GR!C: Day 6...Final Performance at The Metro!

Seeing your show on the marquee of a venue that’s hosted bands like The Ramones, Sonic Youth, Veruca Salt, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The White Stripes is pretty thrilling.  And seeing people line up around the block for it is unbelievable. 

Inside, we all converge on the balcony, chatting while waiting our turn for the sound check.  Everyone is nearly bursting; you occasionally hear shrieks of ‘I’m soooooooooooo NERVOUS!!’ but it’s always said with a smile, no one looks like they’re going to faint.  Some girls are dressed with a theme – Homecoming Riot are all wearing prom-like frocks, The Black Tie are wearing ties, save for one girl who has drawn a neck tie on a T-shirt. Whether they’re dressed up or down, everyone has laid out their rock finery.  Some match, some don’t.  The Maudlynns are definitely the latter; Ruadhan is wearing a Death Cab For Cutie shirt, Erica is wearing a cut up tee with shorts, Darnitrea has on a plaid tunic over jeans, and a funky new do just for the occasion.  I’m wearing a vintage-y black and white sundress and a pillbox hat with a veil.  “You look like you’re going to a funeral!” says Darnitrea.  I’ve unintentionally worn the perfect outfit for a band called The Maudlynns. 

Yesterday has been cast aside, the tension replaced by a strong sense of camaraderie and joyful expectancy.  When doors open at 3:00, the audience files in, and a cacophony of cheers and shouts rain down in greeting.  By 3:15, the lights have dimmed, the chatter amongst us has simmered to a hum, and the show begins.  Here’s the line-up: Interruptions, Cute But Deadly, Bear Crossing, Pink Slip, Pen vs. Paper, The Laceups, The Black Tie, The Hip Hop Girls, Circular Convention, Black Skittles, Mourning Glory, Rockin Sea Monkeys, DML, Hott Dynamite, Doh Re Mii, Leaking Battery (Xenia’s band!), The Maudlynns, The Ravens, Homecoming Riot, and The Wiggins.

 The founders of the GR!C are on stage too, balancing amp levels, untangling cables, adjusting mike stands and guitar straps, making themselves useful in any way they can, for they are not passive women.  Everything that happened this week they’ve had a hand in, from organizing snacks to organizing workshops, from setting up drum kits to setting up the show.  It’s amazing just how much they do, and gladly. But I guess that’s what happens when you pursue something you love; everything that’s involved becomes a joy, every aspect, every moment—worthwhile.

When Leaking Battery is up, Xenia asks her bandmates if they’re ready to rock, then gives the count off.  “Thoomp.  Thoomp thoomp, teeshhhhhh!  Thoomp.  Thoomp thoomp, teeshhhhhh!” sings the kit.  It’s so loud I can feel it in my chest, like a second heartbeat. She owns those drums – a girl who had hoped to blend into the background now thoroughly rocking out.  As my awesome sister leaves the stage, I give her a big hug, and my bandmates and I take our places.  I learn just before we start that it’s Erica’s birthday.  What a great way to turn 15!  Ruadhan introduces us, and the music begins.  Each one of us takes to the stage in their own way, me beaming to myself and dancing a bit, Darnitrea hitting her symbols with an assurance and playfulness I’ve never seen in her before, Ruadhan with just the right amount of lead singer swagger, Erica strumming with a relish that would suggest years of touring and gigs.  At one point Erica and I face each other, nodding our heads with satisfaction as if we have pulled off the most awesome solo in the world.  Then, barefoot, she jumps up onto the drum platform.  Ruadhan and I look at one another in astonishment, but then simply shake our heads and smile.

All through the show, there is much dancing, fist pumping, and screaming, at times it’s deafening.  The audience is unrestrained in their enthusiasm and appreciation.  They’re blown away, just like they are every year.  They go in expecting a novelty, a school recital with an adorable twist.  It is cute to see an eight year old behind a drum kit, or strumming a bass that is nearly as big as she is, but I don’t think anyone can anticipate just how inspiring it all is, or just how much it totally, truly, rocks.  I can’t really pick out a favorite band; there are some whose songs are tighter, whose members are more experienced musicians, but every single band plays their hearts out and their energy and sheer joy is unmatched.  The experience is unparalleled and indescribable, something you have to be a part of to fully understand. 

 So go check it out for yourself.  Form a band with your friends, or try writing some lyrics the next time you’re on the bus.  You don’t have to know how to play an instrument, or be an amazing writer, all you need are your own thoughts and feelings. Whatever you create will be invaluable to you and whomever else you share it with.  If there’s a camp in your town, join up.  And if there isn’t one, start one.