Airborne Toxic Event Show, And Other Schtuff

by Carmen Cruz


Last night, my friend KT & I checked out the Airborne Toxic event show at the Commodore.
Overall? It was AWESOME! I've been a huge fan of the band since their debut self titled album. Mikel Jollet (lead singer) was awesome (despite James Sutton insisting that he 'talk sings'. Ok, maybe it's true, but I still adore the group).

Besides running into some amazing people (Dale, Chris, Theresa, James, David) the night was a 10! Mikel Jollet and the band were SUPER into the show. The crowd was eating it up, and Mikel took to walking and singing in audience, not once, but a few times! After the encore, the band didn't want to leave the stage. I know I've been kinda hard on Vancouver concert crowds sometimes, but this crowd was A-W-E-S-O-M-E.















On a side note, I have a lot of respect for Mikel Jollet. I admire the fact that he's been very open about his struggle with Alopecia Areata and Vitiligo. Alopecia can cause you to lose your hair in patches and is usually triggered by stress. 

Vitiligo, on the other hand, is a skin depigmentation, where you develop white blotches. This can occur on any random part of your body, or it can cover your ENTIRE body and yes, they can grow and spread to new areas of your body. My mom suffers from a severe case of Vitiligo. It's always been a struggle for me to deal with people staring at her in a weird way, and sometimes even whispering. I've gotta be honest, I'm Latina, so I've told a few people off a few times (when I was young, of course) but as I grew older, my mother taught me to have patience and tolerance, and above all, to keep my cool.

I like the fact that someone like Mikel Jollet is open, honest and vocal about this incredibly rare skin disorder. So far, there is no real cure, but NO, it is NOT contagious. 

Next time you see someone with Vitiligo, walking along, please avoid staring and gawking. It not only hurts the person, but also, the people who love them.


Besos,

CC.