There was something in the air on the night of March 8th. A feeling, an energy emitted off the crowd which consisted of mostly males from their mid 20’s to early 50’s. An air of frustration, an attitude of the forgotten, and a need to vent and let loose was boiling under each and everyone’s skin. All they needed was the spark, the catalyst if you will, to ignite a flame that would stay with us for days to come.

The Filter backdrop suddenly dropped behind the drum set giving the crowd a reason to cheer. Out of the darkness, the band crept on stage and took their rightful place amongst our forgotten generation. We all felt the high voltage. We all smelled the sweet scent of release about to transpire. The catchy, heavy riff into to “Welcome to the Fold” burst into our awaiting ear-drums. The crowd was swollen with overdue anticipation, yet no pits, no crowd surfing.  I grew restless.

At about the sixth song, I’d had enough of the overly timid crowd. I was bursting with aggression and the need to bash and be bashed! What better song than to “Trip Like I do”? I asked the burly, belligerently drunk gentleman next to me to help me climb up so I could crowd surf. He asked no questions, gave me a sideways grin, downed the rest of his beer, and offered his webbed hands to my feet. I obliged and jumped as high and hard as I could onto the people in front of me. They barely caught me and my foot connected with something soft and angry. I landed on my feet and was pushed into another kind gentleman who attempted to truck me into oblivion. Ha! I was having none of that. Suddenly, the crowd formed a quick circle and the rampage begun!

It finally came to roaring fruition and it seemed to re-energize Filter as the music got louder! We all hung on every song, and vocalist Richard Patrick was a great host! As he promised me in our pre-show interview, (which can be viewed here) he did indeed crowd surf and even led us in a sing along to, “I’m not the Only One”. His presence was more than welcome amongst us. We would not be forgotten and we knew it then, as I know it now. Music is eternal, everlasting, and extremely healing, as this evening clearly demonstrated.

The band was outstanding & the crowd was respectfully brutal. As I made my way home on the train with a bloody nose from the bedlam that had transpired, I didn’t care about the stares from straphangers. I lived that night without a filter in my mind, so to speak.