x-posted.
Okay, so after I serve as the Rae-Bus and drive all over Atlanta to pickup people, we make it downtown around 3. Now, I am with two new concert buddies, A and N. Both of them are huge Jack's fans. They gush in the car and I just giggle, cause I like the music and all but they are not my thing. So we get downtown and I turn down the street where the buses are (sidenote: Jack's was in Athens last night, which we found out thanks to our random tour manager connections so I'd seen their bus and seen a few of them walking around, but nothing terribly exciting.) Anyway, we turn a corner to find parking and suddenly my friend A screams like you would not believe. Like, scary screams. I thought I'd killed someone. But no, Andrew (from Jack's) was just walking by and she flipped out. All the windows were rolled up and he still heard her and looked concerned. I just laughed like a fool.
Then we wait in line for a long time before we get inside.
Preshow Pics:
Yes, we defaced a wall. We were so bored.
I look tired.
Pumped!
I knew nothing about the first band before the show, but they were wonderful. They had a trombone and a trumpet and they rocked them, spinning around ala Trohman. Their second guitarist also played brass and sang. The lead guitar/singer had the most awesome hair. About halfway through they mention they are from Providence, RI, which is where I was born, so I scream and they point at me and go, "yeah, she knows where it's at!" And then they rock out some more and I catch the second guitarist's pick (whoo!) and fun times are had. They have a tribute song to Zelda. Dorks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsdAQt6Bh-M -- A youtube of them performing, quick cause I was saving room for CIWWAF. Note the rocking out with brass instruments. Yup.
Then, Cute. I have been getting more and more excited for this show in the past few weeks. Cute has such a nice buzz around them, and the music is kind of between TAI and Panic for me. Anyway, I am hyped. And they are all such wee boys and they set up their own equipment. They start and I go crazy, jumping all over the place and screaming along and waving at them like a dork. Here, media. (I have more than this, but I limited my uploads to songs y'all might know.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blurintofocus/sets/72157594151309275/
-- A flickr set. The first few are CIWWAF show shots, the rest you'll see elsewhere in this post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR5uyWbiObc -- Curse of Curves. Things Shaant (Rhymes with Want) likes to do: bounce. play with his shirt. Yep.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCooekZjp-c -- Lyrical Lies (1) This is such a pretty song. Shaant seems pleased that people are singing along. Then again, last time they played Georgia two people showed up. Notice his little gun hand on "gave her my best shot."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIo2VSzYtKg -- Lyrical Lies (2) Shaant hits a note weirdly and makes a face, but then flips his hair a lot and makes up for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNtDKisi2Dw -- Shaant talking. Blah blah, he's cute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs2K9WIp7sY -- Teasing to Please. Shaant decides to touch Fred a lot. I don't know why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOMsj0Gv71I -- Shaant had just teased Fred about something, and so they have to hug to make up. Cue all the awws.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvlDEWk64Po -- The start of class. I love his little scream counting thing.
I apologize for having no more video of There's A Class For This, but I was going crazy and just wanted to enjoy it. Shaant did, very cutely, go "William Beckett sings this part" before singing William's part. Aw.
At the end Tom, the drummer, points at me and tries to throw me his towel, but it ends up with the girls beside me. I make a pouty face, so he tries to throw me his drumstick but it ends up with someone else. He has shitty aim. I am all blissed out, regardless.
So I kind of want to leave and sit in the back for Jack's, but I feel I have been waiting this long that I should stick it out. Assholes are pushing, I am sweating like crazy. Finally, after forever, Jack's comes out and plays the whole CD from start to finish, plus tons of covers. Fucking amazing. But still, about seven songs in I can't take it. I have to get out. So N and I leave and go to get water. I didn't do any video or pictures of Jack's. The crowd was too crazy and I didnt want to lose my camera or anything.
We're chilling out there so I decide to go up to the Cute merch dude and chat. He's a nice kid, we talk about the hoodie and the video shoot and if they are coming back. He doesn't know much, but tells me to go talk to Shaant. But Shaant is surrounded by fangirls and I hate that shit. The lead singer from Monty Are I, however, is not, so I go up to him. This is our conversation:
Me: Dude, Cranston born and raised!
Steve: You are fucking kidding me.
Me: No way! (My old address), baby!
Steve: You have to be fucking kidding oh my god! *grabs me in a huge hug*
Me: Caserta's pizza, Federal Hill, I am so hardcore Rhode Island.
Steve: That is the shit. We're all Cranston boys this is crazy. Why are you down here!?
Me: I go to school down here. You guys fucking rocked.
