The rain was pouring down in Seattle on the evening of October 18th, the first official famed Pacific Northwestern rain of the fall season. Outside of Chop Suey, dedicated fans braved the weather as they crowded together in a line. By the time the doors were opened, I was shivering to the core and soaked to the skin.
Despite the venue's intimate size and limited capacity, the music seemed distant; not so far as feeling like turned down tunes being listened to in a running car, but not much better. Even though this distance clung to the walls, I felt the crowd wrestle with it. It reminds me much of a firs date, where each person fights to break down the natural but awkward barrier to get to know them. In a larger venue I could see this as a possibility, where musicians almost battle to connect with the crowd, however, I have not experienced something like this to date in a small venue like Chop Suey.
As the crowd grew, however, this musician-to-fan barrier shattered when the lead singer of Emarosa joined his fans and interacted with them.
"Is that better now?" he smiled after jumping back onstage.
He was answered with a shout of approval.
"I was a little worried. At first it was f-ing awkward, but now I think we're ready."
Among a group of about fifty or so people, only after that point did the music change. But not only did it begin to feel more intimate, I felt as if I was jamming with a few close friends, or having live music played specifically for me while the barrier dissolved.
The first time I heard Emarosa was almost exactly a year ago. I had gone to El Corazon to see Being as an Ocean, a newfound favorite metal band. When Emarosa emerged onstage, they had set up burning incense and donned flannels and lumberjack beards. I had not known who they were but seeing such a stark difference visually with them compared to the heavy metal music I was expecting; they drew me in.
And when they played, I was so compelled to dance and try to sing along and considered myself a fan from that point on.
Seeing them this time, knowing the lyrics and feeling like I was hanging out with them as friends rather than simply attending a concert- it broke down the musician-to-fan pedestal in a way I've never experienced before.
I'm just going to put this out there: musicians are so easily put onto a pedestal, especially when they have become famous. As fans, we so easily find them relatable because music allows us to feel a connection and a release from the daily grind of life. Because of that, our favorite performers are brought up as a godlike figure because in some way they found a way to relate to us in ways people generally struggle to. Emarosa shattered this ideal and I felt more comfortable in my own skin while feeding that untamable concert-high.
