PATD in Milwaukee on Nov 8th 2011. The day that will live in infamy. The day Mere met Brendon Urie.
So Mere quite happens to be the BIGGEST PANIC FAN OF ALL TIME.
She even managed to convert me into being a fan of theirs, and that took some doing. We've gone to three shows this year: Minneapolis in June, Madison in October, and Milwaukee in November (aka last night).
In any case, last night's show was freaking crazy. We got to the venue just as the doors opened and managed to get about 1/3 of the way to the barrier right in the middle. Mere wanted to get closer and we tried but we figured when the crowd started going nuts we'd be able to move forward more. We chatted briefly with the people next to us. Some of them were from Chicago and all of them were kind of weird. There was this one little chica who had a VIP pass (so she said) and wanted to get to the front. She said if we helped her get to the front she would take us with her backstage (or where ever her VIP pass let her go.) Mere and I didn't really believe her, but it also wasn't like we actually could get to the front at the time, so we just sort of smiled and nodded at her.
The first band was a local band from Milwaukee called Mechanical Kids. They were alright. They were very cognizant of the fact that they were NOT who we came to see so they didn't try too hard to make us like them, they just played their little hearts out.
Foxy Shazam apparently switched tours, which is why they weren't there. I liked Mechanical Kids more because they didn't try too hard to make us like them. Fitz and the Tantrum's in Madison got super pissed when they couldn't get the crowd worked up more. It made me not like them, despite the fact that their music was kind of interesting, so I'm glad Mechanical Kids didn't do that . I think I'm going to look MK up on iTunes.
Anyway, two other girls that were standing beside me complained for pretty much MK's entire set about how much they didn't care about these guys and what newbies they were and "god! how many songs are they going to play?" They actually asked me how many songs they were going to play (like I knew or something?), so I just told them that a set can last anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes (numbers I made up on the spot) and that to remember that these guys were vetted by Panic so they must have thought there was something good in their sound (another thing that probably may be true, but I totally made up). That shut them up for a while.
The crowd was freaking crazy. It surged forward and everyone got super tightly packed in. Mere and I got separated, but luckily I could still see her so we were ok. I ended up behind a super tall dude, who, out of all the people I could see at the time, was a.) the tallest person and b.) was the only guy. (of course he wasn't the only guy there, nor was he the tallest, probably. He was taller than me by a good head, however, and I'm 5'10).
Even though I was behind super tall guy I could see over his shoulder well enough and we were ok. We chatted for a bit about how sorry we were that we were inadvertently groping each other (along with everyone else in the pit) and he warned me that when Patrick came on that he was going to go nuts and I told him that was fine since I was probably going to do that as well. He was a nice guy. All the little (and I mean scarily tiny) girls around us were talking in loud meant-to-be-overheard voices about how nice it must be to be tall and how much it sucked for the shorter people who couldn't see and how rude some people are.
We looked at each other and just grinned and ignored them. Maybe it was mean, but I paid for a ticket and got in line and waited in the venue in the most tightly packed pit I've ever been in for over an hour before the music even started. Just because I'm tall or just because tall dude is tall shouldn't mean we have to give up the spaces that we were in to whiny teenage girls who have been pushing and shoving and almost made us fall over more than once. If you want to see, back up. The further you are from stage the less crowded it is and the better you'll be able to see. If you are wanting to get to the front, join the queue honey, it starts back there.
Patrick started and, as advertised, tall dude went CRAZY. I got elbowed in the face and the crowd went nuts and squeezed in tighter. I just went with it at that point. I'd been warned after all.
Patrick was amazing. I loved the EP he released and he played 4 or 5 songs from that, then he played 3 or 4 songs from Soul Punk (Which I also like!) Tall dude and I sang along to all the songs and had fun. Tall dude was also screaming for Patrick to take off his clothes. At one point Patrick got off stage and was on the floor (but behind the barrier) and Mere was close enough and she touched his shoulder. She said it was really sweaty and kind of gross. Mere isn't a big fan of Patrick's so IDK why she even tried to touch him but I thought it was kind of funny.
