That’s a long story I think!
I met one of my best friends when I started high school in 2007. She had been a big fan since 2003, and a few months before, she had been at one concert + M&G. So we knew she was really into it (and into Mike). She always wore LP t-shirts and only listen to their music. i don’t know if she really “showed” the songs to us, I can’t remember she did. But in April 2008 we went on a school trip, and we had to take the bus. I sat next to her and she showed me some of the “calm” songs from Minutes to Midnight. And I really liked them! She didn’t show me any of the songs from the two first albums, because I thought music like that wasn’t my style and I thought they were too “noisy” for me. In two years I just had those calm songs on my iPod, nothing special.
In July 2010, I and three of my best friends decided to go to the concert with LP in Denmark that October, because we knew how much it would mean to the LP fan. I was so excited to go, not just because it was a big concert with a big band, but also to be with my friends to travel to another country (not that far though, haha).
I didn’t listen to their music that much, I kinda forgot it and had a lot of things to do at school. We listened to A Thousand Suns when it came out September 14th, but I can’t say I was “really impressed” by it. In the first days of October, I finally got to listen to the two first albums. I had them both, since my friend gave them to me a while ago, but had never actually listened to them.
I sat down in my bed, had the songs in my ears, and the lyrics in my hands. I went through all the songs and I was so impressed!! It was like “where have I been all these years?” haha… I was so surprised that I actually liked their style in music. It was awesome. I decided to listen to the albums constantly the next few weeks before the concert. I worked 5 hours of a day in a week, alone, and the albums were on repeat. Then I probably would recognize the songs on the concert, and maybe I could sing along.
The concert weekend came, we flew to Denmark, took a train to Herning, spent the night in a cabin, ate at a fast food restaurant, and suddenly we were in the concert arena, after 3 1/2 months of waiting.
And it was a GREAT concert!! I could see all the happiness in my friend when they came on stage, she cried, and we all cried afterwards. I cried when they sang “Shadow of the Day”, because that was my favorite song of the songs she showed me on that bus in April 2008. It was so emotional to think about how great friends I had gotten after finishing junior high with no friends.
And after the concert, I just got stuck loving Linkin Park. I just had a really strong feeling about the concert that couldn’t get out of my mind. I wanted to know all about LP, watch every little video of them, especially the LPUTV episodes, but also the live shows, the “making of”-videos, everything. And I would only listen to LP for months after that. I was so lucky, too, because in January 2011 they announced that they were going to Norway, and me and my friend also decided to go to Germany to see them there, 10 days before the concert in Norway.
It wasn’t only about Linkin Park, but my friendship with my friend became really strong. I think it’s because she had been a fan since 2003, but nobody wasn’t really into it with her. Like, she couldn’t just talk about Linkin Park constantly with someone, because nobody cared as much as her. And all the sudden she had one to share it with. All those stupid, little jokes LP is showing in the LPUTV episodes, became ours stupid, little inside jokes. Two weeks after the concert, she was travelling all the way to London by herself, to attend the LPU Summit. She had contact with me all the time, though, through the phone. She sent me a message when she was going to the soccer cup, she told me they made teams after the colors of their shirts and how lucky she was since she changed her shirt before going there, she called me when they had sound check and at their concert, she sent the message: “I hugged Mike”, in all seriousness. And I was sitting at home, bragging about my friend to the chatters at Linkinpark.com. Haha!
And that is my experience. I’m now also “known” as “the one who loves Linkin Park” with the new friends I’ve gotten after the concerts. I was also really lucky to meet the band after being at LP Underground for under a week! And after 8 months being a fan.
