safetysuit / 04.06.2012
so i saw safetysuit on friday night with my tumblr friend, avery. they played at the wolf den at mohegan sun, which i swore i would never go to again after my unfortunate experience there last time. but avery knows what's up and it turned out to be quite an incredible night.
first, i feel like i should just briefly mention the part where i drove there by myself and had to figure out how to park in a parking garage by myself and also find my way around in the casino by myself. did i mention that i was by myself and didn't have anyone with me to ask what to do? because i was BY MYSELF. but i put on my big girl pants and it all worked out rather nicely.
apparently, the key is to get there early, which for some reason didn't occur to us last time. but like i said, avery knows what's up and we got inside the den and then we sat and chatted while we waited for the show to start. we talked about different shows we've been to and what it feels like to be at a show where someone behind you tells you to sit down (seriously, why do people not know how to behave at a concert?).
after a few brief video clips of wolves running around on screen, safetysuit came out and we rushed up to the stage and stood directly in the middle (and also directly in front of a speaker) and i learned very quickly that avery wasn't kidding when she said safetysuit was the most high-energy band she's ever seen. i mean, in addition to singing and playing their instruments, they were rocking out. there was dancing and jumping up and down and stomping of the feet and hopping on one leg. it was crazy. and awesome. they really do put on a fantastic show. with LOTS of energy.
1. when they're not using the stage as their own personal dance floor, they're standing so close to the edge of the stage that you can literally smell them. i don't think i've ever seen a band do this before, but it's a genius idea. fans LOVE that kind of thing, especially because the closer they are, the better pictures we can get.
2. speaking of the pictures, they will sometimes make faces if they know you're taking their picture. fans also really love this kind of thing.
3. also, there was one point where doug (the lead singer) took a girl's iphone on stage with him and took pictures of each of the band members on her phone. and then he got down and took a picture with her before he gave it back to her. (apparently this kind of thing is pretty routine because avery was telling me he took a video with her phone once.)
4. doug also likes to sing directly to fans, sometimes inches from their faces. and he will hold their hands while doing it. sometimes, he will kiss the top of their hands as well. (do i even need to talk about how much the fans love that?)
5. the amount of passion you can see when you watch them sing and play and dance around is incredible. that was probably my favorite part. you can tell that these guys absolutely love what they do and they're all about having fun on stage and with their fans.
6. they stood behind their merch table after the show and signed autographs and took pictures and introduced themselves to all their fans. this is pretty standard, but still worth mentioning. safetysuit is a band that is definitely all about the fan interaction.
of course, there are many more memorable moments from the night, but you get the idea.