Then Patrick left the stage and the techs started setting up for Panic. The crowd was literally packed so tightly I couldn't breath. I started getting worried and freaked out. People were trying to get to the front and the crowd was swaying and I got knocked off my feet several times and the only reason I didn't fall to the ground was because there was no ground to fall to. Somehow a 13-ish looking year old boy ended up behind me and was so close to me his erection was touching my rear end. Someone else behind me put their thigh in between my legs and I freaked completely out and decided I needed to get out of there.
Panic actually started playing and I couldn't even enjoy it because I was so freaked out. I fought my way out of the pit (and I do mean fought) and got to the back and got something to drink and calmed down. I stayed in the back for the rest of the show and had a great time. There was room to dance. I could see. No one I didn't know was touching me. There was less energy in the back, but there was enough for my purposes, which was to sing along and shake my booty.
Here's the cool part. After the show I found Mere (which was not going to be a problem. Like she would leave the barrier area when the techs were throwing playlists etc into the crowd.) and we stumbled out to the car. We were parked right by the buses. We basically sat in the car for 20 minutes or so and decompressed and showed each other the pictures and vids we got on our phones and her camera (which gets the best audio). Suddenly we heard some cheering so we popped out of the car and checked on what was going on. It was just some of the techs bringing equipment out. Then we saw some girls (all dressed up) going up the ramp (we were right by it, but the crowd on the other side of the bus couldn't see it) . Mere started to follow and I told her I was going to stay by the car.
Now, Mere is a Northern Downpour member and she had won early entry (which she didn't get to use because there was a wreck on the highway that had traffic backed up for over an hour) so she had worn her lanyard with the ND laminant on it all day. She'd kind of forgotten that she had it on. She was also wearing a dark hoodie and jeans.
So Mere follows the giggly, dressed-up girls up the ramp and here comes venue security chasing them off. Apparently venue security guy thinks that Mere is with the bands because she has a laminant and she's dressed in tech clothing (dark clothes) so he lets her stay and even is complaining to her about those damn girls he's had to chase of here, and he's so sick of it.
So venue security guy leaves and Mere sort of finds a corner, hidden in the shadows (like a creeper! lol) and just waits to see if this is where Panic will come out.
I'm down at the car, having felt ok with Mere going up the ramp with a whole group of girls but now feeling rather worried that the girls had reappeared with NO MERE.
Now, Mere is 17 y'all, but I've known her since she was five. I baby sat her back in the day. When she was a kid the only way she would go to sleep-over camp is if I were her counselor. If anything would happen to both of her parents, I'm in the will to be her guardian and it's been like that since I turned 18 (she was 10). I treat her like an adult most days (she sort of turned out to be one of my best friends), but I can and will turn into a momma bear if the situation calls for it, because in my heart of hearts she's only 10-ish.
This situation sort of started calling for it. I was all like "where's my kid? Where the fuck is my kid?". I got out of the car, locked the doors and started towards the ramp. I've almost started up the ramp and here comes Zack (Panic's security guy) and Mere is behind him talking to Brendon Urie. I just stood at the bottom of the ramp, relieved, and let her have her moment.
Mere walked with them and talked to Brendon. Then she shook his hand and they said bye, he told her to keep warm and she said she would try, and then she came over by me.
When the crowd that was gathered by the bus noticed that Panic had come out they started swarming over and I grabbed Mere and we went to my car.
Apparently while fooling (inadvertent fooling) the venue security guy was a piece of cake, Zack was not so easily fooled and he caught her and was making her leave when Panic came out. She managed to maneuver over to by Brendon and since she wasn't being a crazy person, Zack let her and she got to talk to Brendon. She asked to shake his hand and she said he sort of seemed surprised but went with is. He was very sweet and nice to her.
You guys, if I don't ever meet Panic, my life (and heart. lol) will go on and nothing will really change, but Mere is a hardcore fan that wants nothing more than for Ryan to rejoin Panic and him and Brendon to get married and adopt babies and have her over all the time for cookouts. (or something like that. idk.) She got to meet and have the closest thing to one-on-one time with Brendon Urie that a fan probably ever gets. She was cool and collected and not crazy and her life, basically, has been made.
