Best. Trip. Ever.
So I'm back from the UK, and what has been the best trip ever. There was so much flailing, fanigirling, Panic!, and awesomeness. This post is super long and possible a bit incoherent at times. So much cred to anyone who actually reads is all /o\
The trip started with me meeting up with redorchids and we got on a flight to Edinburgh. I was a total spazz already then, since I was so freaking excited. I even forgot to be shy when we got to Edinburgh and met the lovely arctic_grey, who was nice enough to let us stay with her for a few days. Let's just say that the fangirling started right away, and then kept going for three days straight. So many plot bunnies was born, we even started writing on one of them, games of dirty-bandom scrabble, and so much more. Here's a pic of one of the rounds ;). Best thing about this part of the trip was hands down to meet arctic_grey. She's pretty darn awesome.
Monday came and we hopped on a bus towards Glasgow. It was really weird, because I wasn't all nervous about the m&g like I thought I would be (and was in London in February). Not until like half an hour before. Guess it finally sunk in that I'd be seeing Spencer's pretty, pretty face irl again, and I needed a drink to calm down, haha. So when we finally were inside the venue and the room where the m&g I was kind of alright. Until Zack pointed at me and said "You. Come here" in a stern voice, and all I could think was but I haven't been creepy! omg what have I done now, but all he wanted was to ask what part of his "speech" he forgot. Which funny enough was the whole "don't be creepy"-part. My guess for him choosing me was because of my american accent. He seemed to have trouble understanding some of the other people. Anyway, eventually Zack went and got the guys, and after that my brain was basically mush. I did ask Spencer if he hates the tambourine, just to settle the debate regarding that. He does not. Sometimes he just finds it a bit boring, since every song sounds more or less the same. I had other questions as well, but then Brendon started talking to me and once again, brain went offline. I then had an akward encounter with Ian, which mostly was him greeting me with a huge smile and an excited "Hi!", and me being all eh, hi..., a bit uninterested. Then I added a quick Have fun tonight and more or less ran away from the table. My m&g picture turned out pretty great, and I've already printed out a copy and framed it.
The show in Glasgow was amazing. arctic_grey and I were standing right in front of Brendon, one person away from barricade so we could see insanely good. To see Brendon performing that close was really awesome. All the facial expressions, haha. He's such a showman, and so talanted. Well, they all are. Ian definitely won me over with his guitar skills during these shows. I lasted half the set up there. It was so freaking tight, and I had people hitting me in the head all the time, as well as in the ribs. It took me 5 min only to be able to turn around and get out. Watched the rest from the back, and the view was still amazing. Definitely didn't feel like I missed out from standing back there. Then it was over, and I was just really happy we'd be able to do it all over again the next day.
The train ride to Birmingham was made a lot more fun by finding a bunch of fellow fangirls that we recognized from the m&g in Glasgow. redorchids and I were not the only ones travelling around like crazy people ;) We kind of made a few older people move out of our part of the train. Or made, and made, they moved because they couldn't take us laughing and talking about Panic! non-stop, haha. I also very much enjoyed the view of the English countryside. Very green and so many sheep.
The afternoon was a relaxed affair for redorchids and myself. Lounging at the hostel, and getting some computer time. We also watched the Ready To Go video, without sound, and when I think about it, I haven't seen it again since then. During our food-run to Subway, we ran into Zack, and had a nice little chat with him. He dissed our sandwiches, we dissed his.
This time I really wasn't nervous at all before the m&g, and was mostly excited to tell the guys about how awesome the show was the night before. All I managed in terms of that was to tell Spencer that his drumming was hot. Yes, the words I used was "You drumming was really hot yesterday" *facepalm* I followed up with something about technique as well, so hopefully he didn't think I meant just from a viewing perspective. Then he smiled, and everything else I was going to say disappeared. Same thing happened with Brendon. there was so much I wanted to say, and everything, poof, when he smiled at me. Their smiles really are dangerous ;) This pic didn't turn out as well, even if Spencer smiles in it, but I look bad and it's so blurry because of the lightning in the room. That's really the same for all pics from the concerts, my camera does not approve of those conditions.
After the m&g redorchids and I sat ourselves on a couch in the way back of the venue, because we didn't feel like standing for a few hours being all cramped up + my ribs were so sore from the day before. Zack found us there and told us to go up on the balcony instead so we'd be able to see the stage. We went up, but had to go down again since the guard said our tickets wasn't for it. So we went back down again. Then Zack comes by again, wondering why we're still there. Instead of just leaving us there, he goes with us up and makes the guard let us in (honestly, the guard seemed very intimidated by Zack, haha), and led us to the best seats ever. Perfect view of the stage, no pushing or having to stand all cramped up for hours. Sweet. I then spent most of the show watching Spencer drum. Live porn, I kid you not. This show was amazing as well, even as they were having problems, they still managed to perform so incredibly well. After the show Zack tried to throw us stuff, but the mom's sitting next to us were more determined to get them so we didn't catch anything. I didn't really care about the things, but it was sweet of Zack actually aim for us. Zack has in general proved to an awesome guy, who is really really nice, and sometimes very funny. Sucks that some people don't understand his humour, or the fact that he has to say and do certain things as part of his job.
