I believe one of the most memorable moments to come out of Benji's time at Sag Harbor is getting into the club, as it is one of his only moments that can be defined by, as the book uses it, a "caper that didn't go wrong." After listening to their songs in class, I can only imagine the joy Benji felt listening to UTFO as a lesser-known-by-the-grownups artist. I also like the outside perspective this narration brings, as entering is so unproblematic for Benji himself, but for the others in his group, that night could've been retold completely differently. This is especially true for NP, who had to later break up with his girlfriend because he left her out of the venue. Anyways, I mention a lot of different aspects of this one scene Benji describes, so I hope to expand in the next few paragraphs...
Coming from my own experience of successfully sneaking into places where I really ought to not be in, this moment for Benji is especially amazing. With his tendency to overthink, none of the million scenarios where this moment goes wrong in Benji's head actually happen. Instead, Benji enters without a second glance, to a place that others have been trying to get into the ENTIRE summer. As Benji categorizes it from D&D, "I thought, This is Good. No qualifier, chaotic or otherwise. Simply: Good." I love how I can pinpoint this moment to one of my own, getting into a rated R movie with friends while overthinking the whole time, with thoughts like, "What will happen if they find out? Will they kick me out? Will I get a refund?" All to just be given the all-clear when handing the person at the counter my ticket and joyfully trotting in to witness the gore of the most recent Scream movie.
Next, that feeling of knowing EVERY LYRIC from an artist that you know while being surrounded with plenty of people you don't is a mutual experience that I share with Benji. I can relate especially with the line, "The bass bounced my shirt on my chest." As Mr. Mitchell once said, everyone should experience a concert at some point in their lives, and I did. And it was AMAZING. I felt like Benji in that moment jumping up and down and dancing however I felt without a care in the world while rapping every single word the artist was. To this day I still brag to my friends about the different videos I captured, while you can hear my half-gone videos shouting the words in the background.
On a different note, I wonder what it was like for others that night. From the perspective of NP, would he be faking having an enjoyable time, but constantly be thinking about his girlfriend whom he left behind? Would he just not care and live in the moment? For Bobby, Devon, and Erica, I wonder what it felt like to drive home when they were so close to victory. This is something I think about often in my own life, wondering how others are thinking while in similar situations as me. Obviously, there is no way to ever truly know, but this is another thing that stood out to me in this chapter.
Overall, I think Benji and I have a lot more in common than what seems coming from a teen in '85 vs '26. It would be so fun to delve into our similarities if I ever read this book again!
Hello Lucas,
ReplyDeleteNice job noticing that you have a lot more in common that what it seems coming from a teen in '85 vs '26. Although I try to live in the moment, I also probably overthink situations a lot trying to be optimal. One thing I learned was that in some situations you just have to be good enough and Benji and you were sneaky enough to do what you want.
Hey Lucas! As a fellow concertian, I also really love that feeling of being at a concert for the first time, seeing an artist you happen to be really into in a place you're not really supposed to be. It's very invigorating and I love the way you describe it -- the feeling of adrenaline is very powerful. Other people might have felt differently, but I would imagine the feeling of being somewhere you're not supposed to be never completely goes away.
ReplyDeleteHi Lucas! I've never been to a concert but would love to go for the reasons you described. The feeling of sneaking into a place where only older people are allowed and belonging in a huge crowd seems important to Benji's coming of age experiences.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see NP as living in the moment at the UTFO show. He's gone the extra step that Benji is afraid of and actually walked up to the bar and successfully ordered wine coolers--and he got one for his boy! The girlfriend thing was never that serious, and NP seems to have little hesitation about ditching Bobby and the girls and taking advantage of his hookup.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the subtle shout-out to a very similar scene in _If I Ever Get Out of Here_, which is surely the classroom moment from LL2 that you're referring to. Remember Lewis is at HIS first-ever rock concert, and he's seeing Paul McCartney's new band Wings. He describes the sound system as "rewiring" him in a way that's quite similar to Whitehead's depiction of the bass being felt in Benji's bones. Its a truly magical thing, and I love the fact that the admitted "corniness" of this group he genuinely loved at the time doesn't detract from the memory one bit. I hope Benji and NP rapped along with the entirety of "Roxanne, Roxanne," sipping their wine coolers in between verses! Live music is all about being in the moment, for the artists as well as the audience.