Stand by Him | Sodo

𝑳𝑿𝑽𝑰 - 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆

「𝑶𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒂'𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒗」

As Kaisarion ended, it faded into Rats. Rats, during which Copia seemed to have a lot of energy. After Rats came Darkness at the Heart of my Love.

As soon as Sodo played the first notes of the song, the crowd screamed and cheered as a new song was added to the playlist... one that made a lot of fans cry, that's for sure!

In just the first minute of the song, I already felt like I was floating... not only because I finally heard my favorite song live but I was the one playing it! The song went on until the end of it neared, and I stood next to a mic stand on the left side of the stage, placed there for when I would sing back vocals.

« And all this time you knew... that I would put you through, the darkness at the heart of my love... for you! » Copia sang before the ghoulettes, including me, and Swiss started to sing our part.

« When the summer dies... severing the ties. I'm with you always... always. Paint a pair of eyes... let's watch as it dries. I'm with you always... always. » We sang as the crowd sang along too.

I could've sworn that I had goosebumps as everyone was singing that last part of the song together. It was truly beautiful.

Right after Darkness at the Heart of my Love, we played Spillways. Then Copia headed backstage to change outfits for Cirice as we played Devil Church, Sodo, Rain, Phantom, and I standing in the stairs of the platform where Mountain's drum set was. I glanced at Sodo a few times during Devil Church before the song faded into Cirice, and Rain went at the very front of the stage.

Eventually, Copia arrived on stage with his bat wings, and the crowd roared once again. It all went well until the part where Copia would usually cirice someone. He did cirice someone, but I decided to do my part too, reaching out a hand teasingly towards the crowd while still playing my riffs on the guitar. A few fans reached their hands out towards mine, but the distance between the stage and the barricade was too big for them to reach my hand.

After Cirice, it was Ghuleh/Zombie queen, which I had lots of fun playing. Then Ritual was the one we played... and oh, Phantom was showing off! He had gained the fans' love very fast! Ritual was just as fun to play... then it was Hunter's moon... and then Rain started Con Clavi Con Dio as Copia was changing outfits one again. Con Clavi Con Dio was followed by Watcher in the Sky.

At some point during Watcher in the Sky, as Sodo was doing an ear breaking sound with his guitar, which I liked to say sounded like an alarm, Phantom and Rain were on the opposite side of the stage, playing in sync before leaning back together. Iconic!

As Copia once again headed backstage to change his outfit for the upcoming song, I walked over to Sodo with a smile under my balaclava.

« I told you that you'd do amazing. » He said close to my ear so that I could hear him.

I chuckled and gave him a peck on the cheek, but it just ended up being my mouth covered with the balaclava pressing against his mask... yet that was somehow still enough to make the crowd cheer and freak out.

Soon enough, we played Year Zero, and by the end of that song, I believe that Sodo had taken the fire ghoul thing too seriously! He was standing unbelievably close to the fire, it was freaking me out.

It was a strange song combination, but after Year Zero, the softer song, He is, was played. Afterward, we played Jesus he knows me, one of the new songs from the new EP, Phantomime. Square Hammer followed before we finally got to Miasma.

As Copia was backstage, the ghouls who remained on stage were doing their own thing, ruling the concert. Aurora hopped off her stage as she played her tambourine, dancing along with Rain, Phantom tried to interact with Sodo again yet sadly failed, one of course, a dead Nihil was brought on stage and brought back to life! Absolutely nothing strange about playing guitar alongside a resurrected old man playing saxophone. As Nihil, who was actually Swiss under a different costume, fell back in the box, he was brought off the stage, and there was a tiny break before Mary on a cross.

It was clear that Mary on a cross was a fan favorite as the crowd was singing the lyrics pretty much louder than other songs. I did my own things across the stage, feeling more comfortable than during the first few songs. I interacted more with the other ghouls and sometimes with the crowd.

The finally... Mummy dust. This was THE song of every concert as I knew how crazy the fans went over this song when it was played during concerts. Papa's growls, Sodo's questionable gestures, Sodo, and sometimes even Rain reaching out towards the crowd, the Mummy dust bills, which fans always tried to take as much as possible to take home, and let's not forget Cirrus's amazing keytar solo.

As Sodo was going to reach out towards the crowd during that specific part of the song, I decided to do it as well. I followed him to the front of the stage and reached towards the crowd, tilting my head at the crowd and chuckling as several fans screamed and tried to touch my hand.

Then Cirrus's keytar solo came, and Sodo and I walked away from the front of the stage.

After Mummy dust, Respite on the Spitalfields was played... then there was a break before the encore, which started with Kiss the go-goat. During Kiss the go-goat, I walked to Sodo and stood next to him and waited for the part where a kissing sound was made before giving him a kiss at the same time. Okay... I had planned this for a little while, and Sodo seemed to know it.

With the end of the concert approaching, I was starting to get a little less energy with how much I wasted during the songs before. I decided to take it easy during Dance Macabre and not move too much. Then, finally, Monstrance clock...

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