For someone who listens to thousands of hours of music every year, one would think this wouldn’t be only my third concert. However, coming from a small town and being fans of artists that don’t tour often, here we are—concert number three.Â
I’ve been a fan of the alternative scene since middle school and this is how I found City Morgue. City Morgue is a group that was created by ZillKami and SosMula in 2017 after SosMula got out of jail. Their music would be described as Metal, rap, punk and rock. Some of their influences include Slipknot, Korn and a multitude of other artists. CITY MORGUE VOL 1: HELL OR HIGH WATER holds their breakthrough song, SHINNERS13, which was removed from YouTube three to four times because of its contents. This being said, City Morgue is not a part of the mainstream, but has found a special place within the alternative community.
When I found out they were coming to the NorVa on April 9th, 2024, I was thrilled but didn’t want to go alone, so I waited and waited for someone to agree to come with me. After a while, I remembered something my mom said: “If you want to do it, do it.” At that moment I bought the ticket for only $40 a few weeks before the show.Â
Around 3:00 PM the day of the concert, I began walking from my dorm to the NorVa because I wanted to soak in the outside before going into a crowded, smokey room for four hours. On the way there I listened to every City Morgue song I could find on Apple Music. The walk wasn’t as long as I expected, but by the time I reached my destination my phone was on its last leg and, me being me, I was without a charger. I went into one of those stores that sell phone cases to ask to charge my phone, and to my surprise, he said “Yes,” which I was more than ecstatic about. I milled around there for about 40 minutes before going to the roof of the parking garage to take pictures. Looking over the ledge, a pool of black figures stood in line around the NorVa. Later, I would post on my Instagram story with the caption “The emos are out and about”. After I got a few pictures in, I scurried down the steps only to find the line was around the block. To my luck, they were very organized and I got in 10 minutes before the show.Â
I was psyched with my spot five rows from the front and two rows from the mosh pit. The opener came on, but I wasn’t fully into it because I was there to see ZillaKami and SosMula, actually more Zilla than Sos, but I digress. During the intermission between the opener and City Morgue, the DJ came on and played an immaculate set. I felt transcended by the visuals and energy that encapsulated the room and transmitted from the DJ himself; one could tell he truly loved his craft. Then the room went dim, the instrumental of NECK BRACE began and the crowd started jumping and moshing in unison. Almost taking the lyrics “Break your F-ing neck” seriously. During the next song, SosMula instructs the crowd to “open it up.” This means for the crowd to make a circle in the middle for the mosh pit. When the beat dropped the chaos began. People flaring arms and legs, running, skipping, pushing one another, and colliding. Being so close to it I was tempted, but chickened out and instead continued to jump and headbang in place. After 5 or 6 songs the crowd got super quiet and everybody looked up to a guy standing on the railing above as the room reached peak tension he jumped and the next song blared from the speakers. Leaving the crowd to do only one thing, which was wreak havoc once more.
 After a few hours of standing and my long walk beforehand, my legs had gotten tired and the guy behind me noticed and offered me his spot on the wall. I was super grateful because I had stumbled into him a few times already. The last few songs I closed my eyes and immersed myself into the energy and allowed myself to float.Â
Being in spaces with good energy and around people with common interests makes me feel deeply connected to myself. It reminds me that I am not the only one out there and that no matter what nothing is better than being yourself.