again, soon more from the crowd join it. The place becomes a wave of humanity and airborne clothing.

The lights pulse to a random rythm. Purple of Heaven. Red of blood. Orange of Hell. Green of ocean. Blue of sky. White of wonder. Then strobe lights pepper the crowd. A white so bright it blisters like the sun without clouds.

Somewhere into the third song bodies start floating on a sea of unknown hands. Shoes are falling off and being thrown across the crowd. People are heaving and flying.

Bounce… Bounce… Bounce… Bounce. Bounce. Bruise!

The show is electric. It's oppressive with it's energy. The angry crooner shouts and screams and then treats everyone to the sounds of a beautiful voice, and then shouts and screams some more.

Everyone is into it.

It's so good it's unbearable. You just want to lose control in the crowd. Flail your arms. Shake your head. Move your body with the moment.

Live music isn't about the band or the song. It's about the people. The crowd. The freedom of the mob.

Move. Shake. Jump. Dance. Sing. Scream. Be a part of it. Live that moment. Celebrate the music. Celebrate life.

There it is. The second to last song. It's the song everyone came to hear. It's the song that the whole crowd knows. It spills over everyone. They pause and soak it in. More than hearing it they feel it. It is experienced as it never could be before. This is the time when songs take you over.

It's the last song. The crowd is heaving left and right. The music of the band is hovering somewhere just above the constant roar of the crowd. This is a great moment. This is what it is all about. The euphoria.

The musicians bounce around the stage like wild men from a tribal culture. Arms swinging. Bodies jumping. Hammering down on instruments with perfect timing. Up. Down. They are everywhere. They are working the only magic they know and they are lost in it all just like us.

The band bows. They thank the crowd, state their name, and fade away. The crowd slowly settles from it's audio high.