On November 21, 2015, I saw my favorite band for the fourth time. All Time Low headlined at the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia. My two best friends in the world were there with me, and we had the night of our lives.
I remember every detail like it happened yesterday.
The show was different than anything I have ever experienced before. Openers Neck Deep and Sleeping with Sirens respectively had amazing sets. I had never seen either of them live before, and only knew a hand full of songs by each band. That didn't effect the exciting vibe they gave off on stage, though.
Then, suddenly, there was a long, long delay.
A member of All Time Low’s crew came out and told us that the band would still be performing, but their set was delayed for a personal reason. He asked that we give them all of our love because they were going to need it when they got up on stage. Half an hour after that, people started to clear the venue.
Only about half of the crowd was left when the lights dimmed.
Satellites started, and I knew something was off. The key was wrong, Alex’s voice trembled and cracked through the first few lines. But the entire venue lost it anyway because that’s what you do when your favorite band comes out on stage. If they needed our love, we were going to give it to them.
The curtain dropped, and the mood shifted.
Never before have I felt so much love and admiration and excitement all in one room. It was something else. It was so different from any other All Time Low show I’ve ever been to. There was minimal banter and playfulness as opposed to their usual constant antics. The show was just about the music and a shared love for music.
It was about showing Alex, Rian, Jack and Zack that we appreciated them playing the show, even though we didn't know what had happened. It was seeing them hurting and giving them our hearts and souls the only way we knew how. It was screaming every single word to every single song, taking over for them when they needed or asked us to, clapping and cheering them on because they mean so much to us.
After the show ended, they announced on social media that Gavi had passed away.
They didn't have to play the show after receiving the bad news, but they did anyway. They didn't want to let us down. They were worried about us when they should have been focusing on taking care of themselves. I hope the show we gave them was enough to let them know they could never, ever let us down.
I still think about this night all the time.
I don’t think I’ll ever experience a show like that ever again. It made me appreciate All Time Low and how much they give us so much more than I ever thought I’d be able to. I mean, they're four boys I've never met before. But they mean the world to me.
I can't begin to imagine how they felt that night. My only hope is that we helped them that night as much as their music helps us through our tough times.
