Last night, I went to a concert in Esch-sur-Alzette, a town in between Differdange and Bettembourg. It was SO much fun, and not only did I get front row, I got to meet the band (see the adorable photo to the left). Of course you're about to get every. single. detail.
I arrived at the venue about three hours before doors opened because I wanted to get in the front row. I had made some study guides for my history midterms this week, so I brought those and got some studying done while I waited. I also met some girls from Scotland, Germany, and England who had all moved to Luxembourg within the past few years and go to the same school. They were behind me in line and we ended up talking for a large portion of the time. They really loved my accent (what???) and were asking me to explain Fahrenheit and our measuring system. They also thought it was really weird I had never been to California, but at least they had heard of Ohio, which actually surprised me since I've met a lot of European people who have absolutely no clue what Ohio is. At one point, myself and one of the other girls needed to go to the bathroom, so we headed up to the train station, which was connected to the venue, to find a bathroom. On our way across the bridge, we looked down and noticed The 1975's tour bus, and saw the lead singer, Matty (see above picture), outside. We shouted down to him and we waved to each other. The other girl asked if he would come out and do photos, to which he said he would come out afterwards. I yelled down that I was super excited for the show, and he said "Thanks, babe!" My insides pretty much just melted.
Once doors opened, we made a run for the front and got right up against the barrier in the front row. We ran into two other people I knew from MUDEC, so they came up with us. The opening band was someone we hadn't heard of before, called Tuys, but they were really good and got the crowd really fired up. After they finished their set, it only took about twenty minutes for The 1975 to get set up, and then BOOM, there they were.
I arrived at the venue about three hours before doors opened because I wanted to get in the front row. I had made some study guides for my history midterms this week, so I brought those and got some studying done while I waited. I also met some girls from Scotland, Germany, and England who had all moved to Luxembourg within the past few years and go to the same school. They were behind me in line and we ended up talking for a large portion of the time. They really loved my accent (what???) and were asking me to explain Fahrenheit and our measuring system. They also thought it was really weird I had never been to California, but at least they had heard of Ohio, which actually surprised me since I've met a lot of European people who have absolutely no clue what Ohio is. At one point, myself and one of the other girls needed to go to the bathroom, so we headed up to the train station, which was connected to the venue, to find a bathroom. On our way across the bridge, we looked down and noticed The 1975's tour bus, and saw the lead singer, Matty (see above picture), outside. We shouted down to him and we waved to each other. The other girl asked if he would come out and do photos, to which he said he would come out afterwards. I yelled down that I was super excited for the show, and he said "Thanks, babe!" My insides pretty much just melted.
Once doors opened, we made a run for the front and got right up against the barrier in the front row. We ran into two other people I knew from MUDEC, so they came up with us. The opening band was someone we hadn't heard of before, called Tuys, but they were really good and got the crowd really fired up. After they finished their set, it only took about twenty minutes for The 1975 to get set up, and then BOOM, there they were.
They only have one complete album and a few EPs, so they played most of their songs, which I was totally fine with. It was just so much fun to see one of my favorite bands perform, let alone perform in Europe! After the show, we headed out toward the back where the tour buses were, because Matty had told us he would come out. A fairly large group gathered outside of the gates after we had been there a few minutes, and there were two big groups of girls that were being really loud and obnoxious and singing, which is a HUGE no-no when it comes to meeting artists outside the venue. The louder you are, the less likely they are to come out. We tried explaining this to them, but they didn't care. Pretty soon, one of the band's security guards came over and said something to the two groups and then walked away. The girls looked really disappointed and we asked them what he said. They said the security guard said the band couldn't come out, so they left. We stayed of course, because 1.) Matty had said they would come out, 2.) they always come out after their shows, and 3.) the security guard only told that to the girls that were being loud. Our group and the ones next to us were being quiet, and he hadn't said anything to us. And sure enough, about half an hour later, Matty and another member of the band, George, came out and signed autographs and took pictures.
I got George to sign my ticket, and Matty signed my ticket and my phone. I wanted him to sign my phone case, but didn't want it to rub off, so I just went for the actual phone. I didn't get to talk to George a whole lot, but Matty was SO sweet and we had a full conversation. This is basically how it went:
I got George to sign my ticket, and Matty signed my ticket and my phone. I wanted him to sign my phone case, but didn't want it to rub off, so I just went for the actual phone. I didn't get to talk to George a whole lot, but Matty was SO sweet and we had a full conversation. This is basically how it went:
Me: I came all the way from the States for this!
Matty: Are you f - - - - - - with me?
Me: I mean, I am from the States, but I've been in Luxembourg for a couple months studying abroad.
Matty: Haha, that sounds about right. What state are you from?
Me: Ohio! I know you played there last year and I wanted to go, but I had to work.
Matty: Yeah, yeah, I've played in Ohio a couple of times. I really love it, it's a great place.
***at this point he gives me my phone and ticket back***
Me: So can we do one of those awkward hugs through the bars?
***there was a gate there, like a jail cell...he mentioned to one girl he felt like a prison guard :) ***
Matty: Of course, babe, of course. I'll take the picture for you, all right?
***he takes about 8 pictures because he's an angel***
Matty: I think I took enough that at least one will turn out!
Me: They'll be perfect! Thank you so much for everything, the show was amazing and I had so much fun.
Matty: Thanks so much, I'm glad you had fun. Hope to see you again at another one.
And then I literally had to spring to catch the 12:11am train or else I would be stranded at the train station for the entire night. My legs were already shaking and the running wasn't helping and I almost died from falling down the stairs while simultaneously having a heart attack because HOLY CRAP that just happened, but it was worth it. I finally got home and barely slept because I had so much adrenaline, and those three hours of sleep didn't exactly help me on that history midterm this morning, but I'm not complaining. Priorities.