Handsome Ghost – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, Eddie Byun of the indie band, Handsome Ghost, talks about his first concert ever. You can check out the feature, after the break.

It was 2004 and I was a quiet, mild-mannered nerd. My two best friends were dorks too. We got into pop punk and emo music and started hanging out with some really cool kids. They wore all black, went to shows where they moshed and had chain wallets… They were so MySpace cool.

It was the beginning of the school year and, like I said, I was a nerd. So when the MSCK (MySpace cool kids) invited me and my friends to go a show I said yes. Of course. So I put on my baggiest jeans, tie-dye shirt, and (probably) flip-flops and headed to the Palladium in Worcester MA for Skatefest.

We got dropped off in a red family Subaru and entered the venue. To young Ed, the Palladium held roughly ten million people. And they all constantly scream. It was dark and I was uncomfortable. I just wanted to quietly sing with The Early November. But the MSCK led us into the dark pit of sweaty men (who were all 100 feet tall) moshing to Norma Jean. Norma Jean is a metalcore band. Loud, distorted, screaming.

I immediately got punched in the face by a flying human. I turned to a MSCK and told him I got punched and he looked at me with a face somewhere between disappointment and condescension. He might have said something but it was lost behind cymbals and screams. I vowed to never go to a rock club again. Concerts are for big sweaty dummies. And I hated every one of them.

Of course, I did go to more shows. In fact, I had a triumphant return to the Palladium where I played in a battle of the bands. That’s the night I apologized into the mic for messing up because “I’m really nervous.” Rock and roll.

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