MCR @ the hard rock - 3/30/08
so my friend victor and i lined up around 5ish, and as expected felt like the oldest people there. \m/ they let us in around 6, and after depositing victor toward the front (go LEFT, go LEFT! wot... no reason), i went straight for the merch and got myself the sweetest fuckin tee.
i held our spots while victor went for beer. we hadn't eaten since lunch, so this was 'dinner' for the time being. invariably at shows, i end up behind Big Tall Dude. but this time? i found myself in a Sea of Girls - short girls. \o/ (score one for frank's side of the stage.)
drive by was up first. they seemed pretty decent. and their set was only about 30 minutes - a good amount of time, imo, for an opening band. you're not why i'm here but i've heard what you're about and i'll look into it if i'm interested, kthx. billy talent came out next and... not for me, no. the kids, though, they loved them. to me it was just a bunch of screaming. and noise. what can i say, I AM OLD. they also totally overstayed their welcome, i thought. there were at least three or four times when i thought they were done, but no. THANK YOU, LAS VEGAS!! *CROWD ROAR* aaaaaand here's another song. YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN GREAT, THANK YOU! *woooo* how 'bout another song. and another song. and one more! LAS VEGAS, WOOOOOOO. HERE'S ANOTHER SONG FOR YOU. etc etc. x_X
finally, billy talent finished their set and the techs came out to set up for mcr. i'm pretty sure that was cortez setting up frank's gear, and i flailed a little, was THIS close to screaming 'cortez!' but then nobody else said anything - in fact, there seemed to be a severe lack of reaction, so... yeah. guess i maybe overestimated the shared enthusiasm for cortez. i mean, the dudes pretty hot in his own right, you know? *shrug* (while we're on the topic of mcr's crew, i never saw worm. no idea if he was there or not.)
now i know it takes a while to set everything up, and maybe i was just tired and impatient, but it felt like it was taking them a really long time. the crowd was feeling it, too. there was lots of M-C-R chanting and a few rounds of marco polo and then finally, FINALLY, it seemed they were go for launch. WE CAN HAS MCR NAO?! um, no. hambone (friend of frank/mcr) came out to entertain us and sing a few songs. okay, fine. but then RAY FUCKING TORO comes out to play with him and i nearly pee my pants. (side note: all weekend i wouldn't let myself get too excited about the prospect of seeing mcr in person - not until i ACTUALLY saw them with my own eyes - because until then, there was far too much that could still go wrong at any minute - someone might have a heart attack! the night could be canceled! YOU DON'T KNOW.) but holy hell, RAY FUCKING TORO is right in front of me and THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING OMG and the EPIC FRO is EPIC. \o/
i couldn't tell you shit about the song they played bc my brain was all !!!!!!!!, but i can tell you that when they were finished FRANK ran out and glomped his arms around hambone and was grinning that BEAMING GRIN OF LOVE of his and then he ran off just as quickly as he ran out and AJFKDL;A HOLY SHITCAKES I'M GOING TO DIE HALLLLLLLLLLP.
hambone tried to sing another song after that, but the audience just wasn't really having it. they started with the M-C-R chanting again, and he looked a little dismayed, said something like, 'soon enough, kids.' at some point (before or after ray, i'm not sure, it's all a muddled mess), he asked if we knew any of pencey's songs and the crowd screamed. he then asked if we had any requests and someone yelled out freebird, to which he laughed and gave us the finger (his version of freebird). so he was supposed to sing a third song, i think, but the next thing i know he had left the stage and possibly uttered something like forget it or fuck it (this was after all the mcr chanting).
the crowd then cheered loudly thinking that mcr would be coming right out, but no. NO. and i just fucking knew, KNEW that gerard and/or frank were pissed. i could picture them backstage ranting about how rude and disrespectful that was and how now they were really going to make us fucking wait. AND WAIT WE DID. =\ [okay obvs this is pure conjecture, yeah? i don't actually know what was going on back there.] and okay, it was rude, but... the thing is most of these kids had BEEN waiting and standing for over four hours by this point. that's a long fucking time, and it's one thing when you know you have to wait through two opening bands, but then to throw yet ANOTHER buffer at us unexpectedly and yet expect us to react with enthusiasm, or at best patience? well... sorry, but no. i'm a pretty patient person, and even i was moaning on the inside.
but then it finally happened, and there they were. !!!!! mikey fucking way in his mikey fucking way tee; FRANK being all tiny and shit with scruff on his face and wearing a shirt i don't remember seeing before; toro wearing an umbrella academy tee; bob in his mountain man red flannel with the lady hair flopping down the front of his face (srsly, how does he see what he's doing?); and gerard - MY GOD YOU GUISE HE IS GORGEOUS. ♥_________♥
there was much scrambling with the phone trying to take pictures while jumping up and down and trying to keep my face from breaking in half from all the smiling. :D :D :D then there was the requisite phone call to be made to overloved - i don't even remember what song was playing when i called - i just wanted to call early on before it got too late for her - time zones and all that. but i couldn't resist and called her again during the black parade later in the night and sent a few pictures and and and ajalksdjf.
any and all irritability quickly flew out the window. hunger, exhaustion, achy feet? GONE. replaced with infinite GLEE and LOVE and more jumping up and down, devil horns and fist pumping than i have ever done in my entire life. \m/ i was essentially in hog heaven and i didn't want it stop. ever. and the crowd was surprisingly pretty tame. i wasn't sure once the music started if we were going to be able to keep our cushy spots near the front (about 11 rows of people back). we had to shove over a little more to the left, but that was it. \o/ i wish my pictures showed how close we actually were - they always look so much farther away in photos, i hate that. =\
okay bullets (har har) for the rest.
