W&M at 9:30

I’m walking down a set of stairs into a dimly lit tunnel, slightly confused, with a ticket in my hand. I finally make it bottom of the staircase, when I feel someone grab my hand and pull me through shutting doors of a train right before they close for good.

Don’t worry folks, this is not the start of a suspense novel, but a slightly dramatized telling of my first experience riding the D.C. Metro, which happened to have been two Saturdays ago. Why would a suburban girl such as myself brave the “big city” with a few of her college friends for a day? It just so happens that one of W&M’s own got a 15 minute time slot at the famous 9:30 Club.

Located in the heart of our nation’s capital, Nightclub 9:30, which is also more commonly referred to as the 9:30 Club, has been a host for several A-list bands and artists, ranging from The Police to the Smashing Pumpkins and even John Mayer. Through a voting contest hosted on the 9:30 Club website, Vedet, a techno group composed of two rising sophomores, one of which being my friend Walex from the College, earned the third highest amount of fan votes. Therefore they were granted a coveted 12:35am timeslot at the legendary club.

Fighting the traffic on I95 North, riding the Metro, and even having a bit of time to gallivant around the city with my two accompanying friends was totally worth the sight of seeing Walex jam out on his electric guitar and then bust out some awesome glow-stick handling skills, all while being backed up by some sick techno beats provided by his band mate Michael. The stage was like home for the two of them, and even as there set came to a close, the standing-room crowd was chanting “Vedet, Vedet!”

It was just incredible to see two students about my age being given the opportunity of a lifetime, and just running with it.  While in the audience, I even heard the person next to me say, “Who are those kids? They are just so young!” Before I could even chime in, the person’s friend said, “Oh, I think the kid with the glow sticks [Walex] goes to William and Mary.” At those words, I looked at my friends beside me, and all our hearts soared with Tribe Pride.