We lucked out and were on the same train to London as the other girls we met, so once again there was fangirling all over the place. redorchids and I went around the mall close to venue, had some lunch, got our makeup done, which we then had to wipe away most of cause we looked a bit overdone, and then we met up with the girls and sat in the grass enjoying the sun. As we didn't have m&g, we just went to the bar next to the venue. Our friend A, who is the biggest fanboy of Panic! ever, joined us together with his friends. We tried our best to miss out on the opening act, because they were so horrible. No luck though, since they were running late, so we had to listen to them for a third time. Worst part was that by then I could actually sing along with the songs. I'm so happy Fun. is opening for them in the US, since I know that they are good. We then proceeded to make our way towards the stage.
So this is where the concert experience comes to a low point for me. I've never been in a crowd that was so rough, and pushed so hard. Really, Fall Out Boy a few years back was pretty though, but it has nothing on this. redorchids was smart and actually backed away, but me and A stayed. Pretty quickly I got an elbow in my eye, which knocked my contact out, so I couldn't see on one eye (I'm basically blind without it). Then I got few kicks in the head from crowsurfers, one really good one. A tried his best to keep them away from me, but didn't always work. He also held onto me so I wouldn't be swept away or crushed when people pushed and shoved. Then Brendon thought it would be a good idea to stagedive. Since I couldn't see properly, not even the stage because I had tall people in front, I wasn't aware of what he was doing. So he jumped partly on me. And by partly I mean his ass was in my face. As much as I love that ass, I don't want it in my face. Also, the surprise made me wobble and when people shoved to get to him, I more or less fell. A had to lift me up, and basically drag me back or I would've been trampled. The day after I felt that my ribs, that got hit already in Glasgow, had gotten another round and was even worse. It's very possible that I have a crack in one of them, since it's still hurting like crazy, and on Friday I couldn't even touch that side without cringing. I also have bruises everywhere. Even my boobs are blue. So from all of these points, the London show wasn't all that great for me. However, the little I did see of the show itself was great, and before the worst pushing and stuff started I had a blast.
The trip as a whole was amazing, wonderful, inspiring, and so much more! I'm so happy that redorchids and I are crazy ass fangirls that come up with things like this. Also, Memories live is fantastic! I'm already pumped up for the show in Chicago in a month, and can't wait to see what they've come up with regarding the show. Gonna end this massive post with possibly my favorite pic from the shows. Brendon looks so adorable.
The trip started with me meeting up with redorchids and we got on a flight to Edinburgh. I was a total spazz already then, since I was so freaking excited. I even forgot to be shy when we got to Edinburgh and met the lovely arctic_grey, who was nice enough to let us stay with her for a few days. Let's just say that the fangirling started right away, and then kept going for three days straight. So many plot bunnies was born, we even started writing on one of them, games of dirty-bandom scrabble, and so much more. Here's a pic of one of the rounds ;). Best thing about this part of the trip was hands down to meet arctic_grey. She's pretty darn awesome.
Monday came and we hopped on a bus towards Glasgow. It was really weird, because I wasn't all nervous about the m&g like I thought I would be (and was in London in February). Not until like half an hour before. Guess it finally sunk in that I'd be seeing Spencer's pretty, pretty face irl again, and I needed a drink to calm down, haha. So when we finally were inside the venue and the room where the m&g I was kind of alright. Until Zack pointed at me and said "You. Come here" in a stern voice, and all I could think was but I haven't been creepy! omg what have I done now, but all he wanted was to ask what part of his "speech" he forgot. Which funny enough was the whole "don't be creepy"-part. My guess for him choosing me was because of my american accent. He seemed to have trouble understanding some of the other people. Anyway, eventually Zack went and got the guys, and after that my brain was basically mush. I did ask Spencer if he hates the tambourine, just to settle the debate regarding that. He does not. Sometimes he just finds it a bit boring, since every song sounds more or less the same. I had other questions as well, but then Brendon started talking to me and once again, brain went offline. I then had an akward encounter with Ian, which mostly was him greeting me with a huge smile and an excited "Hi!", and me being all eh, hi..., a bit uninterested. Then I added a quick Have fun tonight and more or less ran away from the table. My m&g picture turned out pretty great, and I've already printed out a copy and framed it.
The show in Glasgow was amazing. arctic_grey and I were standing right in front of Brendon, one person away from barricade so we could see insanely good. To see Brendon performing that close was really awesome. All the facial expressions, haha. He's such a showman, and so talanted. Well, they all are. Ian definitely won me over with his guitar skills during these shows. I lasted half the set up there. It was so freaking tight, and I had people hitting me in the head all the time, as well as in the ribs. It took me 5 min only to be able to turn around and get out. Watched the rest from the back, and the view was still amazing. Definitely didn't feel like I missed out from standing back there. Then it was over, and I was just really happy we'd be able to do it all over again the next day.