So that's the story of yesterday. The day Mere met Brendon.
She even managed to convert me into being a fan of theirs, and that took some doing. We've gone to three shows this year: Minneapolis in June, Madison in October, and Milwaukee in November (aka last night).
In any case, last night's show was freaking crazy. We got to the venue just as the doors opened and managed to get about 1/3 of the way to the barrier right in the middle. Mere wanted to get closer and we tried but we figured when the crowd started going nuts we'd be able to move forward more. We chatted briefly with the people next to us. Some of them were from Chicago and all of them were kind of weird. There was this one little chica who had a VIP pass (so she said) and wanted to get to the front. She said if we helped her get to the front she would take us with her backstage (or where ever her VIP pass let her go.) Mere and I didn't really believe her, but it also wasn't like we actually could get to the front at the time, so we just sort of smiled and nodded at her.
The first band was a local band from Milwaukee called Mechanical Kids. They were alright. They were very cognizant of the fact that they were NOT who we came to see so they didn't try too hard to make us like them, they just played their little hearts out.
Foxy Shazam apparently switched tours, which is why they weren't there. I liked Mechanical Kids more because they didn't try too hard to make us like them. Fitz and the Tantrum's in Madison got super pissed when they couldn't get the crowd worked up more. It made me not like them, despite the fact that their music was kind of interesting, so I'm glad Mechanical Kids didn't do that . I think I'm going to look MK up on iTunes.
Anyway, two other girls that were standing beside me complained for pretty much MK's entire set about how much they didn't care about these guys and what newbies they were and "god! how many songs are they going to play?" They actually asked me how many songs they were going to play (like I knew or something?), so I just told them that a set can last anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes (numbers I made up on the spot) and that to remember that these guys were vetted by Panic so they must have thought there was something good in their sound (another thing that probably may be true, but I totally made up). That shut them up for a while.
The crowd was freaking crazy. It surged forward and everyone got super tightly packed in. Mere and I got separated, but luckily I could still see her so we were ok. I ended up behind a super tall dude, who, out of all the people I could see at the time, was a.) the tallest person and b.) was the only guy. (of course he wasn't the only guy there, nor was he the tallest, probably. He was taller than me by a good head, however, and I'm 5'10).
Even though I was behind super tall guy I could see over his shoulder well enough and we were ok. We chatted for a bit about how sorry we were that we were inadvertently groping each other (along with everyone else in the pit) and he warned me that when Patrick came on that he was going to go nuts and I told him that was fine since I was probably going to do that as well. He was a nice guy. All the little (and I mean scarily tiny) girls around us were talking in loud meant-to-be-overheard voices about how nice it must be to be tall and how much it sucked for the shorter people who couldn't see and how rude some people are.
We looked at each other and just grinned and ignored them. Maybe it was mean, but I paid for a ticket and got in line and waited in the venue in the most tightly packed pit I've ever been in for over an hour before the music even started. Just because I'm tall or just because tall dude is tall shouldn't mean we have to give up the spaces that we were in to whiny teenage girls who have been pushing and shoving and almost made us fall over more than once. If you want to see, back up. The further you are from stage the less crowded it is and the better you'll be able to see. If you are wanting to get to the front, join the queue honey, it starts back there.
Patrick started and, as advertised, tall dude went CRAZY. I got elbowed in the face and the crowd went nuts and squeezed in tighter. I just went with it at that point. I'd been warned after all.
Patrick was amazing. I loved the EP he released and he played 4 or 5 songs from that, then he played 3 or 4 songs from Soul Punk (Which I also like!) Tall dude and I sang along to all the songs and had fun. Tall dude was also screaming for Patrick to take off his clothes. At one point Patrick got off stage and was on the floor (but behind the barrier) and Mere was close enough and she touched his shoulder. She said it was really sweaty and kind of gross. Mere isn't a big fan of Patrick's so IDK why she even tried to touch him but I thought it was kind of funny.
