On the 30th of January, I got to see MEW, this time for real. My friend Celery was able to accompany me like last time.

The morning wasn't that noteworthy; I ate a hefty breakfast and got to the train so I could arrive in Helsinki around 3pm. Celery and I met at the station of the Tripla mall. We'd hang out for a few hours, waiting for the right time to leave for the venue. It was nothing that notable. We walked around, looked through stores with little shopping, and got smoothies so we could sit down and buy public transit tickets.


As we were waiting for our bus outside of the Tripla mall, we witnessed a man getting kicked out of said mall; he kept screaming death threats and various crazy things at the guards who were making their leave. The loud man then approached us and asked my smoking friend if they sold vapes. Sorry, we don't. He actually boarded the same bus as us; we joked that he must've come to see MEW with us.

We arrived at the venue after the door had opened; we thought it was appropriate to arrive "late" so we didn't have to wait for such a long time for the show to start. We got in without issues and were humbled by something we had completely forgotten. The merch table, and the line was horrifying.
We accepted our failure; we couldn't leave without merch, so we had to join the tail of the slithering snake, where we'd spend the rest of our waiting time.
After we got to buy our shirts, we only had about 15 minutes to spare. We found our seats without issues and waited for MEW to show up. I think for both of us it was the first concert of such a scale - not exactly a stadium show, but it was a large venue for sure.
MEW got up to the stage pretty much on time. Hi, MEW!!!! The show was fantastic; I enjoyed the concert visuals projected on the background; everything was great. I got to see a band I've been listening to for a while with my own two eyes, being in the same space I was. But instead of this experience being life-changing, it was mostly a confirmation; I don't think I'm built for concerts. I wasn't pumped on adrenaline; I didn't feel like crying, and I don't sing nor do I dance. It was like a fancy movie theater, I observe.

I must admit, I'm very hurt that I can't feel these experiences like everyone else. Why must I be so different? Well, there's only one of me.
Now the concert was over, and we were outside of the venue, waiting for the tram in the chilly winter weather. It was late, and we were both still running on our breakfasts. We returned to the Tripla Mall station and went straight for the closest Hesburger. There was a few-hour wait until we could board our night trains home.

It was a special trip, and I'm happy I got to be there with my best friend. Here's everything I got, including souvenirs from Celery from its Florida vacation: