I was fortunate enough to see Mike twice on the PT tour.
The first time was at Leeds Fest and I went with my sister. I was excited to take her because I'd bought tickets for us to see LP on the OML tour but because of the venue damage, it was cancelled and she never got to see them live. I got the LPU meet and greet and had the pleasure of meeting Mike before the show. He was super lovely and it was an amazing experience, but the best part was the show itself. Just being there and singing my heart out with my sister was euphoric. The speech about Chester that he gave was the only thing that I managed to film, but I was shaking because I was crying so hard. It was really overwhelming but cathartic.
Then, I got to see him this year at the London Roundhouse. Me and my sister camped out overnight in the rain but it was more than worth it because we got to the barrier. We were also with my best friend and it was an incredible bonding experience. We were all bawling when he played One More Light as it was so unexpected and emotional, but it genuinely felt like Chester was in the room with us. Mike's speech was about their performance of Rolling In The Deep and to treat your friends with kindness and love and it hit really close to home for me.
Overall, it was a deeply moving and healing experience and I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to see him. I met so many incredible new people and I know that I'm not alone in how I feel and I never will be again. Grief is a powerful and confounding thing, but these shows helped me deal with it more.