ISIS - Wavering Radiant Tour - Ft Thrones & Mamiffer - Seattle, June 20th 2009

by Jet C.
(Chilliwack, BC)

Arriving at last, the day I had awaited for almost 3 months had finally come.

Isis, an amazing "post-metal" band from Boston, Massachusetts, had just released their fifth full-length album "Wavering Radiant" and, lucky me, I had tickets to their Seattle show.

The thought of seeing my favorite band play live had been simmering on my mind since the moment I had seen the announcement of their tour, but it had not sunk in properly until about two hours before we left the house.

Things didn't go as swimmingly as I would have hoped, for my Dad was running late on account of his helicopterness, a name I coined for his job as a Helicopter pilot, and he was the one who was supposed to be driving me and my best friend Morgan to the show. After a few hours that seemed to feel more like days, he arrived straight from work and we headed off.

As we drove down the highway through Washington, I couldn't help but fear that it was too late, that I had missed my chance...

After several hours of driving down the busy freeway the green signs to the side of the road showed signs of promise as "Seattle" began to become a common sight in the white print, and at last, we had arrived.

In my most brisk, paced strides we stormed up the busy inner city streets of Seattle from the overpriced underground parking lot towards the venue.

Up, left, left, and there it stood..."NEUMOS" read the neon vertical lettering on the sign out front where many fans eagerly awaited the rest of their evening.

We entered through the small doors into a wall of sound and energy. We stood wide-eyed in awe of the stage and atmosphere projected by all. After a couple of minutes deliberating where to stand, out of the corner of my eye I saw a small group vacate from the stage front. I wasn't about to let the chance to stand front row at an Isis concert pass me by, so I grabbed Morgan's arm and lead her to the newly vacant spot where we would stand the entire night.

Isis had two bands joining them as support acts on the tour, the first being "Thrones" and the second, "Mamiffer".

Mamiffer were on as we entered, hence the wall of sound, followed soon by Thrones.
But we were all here for one reason, those two were just cherries on the Isis cake.

There was an electricity in the air that you could almost hear sizzle and crackle as they prepared to take the stage; we all knew we were about to witness something otherworldly...

For the next three hours, I was encapsulated by something that cannot completely be described in words. It wasn't a sound nor an emotion. It was the feeling of thousand of heated pins being pricked into my body out of pure ecstasy and adoration for their music.

It will never be forgotten, the night it was realized that I could die happy knowing I had witnessed my deities perform feet from my place at the front of the stage...

I would like to greatly thank My Dad for getting home in time to take us, Morgan for being there to share in the experience, and Isis for keeping great music alive.