Dancing To Let's Dance To Joy Division

“Let's dance to joy division

And celebrate the irony

Everything is going wrong

But we're so happy!”

There is no zoom used on this I WAS ACTUALLY THAT CLOSE

The room smelled like sweat and alcohol, and I had a perfect window view between the shoulders of the two taller girls in front of me. I was three rows of people from the stage, two if the crowd danced right, and if I wanted to I could have reached out and touched it. The band—my favorite band—was playing old songs and new songs and my favorite songs in the world. I danced and shouted the lyrics and jumped around on a floor sticky with spilled beer. The friend who was with me had taken an 11 hour bus ride down from Ohio for this. This weekend and this show. These songs we’d song the lyrics to together for years. It was a good feeling being there. It felt so good that I couldn’t really believe it was real. 

I think I uttered the phrase “Is this really happening?” a couple dozen times. I’m still a little bit in shock.

The Wombats!

I’ve written a few times about my love for the Wombats, and their song Let’s Dance to Joy Division in particular. It’s been my anthem for half a decade; a song so wrapped up in the memories of senior year of high school late nights and junior year of college dance parties and gap year panic attacks. A song that weaves like a thread through so many of my friendships and fondest times. It means the world to me. And I got to shout the lyrics as the band played it live.

Post-concert subway station selfies

I’ve never been a person who is short on words. I pride myself on my eloquence, and I haven’t met a moment that I won’t try to spin in to a metaphor, but some things need to be experienced to be explained. Some things don’t make sense unless you live them. Unless you’re knee deep in the emotions of the moment and you know, you know, that this isn’t a moment that you’ll be able to explain in a weeks’ time.

I felt overjoyed. I felt alive and rambunctious and ecstatic and free. I felt so deliriously happy that it didn’t seem real. I’m still floating a little bit.

It was a great show. A great show and a great night. I’m lucky to have experienced it.