<![CDATA[SAM HAMASHIMA

I saw Charli XCX take over Times Square and I lived to tell the tale.

It’s 6 in the evening. The sun already set. The curse of daylight savings time is upon us. I pick up my wooden spoon and stir the pot on the stove. It’s another night of cosplaying as a colonial woman making soup. But then, my boyfriend makes me come to the couch. “Hey, Babe. I think Charli XCX is going to do a surprise concert in Times Square.”

“Really?"

“Yes, really. Look at this.”

My boyfriend showed me an Instagram live from Times Square where something is ~definitely~ going on. I turn to him. “Grab the Y2K sunglasses. We need to go.”

Colonial Woman Cosplay off. 365 Party Girl on.

My boyfriend and I raced to the subway from our Harlem Apartment. The rumor was that the concert was at 6:30. We had a half hour to get there. Taking the A or the D from 125th to 42nd St. would only take about fifteen minutes unless someone pulled the emergency break, something caught on fire, or the cops started shooting people for evading the fare.

I check my watch as we emerge from the bowels of the subway system. It’s 6:32. We walk fast. Even faster than normal for gay people. And then, we hear the music.

As Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” echoed through the city’s epicenter, I dodged Elmos, Mickeys, and European Tourists. Cars were at a standstill. The Brats weren’t going to wait for a red light. The honking and yelling of the traffic enforcement agents became the background to Von Dutch. Which, I guess…felt very von dutch. We join the mob of brats, and then we see our queen.

The Time Square Billboards went Brat Green. Times Square became a 365 Emerald City. As “Apple” began, I was pushed from behind. “You’re blocking the walkway!” I could only grin. “Oh, sis. Go over an avenue if you want to avoid history.”

I’ll never forget running in front of cars with hundreds of other people to witness this event. This surprise concert I’ll think back to forever.

Once it ended, everyone chose their paths of least resistance to the MTA. Shoulder to shoulder with strangers, I smiled and whispered to my boyfriend. “Do you remember when Times Square was always like this?”

Did I mention this was only fifteen minutes?