Anyone who has spoken with me for longer than five minutes knows that my two favorite bands are the 1975 and Bad Suns. May 5, 2014 was the first time I ever saw the former, and the first time I’d ever heard of the latter. 

I was immediately captivated by their stage presence, guitar riffs, upbeat choruses, and overall high spirits. I kept my eye out for Bad Suns, and had several months to cultivate my love for them before they returned to Michigan in November of that year. About 20 minutes after their performance, I made my way to their tour bus and awaited their reappearance. It was wonderful talking to a band that was so new to rockstardom. They were excited, I was excited. It was a day for the books.

I’ve met Bad Suns three times since then, but it really came full circle  when they headlined their second tour at the Shelter in Detroit. I waited outside the venue after the show, and each band member sauntered out to meet the fans that gathered together. I remember thinking that I had never seen lead singer Christo smile so wide. I told them stories of all the times I saw them perform. I recounted the time that I thought I had permanently lost feeling in my toes from queueing outside the venue in freezing temperatures.

I remember reflecting on what changed in the last two years, and what had stayed the same. Each band member was slightly less awkward. They had gotten enough practice meeting fans by this point. I stopped wearing my hair down at shows after realizing I would never conquer concert humidity. While on previous tours, Christo had asked fans to bring nail polish, this time he asked for glitter.

But a lot had stayed the same. Fans were still bringing trinkets as gifts, drummer, Miles, still made the exact same facial expression for every photo, and I still found myself looking forward to the next tour before even leaving the venue.