* the guys are ten times prettier in person than in pictures. i don't even know how that's possible, but it is.
* i was surprised that i didn't pay more attention to frank. he is my favorite, afterall. granted there was someone blocking my view of him for a good portion of the show, but also gerard? is just really captivating and it's hard to look away from him. i felt like a bug helplessly drawn into the light. and frank, while he did give us some great O faces, he just sort of stood there and played - which hey, not complaining, that's what he does - it's just when you compare that to gerard's faces and gestures and FACES and GESTURES, well... let's be real. if you're not watching gerard, you're probably missing something incredible. and then there was mikey way being all stunning, shaking his hair all about and just being a fucking rock star. from where i was standing, it was pretty much the gerard and mikey show. AND I DIDN'T MIND.
* THEY PLAYED KILL ALL YOUR FRIENDS. \o/
* after singing... something (my brain is broke), i guess gerard just wasn't feeling the love from the audience and he suggested that that song be returned to the file cabinet. he rambled on a bit about this and then asked frank if he thought that song should go back in the file cabinet, to which frank replied, "i'm sorry, i wasn't paying attention." :D you guys, i love the fact that while gerard is going off on some rant, frank just TUNES HIM OUT.
* gerard has this knack for making you believe he's looking right at you. i don't kid myself, but man, it feels amazing. there was this one time in particular when he was talking about how they're going away for a long time after this tour to write their next album, an alt-country album. :D then he laughed and said something about how he can't grow facial hair for shit and wishes he could grow a mustache. then he said, i don't know if you guys were paying attention, but in vietnam i think it was, i tried and i had this gnarly growth and it looked awful. and he was looking right at me and i emphatically nodded right back at him.
PICTURES - i only had my cell, so, you know. but still. <3
om nom arms.
whatcha doin' down there, frankie?
ugh, mikeyway, how so hot.
PRETTY MUCH THE BEST EVER EVER. INFINITE HEART-EYES FOR THESE STUPID BOYS. UGH.
i held our spots while victor went for beer. we hadn't eaten since lunch, so this was 'dinner' for the time being. invariably at shows, i end up behind Big Tall Dude. but this time? i found myself in a Sea of Girls - short girls. \o/ (score one for frank's side of the stage.)
drive by was up first. they seemed pretty decent. and their set was only about 30 minutes - a good amount of time, imo, for an opening band. you're not why i'm here but i've heard what you're about and i'll look into it if i'm interested, kthx. billy talent came out next and... not for me, no. the kids, though, they loved them. to me it was just a bunch of screaming. and noise. what can i say, I AM OLD. they also totally overstayed their welcome, i thought. there were at least three or four times when i thought they were done, but no. THANK YOU, LAS VEGAS!! *CROWD ROAR* aaaaaand here's another song. YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN GREAT, THANK YOU! *woooo* how 'bout another song. and another song. and one more! LAS VEGAS, WOOOOOOO. HERE'S ANOTHER SONG FOR YOU. etc etc. x_X
finally, billy talent finished their set and the techs came out to set up for mcr. i'm pretty sure that was cortez setting up frank's gear, and i flailed a little, was THIS close to screaming 'cortez!' but then nobody else said anything - in fact, there seemed to be a severe lack of reaction, so... yeah. guess i maybe overestimated the shared enthusiasm for cortez. i mean, the dudes pretty hot in his own right, you know? *shrug* (while we're on the topic of mcr's crew, i never saw worm. no idea if he was there or not.)
now i know it takes a while to set everything up, and maybe i was just tired and impatient, but it felt like it was taking them a really long time. the crowd was feeling it, too. there was lots of M-C-R chanting and a few rounds of marco polo and then finally, FINALLY, it seemed they were go for launch. WE CAN HAS MCR NAO?! um, no. hambone (friend of frank/mcr) came out to entertain us and sing a few songs. okay, fine. but then RAY FUCKING TORO comes out to play with him and i nearly pee my pants. (side note: all weekend i wouldn't let myself get too excited about the prospect of seeing mcr in person - not until i ACTUALLY saw them with my own eyes - because until then, there was far too much that could still go wrong at any minute - someone might have a heart attack! the night could be canceled! YOU DON'T KNOW.) but holy hell, RAY FUCKING TORO is right in front of me and THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING OMG and the EPIC FRO is EPIC. \o/
i couldn't tell you shit about the song they played bc my brain was all !!!!!!!!, but i can tell you that when they were finished FRANK ran out and glomped his arms around hambone and was grinning that BEAMING GRIN OF LOVE of his and then he ran off just as quickly as he ran out and AJFKDL;A HOLY SHITCAKES I'M GOING TO DIE HALLLLLLLLLLP.
