Mark My Words

This was my second year at the Download Festival. The biggest yet: 80,000 die-hard rock fans, 120+ bands, 4 stages, 3 days, 3 mates, 150 cans, 12 barbecues, 32 sausages, 8 kebabs, 8 hot dogs, 4 pork chops, 40 cheese slices, 2 tomato ketchup bottles and one ever-lasting memory. And all it took was one band, one song and one moment to make my whole weekend. It wasn’t Korn, Papa Roach or even the mighty Slipknot that did it for me. It was a little-known Danish rock band known as Volbeat. I’d heard these guys on Last.fm many times so I had to go see them. I wasn’t disappointed.

Half-way through their set after one of their songs “We” the singer told the crowd to part, which is usually a precursor to the wall of death. (This is where the two sides run into each other and rock out to the music.) However this time he stopped, took the microphone and announced that he was tired of all of the effing, the blinding, the hate and anger that had gone before them. He wanted to see a wall of love. He wanted to see the crowd join and give each other a hug, a high five, a handshake, a pat on the back. He said that music was a global, unifying language and no matter what religion, creed, sex, morals or values, we can all join in and enjoy the moment. It gave me perspective, y’know? Appreciation. For that moment the world got a little smaller. And then they played this:

So go on, give someone a hug, a wave, a high five, a smile. Let them know you are alive, human, because sometimes that’s all it takes to make someone’s day. It may even make yours, too.