Daylight

By: Emily Eade

Date: Fall Semester, 2020

I knew that this day was coming… the day that has been giving me so much anxiety. That day was October 17th, 2019. Let me tell you, that was one of the wildest nights of my life. Feeling so many emotions and did not know what exactly I was about to experience. That night I was so anxious I thought I was going to throw up. I had never felt this anxious before in my life, but this was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had no idea what to do at first, they just threw me to the wolves. I was inside the Agora Theatre and the main act was about to come onstage. I felt my heart start to race a mile per minute, my palms began to sweat and my hands were shaking more and more. The only thing going through my mind were the words “Don’t screw up” and “3200 ISO, 1/100 shutter speed, continuous shooting… Change the settings if you need to.”

By now, you may be wondering what exactly I’m talking about… I got an internship with the website Cleverock taking photos and writing concert reviews, my dream job. Well, guess what? This is the story about my first concert with Cleverock! I was absolutely terrified of messing up or not doing it well enough. I didn’t know what exactly to do or where to go, so I walked into the theatre confused and feeling hopeless. That is until I met a bouncer who helped me through my fears a little bit. I walked where I was directed, to the photo pit; right in front of everyone at the concert and right in front of the stage. I felt so happy at that moment, doing exactly what I wanted to do with my life. For a night, at that concert, I was a photojournalist.

The opening act was when it all kicked in. I was extremely happy and excited yet so incredibly anxious. I knew this band didn’t matter as much compared to the main act, so this was my practice run. The words “Don’t screw up” and “3200 ISO, 1/100 shutter speed, continuous shooting… Change the settings if you need to," were still going through my mind but faster and faster as time went on.

I raced to find the perfect spot in the pit to take photos and had to get all my settings just right. I had only the first three songs to take pictures of the opening act. So I had to do this right. The opening act, Beach Goons, walked out on stage. My nerves started to calm down a little bit but I was still very anxious… I ended up watching the other photographers around me and shadow and mimic their movements as I hoped for the best. I took as many photos as I possibly could with fear and uncertainty shooting through my body, not knowing how these photos truly came out. At the same time, I also had to make mental notes for the review I would have to write later. Before I knew it, my three songs were up. I swear they felt like the longest fifteen minutes of my life. I was that anxious! Then it was time for me to leave the photo pit and take in the rest of the opening act. It gave me a sense of relief because now one of the hard parts was over.

As the lights dimmed down, I knew the main act was coming on stage, Matt and Kim. I didn’t know what exactly was about to happen. All I knew was that it was a husband and wife and they were an electronic duo. My anxiety shot through my whole body once again as I was walking to the photo pit. This was the artist that mattered the most when it came to the photos I took. The audience behind me started to get very rowdy and I had fear come over me as one of the bouncers ran behind me and whispered “They like to mosh and crowd surf.” Since this was my first concert in the photo pit I was afraid that either I or my camera was going to get hurt by the crowd or someone in the crowd. I kept on whispering to myself “Don’t screw up. Don’t screw up.” Once again I mimicked what the photographers were doing around me. While at the same time, I’m trying to make more mental notes. The three songs went by so fast. Of course, I had to leave when I felt like I was starting to get a hang of it. I still had the anxiety and fear that the photos never came along.

The concert just kept on getting wilder and wilder as the night went on. Let’s just say I was shocked they were allowed to do this at an all-ages show. Although the music wasn’t my style I still let myself jam out to it. Even though the night was pretty much me being anxious about the photos I took and being able to write this review I still had such a fun time. I will never forget this concert. I will never forget Matt and Kim. I will never forget Beach Goons. I will never forget the events that went on that night. I will forever be thankful that I was able to do this, my dream, at such a young age. That night helped me for the next two concerts I went to and covered. I knew exactly what to do and made connections and made them the best times of my life.

THE END