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Above all things, music has the ability to tap into our emotion and leave us raw. I remember all the sensations of leaving the Fillmore in Silver Spring after seeing my favorite musician. I had turned on my windshield wipers instead of my right turn signal and had to pull over to get my bearings straight. In that moment, I had to learn to drive all over again because everything felt too much.

The experience changes you.

It has been awhile since I've been to a concert. I feel the adult I am now, more aware of finances and any hour that I'm awake past 10:00. I think about my Shiba waiting at the door at the time I am supposed to be home, and the fact that I need to do laundry at some point over the next two days. It a rewarding but different lifestyle.

When Walk the Moon's Press Restart tour was announced and my friend texted me about going, I weighed the options: Friday night (not so bad!), show at 8:00 (ok, likely to end around 11:00), and also the start of the year (I should be able to take off by then and sleep in the day of).

Things are different now. I think of concerts in a less spontaneous way. I consider: does this make sense . But I've also missed the sensation of music pumping through me so fully. I missed the ghost of vibrating bass, the phantom flashing of stage lights when I close my eyes. I missed how it felt leaving - shaking because the music had stripped you raw, torn you apart, and stitched you back up again into something new and different.

So yes, of course I decided to go. And as excited as I was, a large part of me was also thinking: Man, I have to go into DC for this...

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We made it into the city via the Green Line and made it to The Wharf around 7:30, inside the venue and through security checks by 7:45.

This would be my fourth time seeing Walk the Moon, and both my friend and I agreed that we've had our share fighting to the front, and seeing them from as close as we could get in the mass crowd. Our plan was to linger by the back, and so this was our view:

Basically, all or nothing. You either make it the first few rows behind the bar or you meld with the crowd and see the head in front of you. At least from all the way in the back, we 1) didn't have neighbors elbowing us and 2) we were far away enough from the crowd that there was space in between heads to see what was going in.

I want to take moment too to give The Anthem a shout out, because it was a beautiful venue and is still new to The Wharf in DC. There's only been a couple of shows there so far, with more to come. It was easy to enter, and the inside was lovely with both standing room and some seating for those that purchased that type of ticket. It adds a wonderful option for those that can't endure the long hours on their feet, and I saw both young and old at a show which in another venue very likely may have felt less welcoming. Music is for everyone, so seeing a varied audience is one of my favorite things.

The food/drink/beer was a little on the pricey side, but no more than what you would expect for a concert hall, or for DC. I bought one beer at $9.00, only $.50 more than buying beer at Camden Yards. I figured one would be worth the price to loosen up. There was dancing to be had, and liquid confidence can go a long way for me.

While the concert was to promote What If Nothing, Walk the Moon's newest album, the tour show included a good number of favorites from their previous albums including, "Anna Sun", "Tightrope," "Aquaman," "Different Colors" and "Shut Up and Dance."

New songs included "Press Restart," "Headphones," "Tiger Teeth," "Kamikaze," and "One Foot," among others.

From the back, we also had a fun view of the light show happening within the venue. I said it's been awhile since I've been to a concert; it's been longer since I've been to a concert with that kind of light show. Perhaps certain sets at Firefly 2015 would have be the last. Though blinding at parts as the lights scanned the audience, the stage lights were one of the coolest things about the show. Each song had a bit of a different tone and feel, and the lights pulsed in patterns and movements unique to each.

It was done very well. I've seen shows before where what was happening behind the band almost seemed to overpower the music itself. Here, everything felt enhanced, and the stage lights were a way to pull us into the moment.

This experience also was incredibly special for all involved because this was the beginning of a journey, as DC was the very first stop of their worldwide tour, ending in Glasgow, UK. For them a start to the tour, and for me a restart for the music within.

For more Walk the Moon, check out the SHOWS page

#music #concert #WALKTHEMOON #theAnthem