American Tour 2024 [Chicago]
The guys came to pick me up at the hotel where I rested for the previous two days, as they were driving from Oakland to Chicago. Pacing myself remains an utmost necessity for me right now, especially after such a busy year. If my mental and emotional states are upbeat, I have to be extra careful to avoid straining my physical limits. I rarely have chest pains where my heart surgery scar is (sorry for being graphic here), but when I do, like I have the morning after our Oakland show. it means slow down. Well, it actually means stop, but since it’s only muscle soreness and therefore not dangerous, for me it means slow down. So I did, and it was a great decision to do so.
We arrived at the Lincoln Hall and were welcomed with so much caring generosity by the staff that it set the way to what we felt would be a special evening. It was also touching to witness the business music class given at the venue — always incredible to see passion shine from people’s eyes when it comes to music. It brings me back to our humble and totally nonsensical beginning we had when we started to get organized. As much as I think that it would have been helpful to do that kind of program, I believe we had to do it ourselves in order to define our own path instead of trying to adjust to a too well-traveled way of doing things. It would have saved us money and time, that’s for sure, but I don’t think we would have become that resilient and creative. We needed that equal part of great fun and greater pain to be where we are now.
The soundcheck went well. I haven’t been attacked by a guitar or any other armful objects, which was nice as it was part of Your Favorite Enemies’ karma for me to start tours with ether a massive black eye (thank to Sef’s guitar), a fractured jaw (thanks to Ben’s bass), a chipped tooth (thanks to the crowd mosh pit), cigarette burns (thanks to playing a black metal venue), a bite mark on a cheek (thanks to playing an emo gig in Berlin), cut open brow bones (thanks to a guy who jumped on stage to hug me — with his forehead), severely bruised ribs (thanks for someone trying to catch me with a bottle of beer in his hands while I was jumping from a second floor balcony into the crowd). Security was clearly not at the top of my list of concerns, but not dying is pretty high on that so-called list now! No need to say that not having to report any particular incident — or accident — is always a win at any given moment of a tour for me!
We arrived at the Lincoln Hall and were welcomed with so much caring generosity by the staff that it set the way to what we felt would be a special evening. It was also touching to witness the business music class given at the venue — always incredible to see passion shine from people’s eyes when it comes to music. It brings me back to our humble and totally nonsensical beginning we had when we started to get organized. As much as I think that it would have been helpful to do that kind of program, I believe we had to do it ourselves in order to define our own path instead of trying to adjust to a too well-traveled way of doing things. It would have saved us money and time, that’s for sure, but I don’t think we would have become that resilient and creative. We needed that equal part of great fun and greater pain to be where we are now.
The soundcheck went well. I haven’t been attacked by a guitar or any other armful objects, which was nice as it was part of Your Favorite Enemies’ karma for me to start tours with ether a massive black eye (thank to Sef’s guitar), a fractured jaw (thanks to Ben’s bass), a chipped tooth (thanks to the crowd mosh pit), cigarette burns (thanks to playing a black metal venue), a bite mark on a cheek (thanks to playing an emo gig in Berlin), cut open brow bones (thanks to a guy who jumped on stage to hug me — with his forehead), severely bruised ribs (thanks for someone trying to catch me with a bottle of beer in his hands while I was jumping from a second floor balcony into the crowd). Security was clearly not at the top of my list of concerns, but not dying is pretty high on that so-called list now! No need to say that not having to report any particular incident — or accident — is always a win at any given moment of a tour for me!
Show time came just as fast as every single moment leading us there. It was beautiful to see people’s smiles and excitements in the audience as we walked on stage. It’s little things like these that make every concert a significant and singular one. When you feel that people are disposed to connect and willing to share an experience, that’s when I know I’ll be able to let go into the music, to deeply dwell into the sound’s spirit, so I won’t have to worry about the otherwise high importance of having to invite and welcome the crowd to what I feel we’ll have the blessing to commune together. Tonight was special as I was also able to briefly notice just how emotionally receptive everyone was to the vibe the band was channeling, some having their eyes closed, expressing a peaceful and glowing smile, others screaming every chance they had, pumping fists in the air. I like that collective individuality, like a massive body of water made of countless waving streams. Again, it’s not entertainment, so when you’re part of that uplifting tide, it’s quite a transformative motion, and that’s exactly how it felt tonight: freedom.
We ended up the evening with rich and inspiring conversations with our new friends who stopped by our merch booth to extend the experience with us and to get to know each other better. It couldn’t have been more organic and spontaneous than that. Once we were all in the van heading to our hotel, even the rest of the band members, who, like every post-show, hand out AHF flyers to make sure we can stay in touch with the crowd, talked about just how happy people were to have discovered us and how they couldn’t wait for us to come back to Chicago for a full 2-3 hour set of 5, 6, or 7 songs! We all agree that it will be quite fantastic when we will indeed be back…
PS: One of the students I talked with after their lecture came to me after the show. “HOLY F***, I thought you were working at the venue until I saw you on stage totally killing it!!!!! I mean… F***, I can’t believe it! You guys are insane! How come you didn’t tell me you were THE band when we talked? You are phenomenal! And so nice!!!” I think he liked the concert… and our conversation together!
PS: One of the students I talked with after their lecture came to me after the show. “HOLY F***, I thought you were working at the venue until I saw you on stage totally killing it!!!!! I mean… F***, I can’t believe it! You guys are insane! How come you didn’t tell me you were THE band when we talked? You are phenomenal! And so nice!!!” I think he liked the concert… and our conversation together!
