On May 13th, 2009 Chris Brightman passed away and countless people went into mourning. What ensued is something that most likely no one was expecting. Some of Chris’ favorite bands and closest friends joined together to put on a benefit show that would go to Chris’ family in order to pay them back for the cost of the funeral. Hit The Lights, Valencia and local bands Red Light Green Light and The Talk About came together at School Of Rock in South Hackensack, New Jersey on May 31st to perform an event that would truly be one to remember. The response to the show was incredible with countless other bands making appearances and popular clothing line, Glamour Kills, releasing a shirt specifically for the night. All bands and crew members performed for free and every ounce of money made that night went to the Brightman family.

Every second of the night was memorable and emotional. Through the duration of the show, a slideshow played on the back wall of pictures of Chris and his friends and family from when he was as young as ten years old to the time that he died, at the young age of twenty three. He wasn’t able to live out his life but because of these four bands, they made everything worth it for him. They made it their goal to make sure that he wouldn’t go unremembered and it’s certain that if he were still with us, he would not be more proud to have the friends he did. Chris, this is for you.

The show began with a moment of silence in which the first band performing, The Talk About – who Chris was also the tour manager of – saying a few words of how greatly he would be missed and how they wanted to dedicate their set to him. Coming from someone who has supported The Talk About since their very first performance and has attended almost all of their shows, it can easily be said that they played their best show to date. The energy in the venue, regardless of people who did not know the openers, was unbelievable and although there was a tone of sadness in every motion made by the attendants, there was no doubt that everyone was already enjoying themselves. The crowd seemed to have grown greatly by the time Red Light Green Light went on stage. They too said their word of remembrance and then played an energy packed set to a crowd of ecstatic fans. The energy in the room had become electrifying.

The lights dimmed even more right before Valencia was to go on stage. At this point, School Of Rock was so full that people were pressed against the back wall and making even the slightest movement was uncomfortable and caused a disturbance. At this point a ‘shhhhh’ passed through the crowd as Chris’ brother stepped on stage. He held the microphone in both hands and kept his head down as he spoke. He spoke of how much Chris meant to him, how devastated he was and how glad the family was at the outcome of the show. His voice was unstable as he walked off stage and the owner of School Of Rock said a few words. Chris had worked for School Of Rock for several years and had made many dear friends and people who felt like family. The owner stepped away and the clapping that ensued was deafening. A fog poured onto the stage and the five members of Valencia appeared. They opened with “Better Be Prepared” and there wasn’t a mouth in the venue that wasn’t singing along. The energy was beautiful until three songs later Shane appeared on stage with an acoustic guitar and said they were going to do something special. “We’ve never played this song live before but it seems appropriate. It’s called Carry On,” he said and began to play. The claps made by the crowd would fool you into believing they were playing in an arena. I hope and pray that your legs will somehow find the strength. The song could not have been more fitting and there were several people who were brought to tears. They follow with “Head In Hands” and it’s hard to forget the look on JD Perry’s face when he looks out into the crowd, sees all the people smiling and singing back to him and he can’t help but allow an enormous grin to spread across his face. Prior to beginning their last song, “The Space Between”, Shane stands atop one of the speakers and shouts “This is for Bmann” and right that moment you could see how much Chris really meant to these Pennsylvania natives.

School Of Rock was filled with murmurs as Hit the Lights set up to perform.  They all gathered on stage but did not begin to perform. Slowly, every band in the house that night, all of Chris’ family members and his close friends filed on stage and huddled together and the room went silent immediately. For the next thirty seconds, you could have heard a pin drop to the floor and then all of a sudden the huddle of people roared at the top of their lungs “One, Two, Three, BMANN!” and the last act of the night began. There was a sea of bouncing red hats similar to the one worn by front man, Nick Thomsen, and a wave of hands clapping along to their opener, “Stay Out”. As if there hadn’t been enough surprises for the night, Matt Watts, formerly of The Starting Line, played with Hit the Lights that night. Hit The Lights finished their set with “Body Bag” and as they walked off stage there was a demand for an encore by all five hundred and thirty people standing in the room. They quickly retook their places on stage and played their hit song “Drop the Girl” with smiles on their faces the whole time. Their faces told everything. They knew they had done a good thing, they knew everyone had a great time and they knew how much they were adored.

Review by Clarisse Hansard