Experience of a lifetime
At close to 8:00 pm last night, Saathi, Ammu and I found ourselves at the Prudential Center in Newark for our first ever rock/metal concert. In a sea of milky faces, Saathi and I stood out. We saw a lot of cosplayers. Most people carried light sticks. Going in with little idea of what to expect, the two hour concert was a revelation. The venue was packed, the stage relatively small compared to the other concerts I have been to recently. We had pretzels and soda to see us through the evening. At 8:00 pm sharp, the stadium went dark and there was excited screaming each time there seemed to be movement behind the stage. Then, Ado arrived with a literal bang in a wire cage on the stage in a blaze of neon lights. She launched into Usseewa to the delight of the crowd. I watched as Ammu delighted in her favorite artist.
Each song was accompanied by incredible visuals. Reds, black, pinks, blues, greens, yellows all dominated. The screen and the lights synchronized in a hypnotic way. One song began with a single peacock feather and then exploded into a riot of colors. Yet another song was a barbie pink, squares on the screen that had anime like figures dancing. Half the time, I was not sure if I was hallucinating of if there were really people that high up on the screen.
A few songs were familiar as we had listened to the setlist on the way to the venue. Mostly, I watched transfixed as my entire being bathed in neon strobe lights and the pulsing of the rhythmic beats lulled me into a dream like state. I shielded my eyes occasionally. I plugged my ears to protect them and delighted in this quirky artist, who all of twenty two years of age had the audience transfixed.
The fact that she retains her anonymity is a draw. She sings and dances wraithlike within the confines of the cage. All we see are her accompanying artistes, the drummer, keyboardist, bass and guitar at the front of the stage silhouetted against the bright screen. They become one with the music swaying and merging into the whole.
The concert ended with the one song our entire family knew and loved, Shin Jidai. Ammu danced, I stood up with her to groove. As the last notes ebbed and the lights came on, I realized this was probably an experience I will carry with me for life. Never in my fifty years of living did I have attending a rock/metal concert in a language I find difficult to connect with on my bingo card.
The best part though, I probably will do it again.