Outside Reading

A week and a half ago, I made my way to the Avicii concert, which took place inside the Bryce Jordan Center here at Penn State. Yes you might be thinking, well how was that art? This concert could not have been more of an artsfest then I thought it would be. Everywhere I looked was like a stream of bright colored lights sprouting from the center of the stage right in front of my eyes. The beats and the rhythm combined with the lights had an empowering quality over the audience, allowing them to fully feel the music. People in the stands on the sides were jumping up and down, shooting their hands up in the air, waving them all around. In the middle of the floor, as I looked up, all I could see were thousands of hands and faces with mouths wide open screaming to the music. It was as if my whole surroundings were going in slow motion around me, and all I could hear was the music, and nobody else- that is how loud the music was. This huge environment filled with entertainment was created by the students themselves. Looking around the Bryce Jordan Center, each seat was filled as well as every inch on the floor surrounding me. If this place was not as packed as it was, it definitely would not have been as fun as it was. As the saying goes, “The more, the merrier.” Each person there had some sort of creativity to bring to the table. This was shown through their outfits, as well as their actions. Most people were wearing neon colors with some white showing as well. Fanny packs, which were also neon colored, were used to hold their belongings, a long with neon accessories to top off their outfits. Sunglasses being worn inside the concert were very common among a lot of people, to make their outfits even more creative. Lastly, everyone’s dance moves mostly consisted of jumping up and down with hands in the air, going crazy. At these types of concerts, where house/techno music is being played, a lot of this tends to be common. I have never felt more at home though, with Avicii himself playing Penn State’s main song at football games, mixed with his music to perform his last song that night. The zombie nation song, “Ooooooh ooooh ohh ohh We are Penn State” played loud and clear in that arena, and I felt connected to every person there. I felt as if it brought us all together at that one moment. Avicii intertwined our school with his music for his last performance, which was very creative and artistic.