hambone tried to sing another song after that, but the audience just wasn't really having it. they started with the M-C-R chanting again, and he looked a little dismayed, said something like, 'soon enough, kids.' at some point (before or after ray, i'm not sure, it's all a muddled mess), he asked if we knew any of pencey's songs and the crowd screamed. he then asked if we had any requests and someone yelled out freebird, to which he laughed and gave us the finger (his version of freebird). so he was supposed to sing a third song, i think, but the next thing i know he had left the stage and possibly uttered something like forget it or fuck it (this was after all the mcr chanting).
the crowd then cheered loudly thinking that mcr would be coming right out, but no. NO. and i just fucking knew, KNEW that gerard and/or frank were pissed. i could picture them backstage ranting about how rude and disrespectful that was and how now they were really going to make us fucking wait. AND WAIT WE DID. =\ [okay obvs this is pure conjecture, yeah? i don't actually know what was going on back there.] and okay, it was rude, but... the thing is most of these kids had BEEN waiting and standing for over four hours by this point. that's a long fucking time, and it's one thing when you know you have to wait through two opening bands, but then to throw yet ANOTHER buffer at us unexpectedly and yet expect us to react with enthusiasm, or at best patience? well... sorry, but no. i'm a pretty patient person, and even i was moaning on the inside.
but then it finally happened, and there they were. !!!!! mikey fucking way in his mikey fucking way tee; FRANK being all tiny and shit with scruff on his face and wearing a shirt i don't remember seeing before; toro wearing an umbrella academy tee; bob in his mountain man red flannel with the lady hair flopping down the front of his face (srsly, how does he see what he's doing?); and gerard - MY GOD YOU GUISE HE IS GORGEOUS. ♥_________♥
there was much scrambling with the phone trying to take pictures while jumping up and down and trying to keep my face from breaking in half from all the smiling. :D :D :D then there was the requisite phone call to be made to overloved - i don't even remember what song was playing when i called - i just wanted to call early on before it got too late for her - time zones and all that. but i couldn't resist and called her again during the black parade later in the night and sent a few pictures and and and ajalksdjf.
any and all irritability quickly flew out the window. hunger, exhaustion, achy feet? GONE. replaced with infinite GLEE and LOVE and more jumping up and down, devil horns and fist pumping than i have ever done in my entire life. \m/ i was essentially in hog heaven and i didn't want it stop. ever. and the crowd was surprisingly pretty tame. i wasn't sure once the music started if we were going to be able to keep our cushy spots near the front (about 11 rows of people back). we had to shove over a little more to the left, but that was it. \o/ i wish my pictures showed how close we actually were - they always look so much farther away in photos, i hate that. =\
okay bullets (har har) for the rest.
* the guys are ten times prettier in person than in pictures. i don't even know how that's possible, but it is.
* i was surprised that i didn't pay more attention to frank. he is my favorite, afterall. granted there was someone blocking my view of him for a good portion of the show, but also gerard? is just really captivating and it's hard to look away from him. i felt like a bug helplessly drawn into the light. and frank, while he did give us some great O faces, he just sort of stood there and played - which hey, not complaining, that's what he does - it's just when you compare that to gerard's faces and gestures and FACES and GESTURES, well... let's be real. if you're not watching gerard, you're probably missing something incredible. and then there was mikey way being all stunning, shaking his hair all about and just being a fucking rock star. from where i was standing, it was pretty much the gerard and mikey show. AND I DIDN'T MIND.
* THEY PLAYED KILL ALL YOUR FRIENDS. \o/
* after singing... something (my brain is broke), i guess gerard just wasn't feeling the love from the audience and he suggested that that song be returned to the file cabinet. he rambled on a bit about this and then asked frank if he thought that song should go back in the file cabinet, to which frank replied, "i'm sorry, i wasn't paying attention." :D you guys, i love the fact that while gerard is going off on some rant, frank just TUNES HIM OUT.
* gerard has this knack for making you believe he's looking right at you. i don't kid myself, but man, it feels amazing. there was this one time in particular when he was talking about how they're going away for a long time after this tour to write their next album, an alt-country album. :D then he laughed and said something about how he can't grow facial hair for shit and wishes he could grow a mustache. then he said, i don't know if you guys were paying attention, but in vietnam i think it was, i tried and i had this gnarly growth and it looked awful. and he was looking right at me and i emphatically nodded right back at him.
PICTURES - i only had my cell, so, you know. but still. <3
om nom arms.
whatcha doin' down there, frankie?
ugh, mikeyway, how so hot.
PRETTY MUCH THE BEST EVER EVER. INFINITE HEART-EYES FOR THESE STUPID BOYS. UGH.