kylecrowe
MCS: That’s about a bakers dozen
For years Motion City Soundtrack has been one of my favorite bands. I saw them for the first time at the Metro in 2005. Since then I’ve seen them at least once every year. When I saw they would be playing in London over my spring break I started asking my friends who would also be in London if they wanted to go. To my surprise, many people were interested. Me and my four other roommates ordered our tickets weeks in advance. After finalizing their plans for break, my friends Leah and Bre wanted to go to the concert too, they show had sold out, but they were able to get tickets on eBay fairly easily and for a low price.
We were all in London by Wednesday, March 24th, with the concert that Friday. After vigorously touring the city for two days the night of the concert had finally came. I had this date circled on my calendar for weeks. Many of those weeks I thought I’d be attending the concert alone, and was still excited. However, going to the show with 6 of my new closest friends was too good to be true.
Looking back to my first MCS show it was hard enough to convince one of my friends to go, and that was when we were bored teenagers living in the suburbs looking for something new and exciting to do every night. Almost exactly five years later I was on the other side of the Atlantic, seeing the same band, however for the 12th time, and with 6 friends. I couldn’t get over this fact. I tried to express my excitement to my friends just prior to the show, but I couldn’t put my feelings into words. I am repeatedly mocked by my attempt to articulate just how special a night this was for me.
We ran into the venue just as the band was starting their set, with the crowd favorite “The Future Freaks Me Out.” Mixing in their usual combination of humor and awkwardness, Justin Pierre and co. played 16 more songs, a wide selection from all four albums. For the 12th time our of 12 they did not disappoint. For a band that preaches about friendship, partying having a good time, it was extremely sentimental for myself to be with my friends that night, partying and having a good time.
After the show we had the privilege of meeting the band at a bar for an after-party type event. With Justine Pierre staying in to rest his sore voice, I sought out the one band member I had not previously met, guitarist Joshua Cain. Once getting his attention I didn’t lose it for 15 minutes. We talked about their new album, and how it compared to their others, the history of the band and the past times I’ve seen them, Why I was in Europe and seeing this concert, how playing in Europe is different than at home, the switch to a major label, the music industry in general and its future, his favorite MCS album and song (couldn’t pick an album, chose “Last Night” as favorite song), living life on the road, and following your dreams. He ended our conversation with “fans like you are the reason we make music.” The night truly was special.
