I have arrived home from the AP Fall Ball pretty much intact! My stomach is reeeally unhappy with the no real food + two beers + a cigarette + a lot of jumping and sweating and singing thing, but other than that I'm content.
I got Meet & Greet with the Academy boys! Well, sorta -
angel726 bought our tickets and got M&G cause she's in Santi's Little Helpers, but I did not because I am not. We did not realize this in advance. Naomi, Chiz's lovely wife, was giving out the M&G wristbands and we explained our situations, and she said she'd see, so we stood around and looked sad until she gave me a wristband. Score! Second time I have totally mooched off a friend to get into M&G (last time was Panic, hee). Yay!
The boys were SO LOVELY. We talked to Carden first, who I must say is looking damn fine with his short locks. He gave us hugs hello because it was the first day of tour, haha. I told him I was going to grad school in Ann Arbor and he asked what school was there, and when I said UM he said "Wolverines, right?" and when I laughed and said yes he said "It's like a pop quiz!" Hee. Then we found Butcher wandering aorund without anyone to talk to (?!) and he was lovely and sweet and talked about how he spends his free time on tour (painting or not doing anything, generally) and how they were going to play 40 Steps with the full band for the first time (:D!).
Thennn we got ourselves a BILL BECKETT OMG. How is he real? HOW IS HE REAL? I don't really comprehend this beanpole of a person who leans down and gazes intently at you as you speak! He's sort of stoic and pleasant and a little odd and I adore him, sigh sigh sigh. He has the most ridiculous and ridiculously ADORABLE new haircut, please see photo behind the cut. We commented on it and he said something about it being like time travel, and we ran with it like it was back to the 50s or something, and he was like "But it's not like going back in time. It's going forward, to the future. This is what you're gonna see in a few decades." And I was just like lololol Billiam! <333 I mentioned that the first time I saw them play was with Cobras and FOB on the HCT, and that I had no idea who they were but after that they became the soundtrack of my summer, yadda yadda, and then I asked if they were going to tour again with Cobras! And he said, you know, we've toured with them a *lot*, and we kind of needed a break. So I said "Too much Gabe?" And he replied, "You can never have too much Gabe." HEEEEEE. (omgnotsosekritbandomOTPlskdjflskdjf) And then he went on to say that he's got an "itch" to tour with them again so THAT BETTER HAPPEN. Eeeee omg. &hisfaaace;
Then we found ourselves a Sisky, and he liked my shirt because "I like guns!" Oh Siskybiz! <3 His hair is longer than it's been in a while, but apparently it was longer while he was recovering from his tragic hand injury, like he had a full on hobo beard and hair, but he cut it off, sad. I asked if he's going to grow the full on afro back and he said he's thinking about it. He was adorable and everything I expected of Sisky. Then we chatted with Chiz, who is lovely and Aussie and informed me (when I told him I'm getting my PhD basically in medical research) that someone published a vaccine for HIV today? Idk, I have to go look that up! But he, too, was lovely. All of them are excited to be back on tour! It was really nice to get to chat with them one on one in a really relaxed situation, I like that setup a whole lot. That was definitely my favorite part of the evening!
I have photos with all of them, so I'm gonna share them here. You have to look at Bill's haircut, omg. ♥
I think I was bright red from driving 85 MPH as much as I could to get there on time (stupid lab work kept me late!) and then just excitement. Damn my delicate coloring! :P I think Mike looks amazing though.
LOOK AT HIS FACE OMG. Oh yes and the HAIR. This photo doesn't quite do it justice, but it's got a lot of, like, shape to it - that front bit sticks forward quite a bit and then those other pieces just brush his cheekbone and it's kind of super charming, I must say.
I collected them all! Heehee.
So after M&G we got in before doors and got barrier. However, we ended up next to these girls who were bitches before anyone else even arrived. They were shoving and trying to get all of them squeezed onto barrier. You Me At Six started up after a little while and they were British and quite entertaining! Buuut the bitchy girls were being horrible, one in particular, and just SHOVING, really fucking hard. I tried to hang on to the barrier (I had gotten turned so only one arm was on there) but one particularly vicious push dislodged me. It was disconcertingly like being washed out to sea. I ended up 4-5 people back, and it was actually better without that horrible, horrible person leaping on my back. (I actually, trufax hate her. She is a selfish obnoxious tool of the worst kind and I kind of hope she dies in a moshpit one day. Ahem.) I had a good time in there for the rest of that set, but it's just... not my thing to be mushed in a sea of people, *especially* by myself, so I escaped without further ado and hung out at the bar to the side, hilariously between two pairs of parents. The bartender was hot and funny and I had fun flirting with him a little, and also buying beers and bumming a cigarette from him just so he'd light it (yeah, I'm SO SUBTLE), so I passed the time with that and texting with Tabby (♥!). Some other bands played? Idk. The Secret Handshake was energetic but way too electronica for me (I happened to meet the singer guy afterwards - he's REALLY FREAKING HOT, too bad I didn't like your music dude!) and Every Avenue was decent, whatever.
Then it was ACADEMY TIME!!! They opened with Crowded Room, which, random! But then was BLACK MAMBA EEE, and Classifieds and MIDTOWN and BIG MESS OMG and About a Girl and Forever Young and I'm Yours Tonight (which is really good live!) and 40 STEPS (with the WHOLE BAND, I have a video!) and they closed with SLOW DOWN which is William and Gabe's song, omg my heart. <3 It felt really really short, and I didn't have the best view, but I danced my heart out and I adore them.
My first and only really good photo of the night. But it's a pretty great one (OH WILLIAM, how so epic?) so I am pleased.
A different look at his hair. IDK what's on his shirt!
I'm watching a bit of my videos and they sound MUCH better then they actually did live! My camera magically filters out all the loud vibratey stuff and just carries through the actual music, which is amazing. The sound at this venue suuuucked - you felt the music more than heard it. But yes, I have great videos and will be sure to share!
And I think that's all the recapping I have energy for. I'm exhausted! I'm so behind on my flist AND TV (no spoilers for Supernatural, Dollhouse, Bones, OR Glee please - holy crap, need to catch up) but I am just drained. I also may be getting sick (come on body, fight it off!). So it's bed time, already way too late.
Yay bandboys! *flops*