Last week made up my 3rd and 4th times seeing and meeting Bleachers/Jack. Both shows were utterly incredible and we were very fortunate to hear a new song at the first one. (Read through this stuff, I promise it gets more meaningful) After Mondayās show, Jack said that he wanted to snapchat with meā¦ And hence, āhey, Iām with Holly.ā If you saw the videos, youāll know that I sort of completely freaked out in them, lol. On Friday I had the opportunity to meet Jack again and this time I asked if we could do the same thing but on my snapchat - for some reason my snapchat wasnāt working and it wouldnāt let me login - so Jack just said ālets do it on mine.ā Insane, utterly insane. Partially posting that explanation because I wonder how many people saw those and just thought; āok, who the fuck is Holly?ā - well. Whatās up? Iām Holly! Itās somehow reached a point where the entire band seem to know me or of me (no joke, Evan said he recognised me from my āonline presenceāā¦ In hindsight this is probably a bad thing, but if I think about that too much Iāll probably drive myself mad) and I had lovely conversations with Jon, met Evan/Laura and also chatted to Shane - the first thing he said to me on Friday (Portugal) was āyou came all the way here for a show?!ā ā¦yep, yes I did. (Although, before I get judged ridiculously - itās a festival Iāve known about for a few years and we made a long weekend holiday of it). It means the world that Jack takes the time to say hi to fans after shows. After being in the crowd at just two in one week I am so physically and mentally drained, so the fact he (and many other touring musicians) is always willing to meet fans is inspiring and shows a level of kindness that Iām certain I could never match up to. I am so thankful to Jon, who not only made sure I got a setlist at both shows, but happily talks with me at every show about Steel Train reunions, my dumb Twitter accounts and many, many other things. Also, to Jack, for creating an album that is so endlessly comforting. Listening to it this morning, (while reflecting on last week) the best way I could describe it would be like a warm hug from a very old friend. The energy Jack and the entire band have onstage and the effort they put into making every single show so incredible is mind-blowing. I was quite reserved about Friday - it was at a Festival in Portugal - yet by the end of their set they had managed to totally fill a previously unenthusiastic and half empty tent, and that fills me with pride. Iām so glad to be supporting a band that has such genuine talent, and to be supporting Jack who puts all of his emotion, effort and personality into every piece of art that he creates. If you somehow come across this post and havenāt heard of Bleachers (or Steel Train) then please, please give them a chance. On one level Bleachers can (and does) enthuse an entire crowd to dance and sing, yet the deep emotion of it enables personal and moving connections that are best felt alone, whilst probably crying. I cannot recommend what Jack Antonoff does more. He is a truly wonderful, kind man who stands for what he believes in and writes about the things that genuinely matter to him, even if that means opening his emotions and innermost thoughts to the world. Jack - if youāre reading this. Thank you.
