It’s incredible how one song can have such a huge influence over one’s life. I saw one of my favourite bands growing up, Thrice, last night in Melbourne. What a mind-blowing show it was, well worth the wait and trip down from Cairns. Thrice came out strong with many of their hard-hitting classics peppered in amongst their more contemporary rock masterpieces. For me the most cathartic was The Artist in the Ambulance. As soon as I heard the opening palm-muted guitar riff and lyrics, “Late night, brakes lock, hear the tires squeal, I tore my shirt off to pay full homage to the immensely positive influence this song had on me during my darkest moments following from my near-death experience and miraculous awakening in Kuala Lumpur just over 10 years ago.
As I write this I realise it was a weird thing to do but it felt right in the moment, since my phoenix represents the gratitude I feel for being given a second chance at the gift of life, a full 10 years of it and counting, while the song represents my wanting to make the most of it, to live without regret and instead live the gratitude by giving back in some way.
And I hope, that I will never let you down
And I know, that this can be more than just
Flashing lights and sounds
I felt the power of Dustin’s voice coursing through the speakers and into every fibre of my being. I literally felt the sensation of ‘an angel lift[ing] me up’ into bliss. I sung every lyric at the top of my voice to the point of almost losing it. I felt completely connected to each and every note and word, rocking out in grateful (perhaps not so graceful) ecstasy. I could no longer hide the tears of joy and understanding by the final chorus. Thank you Dustin, Riley, Eddie and Teppei, I love you so much for giving birth to such a powerful song that has given me so much light during the bleakest of times. Much love brothers, much love.
