Around this time last week I was arriving at Harrah’s Hotel and Casino’s venue, Stir Cove, with my favorite people, my best friends. One of my friends and I had planned the trip to see Edwards Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros ages ago for another one of our friend’s birthday. The sun shone brilliantly as we approached the space we would inherit as ours for the next several hours. While slipping off our shoes to feel the plush, green grass beneath us, we made the ground below ours and sat contently. Any avid concert goer knows the routine: get there, get a spot, plant yourself and happily anticipate the arrival of the band you came to see.  In the midst of this interim is where happy hearts feed upon anticipation, good company and in our case, the beautiful 70 degree weather accompanying the outside venue.

Finally getting the pleasure of experiencing a concert and the euphoric feeling that accompanies it, is nothing less than amazing. Even so, the interim of time before the main set is often underappreciated. For myself, this time is spent in the presence of friends laughing, joking or enjoying conversation. Most often than not people are hyped up off of the fact that they got to see one of their favorite artists. That’s great, but let’s face it, after a concert the post-concert depression inevitably sets in. The wonderful experience is done and gone. Giddiness and daydreaming about the event are in the past and you’re left with the bittersweet thought, “ It happened, it was amazing but I wish I could relive it.” This is all too familiar to me. But looking back, I see a common phenomenon of the irreplaceable memories I’ve made before the concert rather than during.

There is nothing that can compare to the moments in which you find yourself so deeply indulged in a song, chanting the words, flailing your body to the rhythms pouring into the crowd, shoulder to shoulder in a unified mass. Yet, there is a uniqueness about the time before a concert that fuels the energy in the air and the music junkie’s soul.