Recently, as the school year (unfortunately) approaches, I’ve been thinking more and more about my future career. Obviously, I still have my heart set on voice acting, but after reading Not The Life It Seems: The True Lives Of My Chemical Romance by Tom Bryant, I’ve been thinking about music journalism and photojournalism.
When I brought this up to my dad last night while waiting for Finn Wolfhard (of Stranger Things fame) to take the stage at The Opera House, he suggested I write an article about the concert we were attending, so here we are!
Last night, July 24th, I stood in the audience with tears of joy watching one of my acting and music idols, the aforementioned Finn Wolfhard, perform on his Common Side Effects Tour celebrating the release of his new album Fire From The Hip.
Supporting Finn was Chicago indie folk band Sleeper’s Bell, who absolutely blew me away. The lead vocalist, Blaine Tepemma, had such infectious energy that got me hyped for the rest of the night. When I wasn’t staring in awe at Blaine, I was transfixed by guitarist Evan Green, completely astonished by his skill and concentration.
Finn was fantastic, his energy unmatched. The entire night he was bouncing around on stage and headbanging, all accompanied by the loud applause from the crowd. As someone with bad anxiety, seeing Finn, who has also been very open about his own struggles with anxiety, doing everything I want to do, was extremely special for me.
My dad, although not as much of a Finn fan as I am, told me that he had a great time, and especially appreciated the cover of Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels’” he played, as well as the beginning of “Ooh La La” by the Faces.
Although the music was fantastic, one of the most memorable parts was definitely the fans. The show had a sense of community that you can really only find at concerts. You’re all there for the same reason: to sing, dance, have fun, and support the artist you love.
I had amazing talks afterwards as a crowd waited to see if Finn would come out, and those conversations made the two hours go by like nothing. From talking about Stranger Things to bands like Weezer and The Smashing Pumpkins, everyone was so welcoming, which definitely made the night even better.
You can learn more about Finn Wolfhard and his new album Fire From The Hip here.
You can listen to Sleeper’s Bell’s album Clover here.