Story by Dom Vigil
Photos by Shannon Shumaker
I have attended Emo Nite every single time it has come to Denver and even once out of state, but none of the previous parties that I’ve been to could have prepared me for the emotional and unifying experience I had at The Marquis Theater on Tuesday night. This wasn’t just any ordinary Emo Nite – no, this time, the event happened to fall on election day. Whether or not that was on purpose, the fact of the matter was emotions were already running high before most people arrived at the venue, and as the night progressed, it promised to be one that many people will never forget.
I’m going to try not to make this super political, but it’s obviously hard not to mention it, and the results of the election weighed heavy on practically everyone in attendance that night. From friends of mine still proudly sporting their Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton shirts to others taking a moment to themselves to collect their thoughts, everyone processed things in different ways, but we were all in it together, and that was very apparent. At the last Emo Nite I attended, the sense of community, friendship and family was palpable, and this time around, it only increased tenfold. In a time when our nation has become terrifyingly divided, everyone came together at The Marquis to put their arms around friends and strangers to sing songs that mean the world to them and share a special moment together. And isn’t that what Emo Nite is all about?
Regardless of if we knew each other before stepping foot inside the venue or not, we became a family that night. All of us – the confident friends who jumped on stage to get the party going, those who spent their night talking at the bar, and even those who chose to remain toward the back of the venue, observing and quietly singing along with Dashboard Confessional or My Chemical Romance. Although some of the crowd did seem to disperse after the news of the election broke (and understandably so) the vast majority chose to embrace one another on stage, to celebrate friendship and music and love before going back to reality.
And I put emphasis on love, because despite all of the ugly things going on in the world right now, something beautiful happened that night. Toward the beginning of the evening, there was an emotional marriage proposal that took place on stage, followed by Death Cab For Cutie’s “Transatlanticism.” And in that moment, we were quickly reminded that love is what matters, over everything else. Loving one another – your friends, family and even acquaintances and strangers is what’s going to make America great. At Emo Nite, we already understand that.
By the end of the night, the majority of the crowd joined Morgan Freed and friends on stage to close out the night with the usual “Soco Amaretto Lime” by Brand New, but this time, it felt different, more unified. Friends and strangers embraced one another as they screamed the words, “You’re just jealous cause we’re young and in love” at one another and this time around, it really, really meant something.
“last night we turned off the tv’s, threw our arms around each, sang the songs we love, and most importantly loved and supported each other. what happened in that room last night was really really special and looking at these photos now is a reminder that no one can ever take this away from us.” – Emo Nite