Out of all the days of Hopscotch, Day Three was shaping up to be my personal favorite. As a huge emo fan, I couldn’t believe that I was about to see one of my favorite emo bands of all time, Sunny Day Real Estate.
Sunny Day, for those who aren’t in the know, is one of the 90’s premier midwest emo – post hardcore – indie rock acts, and they’re absolutely incredible. Records such as “Diary”, “The Rising Tide”, “LP2”, and my personal favorite, “How To Be Something On”, have been etched into my subconscious, an inevitable result of years and years of enjoyment.
I was ready to see this band I loved so dearly, fully prepared to be shouting the lyrics of every song you know and love dearly right at the faces of the band. As I walked down to Moore Square, only one thing soured me – the dour weather.
The grey skies loomed over the stage, and I was worried. Would the band I was so ecstatic to see delay, or even worse, cancel their set over this inclement weather? Luckily, as the band took the stage amid a slight drizzle, my fears were assuaged. Come rain or shine, they would play.
Eventually, the light drizzle developed into a full blown downpour, but I didn’t mind one bit. The band, to my surprise, chose not to open with a track from their most popular album, “Diary”, but instead chose to open with the opening track from “How To Be Something On”, which made me beyond overjoyed. The fact that raindrops were constantly obscuring my vision meant nothing to me, as I was in the throes of geeking out over the songs they played, like “48” and “Song About an Angel”.
The apex point for me, however, was in the middle of the set. The downpour was now almost like a monsoon, and every inch of my body was soaked. However, every part of me wasn’t focused on this, and was focused on the music. When the band announced that they were to play my favorite song of theirs, and one of my favorite emo songs of all time, “Guitar and Video Games”, I jumped up and down in pure joy. Nothing could take this moment away from me.
This year’s Hopscotch was my first large-scale outdoor concert experience, and I think it was probably one of the best experiences I could have had. Even though these types of concerts are exposed, and as such vulnerable to the elements, it really doesn’t matter at all when you get to see bands you love so much live. This was just one show out of a myriad of many, but it’s safe to say it was my favorite of the three days.
– Written By DJ Fives