𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙇𝙀𝙎 𝙄𝙈𝘼𝙂𝙄𝙉𝙀𝙎

𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 • 𝐦𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐲

era: 1965
name: lizzy

with the clapping and screaming of the crowd, i felt myself being pulled forward. it was my very first concert, and it was all supposed to be perfect. my best friend, sister and i would get to the venue by six, the concert would start at seven and we would be home by dusk.

funnily enough, that's not what happened at all.

"c'mon, lizzy!" i heard my sister screech as the boys hurtled themselves onto the stage. we just got back from the bathroom and we were on our way back to the stage when we heard them being introduced.

i flung myself into where i was supposed to be sitting, trying to hear over the shrieking. i heard one of the boys talk into the microphone only to be drowned out by more screaming. fed up with the jumping and yelling, i stood on my seat in order to see who was talking.

it was my favourite, paul. i didn't know i squealed in joy, but i did. it was only when i realized they were already singing that i began to watch their lips to see just what they were singing. 'help', it was.

i screamed along to the lyrics, shaking my blonde hair like george and paul did. they laughed as they played their instruments, probably having the times of their lives. i could barely hear them, but i caught the occasional note or guitar riff. after that song was over, everyone was on their chairs trying to catch the eyes of the famous men.
my friend, ken, tried yelling john's name, but it couldn't possibly have been heard over the incessant screaming and yelling.

after that song, they began a new one. probably the night before, but i didn't care. i only cared that i was there, experiencing it all. the excitement was overwhelming. adrenaline pumped through my veins. i was short of breath, so i stopped yelling to catch up. i smoothed my hair and shirt down, making sure i looked good. after all, we got the closest seats to the stage. i was in plain view of the guys. i didn't want to look like an idiot, especially not in front of my favourite, paul who was staring directly into the crowd, just above my head.

i thought about the plan we had for the night; my sister was obsessed with ringo. she even learned the drums because of him. she knew every single beatles song, just as i and ken did. she even tracked down where they were staying without telling me and booking the hotel in a months advance, just so we could stay in the same hotel as them.

i thought she was crazy, but i had to admit, i wanted to do it. i just didn't want to freak them out by being weird, crazy fans. they had enough of that, i'm sure. my sister was convinced she would meet ringo. i didn't want to argue with her and add gas to the fire.

long before anyone knew it, the beatles were bowing again. the second song was over followed by more screaming when george and paul shook their mop tops. i didn't know why i was screaming. honestly, i didn't know why any of us were. it was pointless. you couldn't hear the music or the voices, it hurt your ears, and the adults hated it. but, there was a strange satisfaction of being able to scream at the top of your lungs for as long as you wanted.

"LIZZY!" i heard. "PAUL LOOKED AT YOU!!" i laughed. i knew it wasn't true. for a moment, however, i felt like i saw his eyes drift past me.

*

after the exhausting, sweaty, loud mess of the amazing show, we knew we had to beat the crowd to the hotel. we hoped the hotel would allow us back in. one of our friends, sam, stayed in the hotel room so we had proof it was our room.