After a short wait of five months the evening finally came, Jamie and I were in our hotel room getting ready to leave to see the one and only, Sleep Token. I felt in shock the whole day, the day finally came and I wasn’t sure how to process it.
Sleep Token, a band that has been on repeat since January, a band that has consumed my thoughts, existence and friendships. And there I was, just hours from seeing them, opening night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A city for which if I had never seen “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” would have never crossed my mind. Yet there I was in the Holiday Inn in a neighborhood I came to learn was called “Gayborhood”. Thinking about what I would wear? How should I do my makeup? Well I didn’t wanna do anything too heavy on the eyes because I know I would cry a few times and sweat the rest off, and so I didn’t. Kept it basic with my black winged eyeliner but a little fun with some glitter on my cheeks (not on my eyes as I learned a night before at The Used that when you sweat the glitter on your eyes will drip down into your eyeball and it’s not fun). With my cute green mesh bra and favorite Harley Davidson tank top, I was ready for the show.
And here I am, stalling about writing about my full show experience, how do I put what I felt in words? How can I make you understand that Saturday night changed me. Being in their presence felt surreal, in a small room with simply 1,000 other people we were all there for one reason, all ready to worship.
And then the one hour merch line up ended, I got my shirts and we got right into the crowd. Making the obvious choice of being on the left side of the stage near the man I knew I wanted to be screamed at, the one and only III. The time was about 8:50 at this point, while getting merch took a long time, it helped it go by fast. We were standing in the crowd with this eerie music. I don’t know what I expected from their pre-show playlist but this was not it. With sounds bringing chills to my whole body and signaling to me that this will not be like any other show, this truly is a gathering to worship the entity of sleep, to worship and thank Vessel for his work and his gospel. And there we all were, Union Transfer sold out and packed to the brim with worshippers and we were ready. As 9 approached we started making bets on when they may actually come on stage. I thought 9.15, my friend said 9.05 but none of them mattered, we just wanted to pass the time. At 9:07 the lights dimmed and the music began, with the eerie chills of chokehold Vessel slowly made his way on to the stage and that was it. The moment I have been waiting for for five months was here and I was there, in its presence.
While I was very familiar with their live presence from TikTok, I was still so surprised. The way they move, act, perform was like nothing I have ever seen. They are so human yet, they are not. With III on our side guiding the crowd and yelling at us like a child having the time of his life and the seriousness of Vessel it felt like a dream yet so real. The sight of sweat dripping off of Vessel’s mask is a reminder of his humanity while his performance makes him feel god like. I was hypnotized by every moment, eyes never leaving the stage with the fear of missing something. Being the first night of the tour meant the anxiety of the unknown setlist, while we did have a good idea of what songs they would play, Ascensionism took us by surprise. The song we have all been waiting for, one of the greatest songs i have ever heard, a song that sweeps you through all the emotions and genres and here I was experiencing it LIVE for the first time. I don’t know what else I have to say about this song’s performance, it was perfect, in every way and no words I will say will bring it justice.
At the time of the show, whenever the band would leave the stage (which they do it a few times between every few songs for what i’m assuming is to have some water and touch up their black paint) the conversations between what we assumed was Vessel and Sleep were played for us. The adrenaline of the show made it a bit hard to understand exactly what was going on but the feeling was mesmerizing. The feeling of knowing Vessel wanted us to listen to his words, a man who does not speak with the crowd or do any interviews found his own way to communicate with us. And we listened. The crowd was silent trying to understand the distorted voice of the man we are meant to worship and the message he is trying to give us, trying to understand who Vessel was speaking to and what our role in it was. This truly felt liek a ritual to worship.
The show ended with The Offering, a song I was very much looking forward to knowing that just three words would make me lose my mind, “Take a bite”. Looking back at my videos and hearing me scream I know that it was worth every second of waiting, every dollar put towards it (which other than the flight wasn’t that expensive, the show itself cost me only 40$!!!!!). The things I felt during that hour and a half performance, the happiness, the pain, the tears, the sweat were things I haven’t felt in a while. The intense moment of it all together, being there with a band that I worship and a friend that I love meant the world to me.
And then just like that, they walked off stage and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” by Whitney Houston started playing and for a moment, I forgot that it meant the end. I kept dancing and I kept singing with my friend and the crowd, having the time of my life not realizing this ritual had come to an end. Trying to chant “one more song” to get the crowd going but being informed that they are done and our time has come to leave. Just like that, it ended. A night so deeply embedded in me that I had to sit and write it all down, a night that I feel I need to permanently commemorate on my skin. A night I will keep telling stories on for years to come, the night Sleep Token started their headline US tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and played a sold out show on a sold out tour at Union Transfer with the capacity of 1,200 people, and I was one of them.