Then Patrick left the stage and the techs started setting up for Panic. The crowd was literally packed so tightly I couldn't breath. I started getting worried and freaked out. People were trying to get to the front and the crowd was swaying and I got knocked off my feet several times and the only reason I didn't fall to the ground was because there was no ground to fall to. Somehow a 13-ish looking year old boy ended up behind me and was so close to me his erection was touching my rear end. Someone else behind me put their thigh in between my legs and I freaked completely out and decided I needed to get out of there.
Panic actually started playing and I couldn't even enjoy it because I was so freaked out. I fought my way out of the pit (and I do mean fought) and got to the back and got something to drink and calmed down. I stayed in the back for the rest of the show and had a great time. There was room to dance. I could see. No one I didn't know was touching me. There was less energy in the back, but there was enough for my purposes, which was to sing along and shake my booty.
Here's the cool part. After the show I found Mere (which was not going to be a problem. Like she would leave the barrier area when the techs were throwing playlists etc into the crowd.) and we stumbled out to the car. We were parked right by the buses. We basically sat in the car for 20 minutes or so and decompressed and showed each other the pictures and vids we got on our phones and her camera (which gets the best audio). Suddenly we heard some cheering so we popped out of the car and checked on what was going on. It was just some of the techs bringing equipment out. Then we saw some girls (all dressed up) going up the ramp (we were right by it, but the crowd on the other side of the bus couldn't see it) . Mere started to follow and I told her I was going to stay by the car.
Now, Mere is a Northern Downpour member and she had won early entry (which she didn't get to use because there was a wreck on the highway that had traffic backed up for over an hour) so she had worn her lanyard with the ND laminant on it all day. She'd kind of forgotten that she had it on. She was also wearing a dark hoodie and jeans.
So Mere follows the giggly, dressed-up girls up the ramp and here comes venue security chasing them off. Apparently venue security guy thinks that Mere is with the bands because she has a laminant and she's dressed in tech clothing (dark clothes) so he lets her stay and even is complaining to her about those damn girls he's had to chase of here, and he's so sick of it.
So venue security guy leaves and Mere sort of finds a corner, hidden in the shadows (like a creeper! lol) and just waits to see if this is where Panic will come out.
I'm down at the car, having felt ok with Mere going up the ramp with a whole group of girls but now feeling rather worried that the girls had reappeared with NO MERE.
Now, Mere is 17 y'all, but I've known her since she was five. I baby sat her back in the day. When she was a kid the only way she would go to sleep-over camp is if I were her counselor. If anything would happen to both of her parents, I'm in the will to be her guardian and it's been like that since I turned 18 (she was 10). I treat her like an adult most days (she sort of turned out to be one of my best friends), but I can and will turn into a momma bear if the situation calls for it, because in my heart of hearts she's only 10-ish.
This situation sort of started calling for it. I was all like "where's my kid? Where the fuck is my kid?". I got out of the car, locked the doors and started towards the ramp. I've almost started up the ramp and here comes Zack (Panic's security guy) and Mere is behind him talking to Brendon Urie. I just stood at the bottom of the ramp, relieved, and let her have her moment.
Mere walked with them and talked to Brendon. Then she shook his hand and they said bye, he told her to keep warm and she said she would try, and then she came over by me.
When the crowd that was gathered by the bus noticed that Panic had come out they started swarming over and I grabbed Mere and we went to my car.
Apparently while fooling (inadvertent fooling) the venue security guy was a piece of cake, Zack was not so easily fooled and he caught her and was making her leave when Panic came out. She managed to maneuver over to by Brendon and since she wasn't being a crazy person, Zack let her and she got to talk to Brendon. She asked to shake his hand and she said he sort of seemed surprised but went with is. He was very sweet and nice to her.
You guys, if I don't ever meet Panic, my life (and heart. lol) will go on and nothing will really change, but Mere is a hardcore fan that wants nothing more than for Ryan to rejoin Panic and him and Brendon to get married and adopt babies and have her over all the time for cookouts. (or something like that. idk.) She got to meet and have the closest thing to one-on-one time with Brendon Urie that a fan probably ever gets. She was cool and collected and not crazy and her life, basically, has been made.
So that's the story of yesterday. The day Mere met Brendon.