This past July (forgive my awful memory; I forget the exact date), I attended an INSANE all-day concert, held in Baltimore's Ravens Stadium for the first time this year, called the HFStival. I'm not a huge festival goer, especially outdoors; I wasn't built to sit in the sun for prolonged periods of time. Especially in seats made of purple and black plastic. Despite this fact, when I heard the roster of performers— it included the Goo Goo Dolls, Orgy, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, all bands I now love— I had to go. My mother's friend got us all tickets and I braved the swealtering heat and the blazing sun (and the overcrowed trains) to get there.

I had seen silverchair open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers (the first concert I ever attended) shortly after the release of their first album, Frogstomp. I liked what I heard alright, and being a 13-year-old American girl, I liked what I saw even more. But they didn't impress me enough to buy the record, and I didn't have the cash to throw away on something I wouldn't like, so they drifted out of my consciousness as easily and quickly as they'd drifted in. After the release of Freak Show, particularly the "Abuse Me" single, I sat up and took notice once again, noting the maturity they showed from the last record. But I was broke and only mildly enthusiastic, so I passed once again.

After countless other acts, and hours in the sun, that now-post-teen Australian sensation that is silverchair took the stage. A friend of mine had been to a similar festival in Chicago at which they had performed, and had told me afterward how different they sounded. So I sat back, only half-listening to the older songs with which they started their set.

Looking at the huge screen at my end of the stadium, I noticed the addition of a keyboardist to the band's line-up. I vaguely remember Daniel Johns (lead singer) announcing that the next song they were going to play was from their new record. They then ripped into the song that sent chills down my spine and began my obsession with the band: "Emotion Sickness".

After that, I was hooked. I immediately went to the computer and looked up all sorts of fan sites, needing desperately to find that song. I borrowed money from my parents and bought Neon Ballroom within a week of the concert, and listened to it exclusively for several weeks after that. Eventually, my obsession died down and other albums were reintroduced to my CD player. But every time I listen to that album, I'm blown away but the sheer talent, musical and lyrical and otherwise, that Daniel Johns, who is solely credited for its concept and writing nearly all its songs, exhibits...

And the rest, as they say, is history.