you grabbed the wrong bass guitar
I went to see TAI tonight and they were so fabulous! Well, technically I went to the AP Fall Ball. But due to heinous traffic coming into the city I entirely missed You Me at Six and only saw part of The Secret Handshake's set, I wandered around a bit during Set Your Goals, and I didn't stay for Mayday Parade since I have to leave for work early tomorrow. So really, I saw TAI.
And OMG I love them! I'd been hanging around the back of the crowd trying to avoid the circle pit without being pushed all the way to the side of the hall, nodding along in a kind of take it or leave it way, and then TAI came onstage and I was all ♥__♥ I had positioned myself strategically Cardenside, and as is becoming usual (this was the fifth time I've seen them, not counting William's TAI-lite thing this spring) I was so mesmerized by him that I barely saw any of the others. William did catch my attention a couple of times with his armraising antics, and I noticed Siska and Chislett sharing a mic for a bit, and Butcher was showing such an amount of skin behind his kit that I could not actually see any clothing on him, but, you know. What I really want out of a TAI show is for Mike Carden to stand there and strum his arm up and down and blur his fingers on his strings, and then I will be happy. (That guy has nice arms.) And he did, and I was.
Now. I have an UNPOPULAR FANDOM OPINION. It is this: I don't like Carden's new haircut. Now even the two other people in the world who like him will shun me! \o/ /o\ I dunno, you guys. It's not horrible, but it makes him look average, dudelike. Like a high school football player, like the kind of person who's not likely to be interesting. So I miss the shag.
However, that being said, he was the most cheerful version of himself tonight that I have ever seen. He looked relaxed and he kept *grinning*, like actual smiles with teeth showing. And as per usual he ignored Beckett wandering near him, but several times he went back to play to Butcher, and that was hot. A few of those times Siska turned back to play to Butcher at the same time, and that was even hotter. (I would read the hell out of that threesome, just saying.) Anyway, there were some kind of ongoing sound problems so there was a tech crawling around on the floor messing with the cords in front of Carden for half the set, and at least once he went sidestage to say something in another tech's ear midsong, but he didn't seem stressed, he just laughed and at one point looked offstage and mouthed something that looked like "don't worry." And let me tell you, happy is a good look on him.
And, and. The other thing that I love about TAI shows is of course the actual songs! Okay, Almost Here has never really grabbed me, but I love basically everything since, so I can deal. I am so bad at setlists, but there was definitely Slow Down, Classifieds, Checkmarks, Neighbors, Big Mess, About a Girl, Summer Hair Forever Young (which they stopped a few lines in and restarted for a reason that Beckett claimed was Siska's fault, though I didn't see Siska change anything the second time around, so I dunno), I'm Yours Tonight, and, um, some other songs. I picked up Lost in Pacific Time at the merch table and I'm really enjoying it! I'm Yours Tonight sounded especially gorgeous live, and listening to the CD now I'm especially loving Days Like Masquerades. I love how melodic TAI can be and I do love William's voice, so, much yay.
and, what else? I saw a girl wearing a long dress, kind of Regency-esque, off the shoulder bodice and full skirts, all black and white with the front skirt panel in a music print, like, staves full of notes - I feel like the more I try to describe it the less coherent it sounds, but anyway it looked really awesome, and when I complimented her on it she said she'd made it herself, so more power to her. And I think that is all! Earlier in the afternoon I'd been sitting on my couch feeling sad and tired and I thought oh man, should I really drag myself up to the city tonight? But I had such a good time and I'm so glad I did.
And OMG I love them! I'd been hanging around the back of the crowd trying to avoid the circle pit without being pushed all the way to the side of the hall, nodding along in a kind of take it or leave it way, and then TAI came onstage and I was all ♥__♥ I had positioned myself strategically Cardenside, and as is becoming usual (this was the fifth time I've seen them, not counting William's TAI-lite thing this spring) I was so mesmerized by him that I barely saw any of the others. William did catch my attention a couple of times with his armraising antics, and I noticed Siska and Chislett sharing a mic for a bit, and Butcher was showing such an amount of skin behind his kit that I could not actually see any clothing on him, but, you know. What I really want out of a TAI show is for Mike Carden to stand there and strum his arm up and down and blur his fingers on his strings, and then I will be happy. (That guy has nice arms.) And he did, and I was.
Now. I have an UNPOPULAR FANDOM OPINION. It is this: I don't like Carden's new haircut. Now even the two other people in the world who like him will shun me! \o/ /o\ I dunno, you guys. It's not horrible, but it makes him look average, dudelike. Like a high school football player, like the kind of person who's not likely to be interesting. So I miss the shag.
However, that being said, he was the most cheerful version of himself tonight that I have ever seen. He looked relaxed and he kept *grinning*, like actual smiles with teeth showing. And as per usual he ignored Beckett wandering near him, but several times he went back to play to Butcher, and that was hot. A few of those times Siska turned back to play to Butcher at the same time, and that was even hotter. (I would read the hell out of that threesome, just saying.) Anyway, there were some kind of ongoing sound problems so there was a tech crawling around on the floor messing with the cords in front of Carden for half the set, and at least once he went sidestage to say something in another tech's ear midsong, but he didn't seem stressed, he just laughed and at one point looked offstage and mouthed something that looked like "don't worry." And let me tell you, happy is a good look on him.
And, and. The other thing that I love about TAI shows is of course the actual songs! Okay, Almost Here has never really grabbed me, but I love basically everything since, so I can deal. I am so bad at setlists, but there was definitely Slow Down, Classifieds, Checkmarks, Neighbors, Big Mess, About a Girl, Summer Hair Forever Young (which they stopped a few lines in and restarted for a reason that Beckett claimed was Siska's fault, though I didn't see Siska change anything the second time around, so I dunno), I'm Yours Tonight, and, um, some other songs. I picked up Lost in Pacific Time at the merch table and I'm really enjoying it! I'm Yours Tonight sounded especially gorgeous live, and listening to the CD now I'm especially loving Days Like Masquerades. I love how melodic TAI can be and I do love William's voice, so, much yay.
and, what else? I saw a girl wearing a long dress, kind of Regency-esque, off the shoulder bodice and full skirts, all black and white with the front skirt panel in a music print, like, staves full of notes - I feel like the more I try to describe it the less coherent it sounds, but anyway it looked really awesome, and when I complimented her on it she said she'd made it herself, so more power to her. And I think that is all! Earlier in the afternoon I'd been sitting on my couch feeling sad and tired and I thought oh man, should I really drag myself up to the city tonight? But I had such a good time and I'm so glad I did.