Steve: You fucking rock! *another hug* Come meet everyone!
And then I got meet two of the other guys (the other two weren't up front) and they have the exact same reaction ("NO fucking way! *hugs*) and then talk about Rhode Island crap and they make me promise to come to their show next week and I make them promise to hang out with me. Wins all around. And more hugs.
Steven, Mike, me, Andrew.
Ryan and me, later.
Then I lurk near Shaant a while and wait until the fangirls die down. I walk over and our conversation goes like this, and it is the most fangirly conversation, totally on his part:
Me: *holding up my clan necklace* Nice necklace.
Shaant: *holding up his* You too!
Me: You know this means Pete Wentz owns our souls?
Shaant: I've been told.
Me: So, awesome show! I am so excited about the CD, I already preordered.
Shaant: Really!? That's kick-ass.
Me: Yeah, I'm a big FBR kid --
Shaant: --- ME TOO!
Me: I can tell, you really like William Beckett.
Shaant: I do, though I like Johnny Minardi better.
Me: Well, he rocks. He's the godfather --
Shannt: -- of William's firstborn. OH! Did you hear Chad quit?
Me: Yeah, he's going to college, but he'll be at Chicago warped so that will rock.
Shaant: Yeah.
I swear, I felt like I was talking to any FBR fanboy. Shaant + TAI = truelove. We talk a little more FBR and I yell at him about the Tampa shoot and he apologizes and says he knows nothing about it yet, other than it is in Tampa and he hates the treatment. I call him useless. Then I ask when they are coming back and if they will be on tour with Paramore. He says they are on tour with Paramore. I tell him to promise me that, cause it's nowhere official yet. And so he throws his arms open and hugs me and says "I promise!" And I tell him I am taking his hug as a blood promise and that he better not be lying to me. Then we take dorktastic pictures and I wave bye.
Shot one, which I like the best despite shadows.
Shot two, with a Beatle in the corner.
The show ends, I say hi to my Rhode Island boys again, and we head outside. We stand around and wait for Andrew, but really I don't care so I start to wander off and see my friend A again, and then we see Shaant again and A wants a picture so we go up. She's wearing a TAI shirt signed by Will and The Butcher.
Shaant: I have that shirt! I wear it all the time.
Me: Yeah, but I bet you haven't got it signed by the Butcher.
A: Or William.
Shaant: True, but I could have them sign it. That would be weird. "Hey Bill, sign my shirt."
And then we all sit down on the ground and chat about random shit. The RI boys are around too so we all chat a little more and then Andrew comes out and people rush him, so I stay with A's friend and Shaant and we talk about split ends and how Shaant gets a stylist this week and how he doesn't sweat and more about his hair, and how Cute never sleeps in the van and Shaant is disgusted by that idea ("NO, god no, we get hotels."), and about how he thinks some girl is hot and wants to talk to her, but he burped and she gave him a dirty look and so he thinks he fucked it up. We agree. Then we tell him to go apologize and flip his hair at her to get her to love him. Then Shaant practices hairflips for a while. And then he's like "my hair smells great, SMELL IT."
And suddenly I have a faceful of Shaant hair. Like, nose pressed to the side of his face and just hair all over me. It smelled really good and I accused him to fixing it post-show because there is no way it could smell so good. But he claims he just smells good all the time.
My friend finished with Andrew and we are about to leave, but then decide we should get Cute to sign our posters, since they are all there. Shaant has his back to me, so I yell at him but he is on the phone and I feel like a jerk. So we go talk to the other boys, Tom and Jeff and Fred, who are all awesome and want to know where we got he posters and take pics and all that good stuff. Then I go up to Shaant and get him to sign and tell him thanks and leaving him talking to some pretty girls, so hopefully he got to meet the one he wanted to meet. While we are waiting for A to finish with Jack's people one of my RI boys waves at me and runs over to say hello again, and we talk about their schedule and I promise to bring them a healthy treat next week cause I've decided that will be fun. Finally, A is done and we drive off blasting Cute, get McDonalds and I don't get home until 2.
After-show pictures!
I look like crap, but Tom is a cutie.
Again, I look like crap. Yay for Fred, though. I didn't get a picture with Jeff because I am dumb. Oh well.
Monty's ghetto stickers and the guitar pick, which is going on my clan necklace soon.
My new FBR wall in my second room.
So fucking awesome.
CIWWAF purevolume
Shaant's FBR journal
Monty Are I myspace
Exhales. Okay, people, I hope you enjoyed some aspect of that. Watch at least one youtube, tell me what you think!