The train ride to Birmingham was made a lot more fun by finding a bunch of fellow fangirls that we recognized from the m&g in Glasgow. redorchids and I were not the only ones travelling around like crazy people ;) We kind of made a few older people move out of our part of the train. Or made, and made, they moved because they couldn't take us laughing and talking about Panic! non-stop, haha. I also very much enjoyed the view of the English countryside. Very green and so many sheep.
The afternoon was a relaxed affair for redorchids and myself. Lounging at the hostel, and getting some computer time. We also watched the Ready To Go video, without sound, and when I think about it, I haven't seen it again since then. During our food-run to Subway, we ran into Zack, and had a nice little chat with him. He dissed our sandwiches, we dissed his.
This time I really wasn't nervous at all before the m&g, and was mostly excited to tell the guys about how awesome the show was the night before. All I managed in terms of that was to tell Spencer that his drumming was hot. Yes, the words I used was "You drumming was really hot yesterday" *facepalm* I followed up with something about technique as well, so hopefully he didn't think I meant just from a viewing perspective. Then he smiled, and everything else I was going to say disappeared. Same thing happened with Brendon. there was so much I wanted to say, and everything, poof, when he smiled at me. Their smiles really are dangerous ;) This pic didn't turn out as well, even if Spencer smiles in it, but I look bad and it's so blurry because of the lightning in the room. That's really the same for all pics from the concerts, my camera does not approve of those conditions.
After the m&g redorchids and I sat ourselves on a couch in the way back of the venue, because we didn't feel like standing for a few hours being all cramped up + my ribs were so sore from the day before. Zack found us there and told us to go up on the balcony instead so we'd be able to see the stage. We went up, but had to go down again since the guard said our tickets wasn't for it. So we went back down again. Then Zack comes by again, wondering why we're still there. Instead of just leaving us there, he goes with us up and makes the guard let us in (honestly, the guard seemed very intimidated by Zack, haha), and led us to the best seats ever. Perfect view of the stage, no pushing or having to stand all cramped up for hours. Sweet. I then spent most of the show watching Spencer drum. Live porn, I kid you not. This show was amazing as well, even as they were having problems, they still managed to perform so incredibly well. After the show Zack tried to throw us stuff, but the mom's sitting next to us were more determined to get them so we didn't catch anything. I didn't really care about the things, but it was sweet of Zack actually aim for us. Zack has in general proved to an awesome guy, who is really really nice, and sometimes very funny. Sucks that some people don't understand his humour, or the fact that he has to say and do certain things as part of his job.
We lucked out and were on the same train to London as the other girls we met, so once again there was fangirling all over the place. redorchids and I went around the mall close to venue, had some lunch, got our makeup done, which we then had to wipe away most of cause we looked a bit overdone, and then we met up with the girls and sat in the grass enjoying the sun. As we didn't have m&g, we just went to the bar next to the venue. Our friend A, who is the biggest fanboy of Panic! ever, joined us together with his friends. We tried our best to miss out on the opening act, because they were so horrible. No luck though, since they were running late, so we had to listen to them for a third time. Worst part was that by then I could actually sing along with the songs. I'm so happy Fun. is opening for them in the US, since I know that they are good. We then proceeded to make our way towards the stage.
So this is where the concert experience comes to a low point for me. I've never been in a crowd that was so rough, and pushed so hard. Really, Fall Out Boy a few years back was pretty though, but it has nothing on this. redorchids was smart and actually backed away, but me and A stayed. Pretty quickly I got an elbow in my eye, which knocked my contact out, so I couldn't see on one eye (I'm basically blind without it). Then I got few kicks in the head from crowsurfers, one really good one. A tried his best to keep them away from me, but didn't always work. He also held onto me so I wouldn't be swept away or crushed when people pushed and shoved. Then Brendon thought it would be a good idea to stagedive. Since I couldn't see properly, not even the stage because I had tall people in front, I wasn't aware of what he was doing. So he jumped partly on me. And by partly I mean his ass was in my face. As much as I love that ass, I don't want it in my face. Also, the surprise made me wobble and when people shoved to get to him, I more or less fell. A had to lift me up, and basically drag me back or I would've been trampled. The day after I felt that my ribs, that got hit already in Glasgow, had gotten another round and was even worse. It's very possible that I have a crack in one of them, since it's still hurting like crazy, and on Friday I couldn't even touch that side without cringing. I also have bruises everywhere. Even my boobs are blue. So from all of these points, the London show wasn't all that great for me. However, the little I did see of the show itself was great, and before the worst pushing and stuff started I had a blast.
The trip as a whole was amazing, wonderful, inspiring, and so much more! I'm so happy that redorchids and I are crazy ass fangirls that come up with things like this. Also, Memories live is fantastic! I'm already pumped up for the show in Chicago in a month, and can't wait to see what they've come up with regarding the show. Gonna end this massive post with possibly my favorite pic from the shows. Brendon looks so adorable.