Now *this* is metal.
Tim Berry, a 27-year-old patient at Bruyère Health in Ottawa, Canada, recently wished to attend a metal concert after receiving some difficult news about his health, clinical chaplain Roshene Lawson tells TODAY.com. While he was too medically fragile to leave the facility, Lawson pulled some strings to make magic happen.
With the help of staff and some kind folks at a local venue, Lawson threw a real metal show at the hospital in July, featuring band The Scepter, a whole lot of headbanging and, of course, that metalhead spirit.
Berry was able to rock out safely.
“Our clinical manager had told me he had some tears coming down during the concert,” Lawson says of Berry. “I went to ask him after. I said, ‘Were you crying because it was so loud?’ … and he laughed and he said, ‘No, I’m really happy.’”
The Scepter played a 40-minute set for Berry, Lawson recounts. The band performed while fully decked out in their metal garb. They also set up their lights and blaring amps, along with some fans to blast their long locks, she says.
The Scepter’s Josh Collins explains that the band attempted to give Berry the most authentic experience they could.
“We wanted to give him a real show, not a watered down version because we were playing in a hospital,” he says. “It was emotional, for sure, but mostly we just felt privileged to be there and to play for him.”
Nurses painted Berry’s nails for the occasion and dressed him in a heavy metal shirt, Lawson adds. She even made tickets for the event, which patients used to attend the rock show.
“Everybody had to have their ticket to get in, and we tore the ticket, and they came in, and we had staff enjoying it with them,” Lawson says.
The chaplain explains that the idea for the concert came from a conversation she had with Berry after he was told about a change in his condition. She declined to disclose further medical details to protect Berry’s privacy.
“I went in and said to him, ‘Really, we can focus on this and how sad and frustrating it is, or we can focus on what you want to do with what’s left of life,’” Lawson recalls. “And he said, ‘I’d really, really like to go to a heavy metal concert.’”
Since Berry wasn’t cleared to leave the hospital, Lawson had to get creative. She called around and found Dominion Tavern, a spot that regularly hosts shows, and asked them for help. The business was more than happy to get on board, owner Scott McClinton says.
“I was in the unique position to be able to pull something like this off,” McClinton says. “I had most of the equipment, I know tons of bands and put on multiple shows weekly.”
It didn’t take long for McClinton to tap local band The Scepter for the performance, he says.
“They play straight-up epic, fun metal and always put on a great show,” McClinton says. “Plus I know a few of the members pretty well and they’re just really great, sweet dudes who I knew would say yes immediately – which was key as we didn’t have much time to organize all this.”
One of the trickiest aspects of the planning process, Lawson says, was finding the right spot to host such a raucous bash.
“It’s not quiet music, and we have other patients for whom that might not be their genre of music, so we had to find a place where we could put a proper concert on, where he could really live it as a concert,” Lawson says.
A conference room ended up being the perfect venue. And after moving around some furniture and setting up the band’s equipment, the scene was transformed, Lawson says.
“And honestly, the nurses, the recreation therapists, the physio, the OT, the clinical manager — everybody worked together to make this a fun thing for him,” Lawson adds.
While heavy metal isn’t always associated with comfort and peace, Lawson explains that it’s critical to meet patients’ unique needs. It’s especially important in a medical environment where there isn’t a lot of room to scream and shout and let it all out when you need to, she says.
“You and I could go home to our place, and if we’re having a bad day, just scream into a pillow or cry out loud or do whatever we need to do,” Lawson explains. “That’s harder to do when you’re in care.”
Lawson said that having a moment to rock out is “so cathartic, when you can really let that noise wash over you and it’s not the buzzing of the machines or the ringing of the call bells or the sound of the suction machine. It is bona fide living.”
The experience wasn’t just a memorable one for Berry. It’s also been impactful for McClinton, Lawson and all those involved.
“Getting to see Tim’s smile and the reaction from the staff is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” McClinton says.
He adds that “if you get a chance to help make someone’s day better, just do it.”
“It’ll be great for them and could be unbelievably rewarding for you,” McClinton says.
The Scepter, whose members say they’ve felt moved by the concert as well, is also dedicating their next album to Berry.
“He brought us into something much bigger than we ever expected, and it feels right that he should be part of what comes next for us,” Collins says. “Dedicating the album to Tim is our way of recognizing him and what this experience has meant to the band.”
Rock on, Tim. Rock on.
