THREE HOURS OF SWEATY BACKS. That’s apparently what it takes to stand front row for Twenty One Pilots these days. It’s not surprising, considering how big they are — I don’t know many other bands that can tout that amount of sweaty-back-waiting-time — but it was still hell. However, despite swimming in a pool of hot epidermic armpit juice for entirely too long, it was totally worth it. Apologies for painting that picture so vividly, but I wanted you to know what these people endured to get the experience of the front row in a crowd of 60,000 festival goers. This is Firefly Music Festival 2017.

We had all struggled to get up close. We wanted the experience of a lifetime. We wanted to experience our favorite band up close and personal, unfettered by a million heads and signs and poles around which the people in the back were trying to look (like my grammar, mom?). This is exactly why I was so confounded when, as soon as Josh and Tyler walked out on stage, the beautiful sea of excited faces around me turned into an INFERNAL SEA OF STUPID PHONES…. and that’s the way it was for the entire. freakin. concert. It was as if everyone had coordinated beforehand — unbelievable.