For those who might not be acquainted with them, this is a lyric from Flashlight, a song by one of my favourite bands, The Front Bottoms. Being able to go to their Brighton show was nothing short of a Tough Mudder kind of journey, to be honest.

As you know, I have started 2016 with my bank account at the bottom of an industrial sized bin and I ended up having to clean my hostel's kitchen and bathrooms as well as the building next door to make ends meet. I didn't think I would be able to go back to regular gigs like I did when I had money, so I decided to hold on to two things : Download Festival, my home away from home, and the main Brighton gig I wanted to go to, The Front Bottoms at the Concorde 2. When I found my job (job that I do not have anymore, for that matter), I decided to wait for my first payday to get myself a ticket as a reward, but then first payday got delayed because yours truly got her own sort code wrong, and as I walked past Resident, I saw on the gig list they have on the window that the gig was sold out. Obviously.

But this is me we're talking about. The girl who attended two very sold out State Champs show through finding tickets ten minutes before doors/after the first support band and exchanging them against overpriced O2 Academy beers. The girl who had no Manchester Orchestra ticket and then ended up with three, all of a sudden. I wasn't going to give up. Come on.

So I posted on all my social media accounts, probably annoyed every single one of my Facebook friends and Twitter followers in the process, and half an hour before doors, I found a ticket on the event page. The person told me they were going in at 7 sharp, so I ended up having to power walk to the Concorde 2, and at 6:47pm, yours truly had a ticket to see The Front Bottoms. Better late than never, huh?

Me and the Americans started two years ago, almost, at Hit the Deck Festival in Nottingham. (Little side message, I love Hit the Deck and I hope it comes back). I had bought a ticket to see Brand New for the first time and the rest of the line up ended up being a very lovely bonus. At about 6pm, as I was drunk on Jäger (when am I not?), my friends took me to the main stage to see The Front Bottoms. I had no idea who they were, I had never even heard the band's name before, I was thrown headfirst into unknown territory. Half a song or so later, I was hooked. The intense singalongs on Au Revoir (Adios) won me over big time. It didn't take me long to play Talon of the Hawk on repeat and to become a firm fan, and yet, I managed to miss the indie pop mob on tour more times that I can remember. When I heard about the Back on Top tour, I was determined not to let it happen again.

And I made it.

And I am the happiest I did.

Opening the evening was American singer/band Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band, who might have the best band name I have heard in a very, very long time. (Someone I know, though, referred to them as "Kevin Devine, he's great", and I am very confused now, do they qualify as a band or as a singer or something else WHY IS THIS SO CONFUSING). Their energetic, upbeat indie pop tinted with emo vibes is a perfect fit for the evening, and this goddamn band (all the puns intended) is doing a goddamn good job to start off the night. Their music is delightful and heartfelt, and so many things about them reminded me of The Xcerts - if you know how much I love the Scottish outfit, you'll easily guess how big a compliment it is for the Americans. If you're wondering why, it has something to do with the obvious passion. I like that. After, what, forty-five minutes of atrocious dad dancing and hopeless wishes I could magic the lyrics out of nowhere to take part in the singing along malarkey, I am won over and wouldn't have said no to a longer set. Come back to B-Town, will you?

The excitement in the room and on my part is so, so big it can almost be touched. Seeing The Front Bottoms is an accomplishment, it is my reward for scrubbing toilet bowls and brushing stairs and doing the dishes and breaking my back and feeling like my mouth tastes like detergent. It is a very important night for me, and I am nothing short of ecstatic as the bubbles start to fly around the room and the band's classic, giant "TFB" initials inflate at the back of the stage. Let me say this once again for the people at the back : they had bubble cannons. BUBBLE. CANNONS. The night before, I was marveling at fire, but if I had ever expected bubble cannons at a gig? Absolutely never.

One of my favourite things about The Front Bottoms live is how, despite having incredibly sad lyrics, the atmosphere at their shows is a celebratory one. Everyone is dancing, singing along with big smiles on their faces, and as I had thought I would shed a couple of tears like the emo trash can I am, I can't - I am far too happy to be there, singing along to my favourite songs, to think about doing something as trivial as crying. And that's your queen of emo speaking.

Setlist wise, there is not much I can complain about - purely because The Front Bottoms could play the phonebook backwards in Swedish and I'd still dig it. I'll just tell you that most of the songs were extracted from the band's latest record, the excellent Back on Top, released last year, and it was a pleasure to hear them live. I can tell you that a singing along session to the aforementioned Au Revoir (Adios), Skeleton or Swimming Pool was long overdue and I adored it. I can tell you that no conclusion could have been better than Twin Size Mattress and its iconic "Hey man I love you, but no fucking way" that you have to shout at the top of your lungs, even if, like me, your lungs are in a whole lot of pain.

On stage, the band is as delighted to be here as I am and at times, vocalist Brian Sella looks slightly overwhelmed by the crowd's reaction. It's okay, Brian. I would have been moved too. That was a beautiful crowd, communicative, welcoming and warm. That was, overall, a collection of beautiful moments, and if you want the truth, the whole truth and the disgusting truth, it was worth cleaning after people who still haven't realised that flushing toilets is a thing, it was worth getting up at stupid o'clock to empty stinky ashtrays, it was worth breaking my back brushing the dust of the stairs of a three storey building. It was worth the hard work.

Dear The Front Bottoms, thank you so, so much.