Shut Your Eyes And Sing To Me

In 2006, I was very much in love with a boy from Scotland.

We met through some friends on an evening filled with debauchery right before New Year’s Eve 2005. We ended up having a whirlwind week together before he headed back to Glasgow. One of the nights that week he showed me the video for Run.

He later went on to say that I didn’t seem particularly impressed by the video or the band, but I think it was because I was more enamoured by his charm and Scottish accent. When we parted ways, he left me with a list of books I needed to read and cd’s I needed to listen to with Snow Patrol’s Final Straw at the very top of the list.

While I loved every song on that album, Run became a bit of an anthem for me and Snow Patrol entered into constant rotation. I was thrilled when they soon released Eyes Open and I got to see them live in Toronto sometime before my big EuroTrip (with an extra long stay in Glasgow). I got to see them twice during that tour which solidified them as one of my favourite bands.

Last night I got to attend their show at Massey Hall in support of their new album, Fallen Empires. This album has been my favourite since Eyes Open and I’ve been giddy for weeks in anticipation of the show. Mel and I have always gone to their shows together and it was so special to be there once again in the front row of the balcony, loving every second.

The set list was perfect, with a wonderful mix of old and new. I was so excited when I heard the intro to every song and sang along, harmonized and danced all the way through the show. I found myself getting choked up during Chocolate, which kind of threw me off. Yes, I’m emotional, but it’s one of the more upbeat songs and I thought it would come during Run? Maybe Chasing Cars? Even New York? Upbeat, but there’s a whole lot of history there.

Hearing that song live took me back to that place 6 years ago and all those incredible memories. This could be the very minute I’m aware I’m alive, all these places feel like home. So much has changed and I’ve grown a lot in 6 years, but that time really holds a special place in my heart. The Scottish boy came back to Toronto late that summer and we enjoyed another couple awesome weeks together. I poured my heart out to him at the end of it all, but being on two different continents for an undetermined length of time meant that it wasn’t going to work. It was sad when he went back home, but I picked up the pieces and kept moving forward.

A part of me sometimes wonders “what if…?” but I’m pretty confident that everything worked out the way it was supposed to. I have him to thank for the beginnings of my love affair with a fantastic band, a whole lot of fun in Toronto and in Glasgow and my appreciation of the word whilst.

So thankful to have attended such a brilliant show last night with one of my very best friends evoking awesome memories from a wonderful time in my life.