if it's Friday, this must be Birmingham
I only know it's Friday because my computer and cell phone told me so. I know it's June 20 for the same reason, and also because it's my mom's birthday, but seriously the last couple of weeks have been very " . . . where am I? . . . what day is it? . . . how did I get here?" My friend Emily and I got into Birmingham yesterday night after driving from Lubbock for two days with her angry cats (she continued on to NC this morning) and then went for midnight sushi because starving won out over exhausted, but only just.
It was an amazing trip. I'm glad it's done now. I'm an extreme introvert who has barely been in a room by herself in two months. Do you have any idea how tired I am? Seriously, I'm barely functional.
But anyway, that aside, what I really want to talk about is Cobra Starship. Shocking, I know. I saw them in Lubbock three nights ago at the aptly named Tequila Jungle and I drank a lot of tequila and beer and then sent many, many drunk text messages to neverneverfic and songgirl12 in which I 1) pretended I was less drunk than I was and 2) attempted to fully articulate the depth of my love for Gabe Saporta and probably failed because it's just one of those things that *really* can't be textually rendered.
Most of the drinking was done with Damien, the drummer from Delux, who were the first opening band. He is incredibly attractive, drinks vodka & pineapple, is from Tijuana and has a crush on Vickyt. He spent a good part of the evening flirting with my friend while I spent a good part of the evening worrying about bandom and the fourth wall because I really do spend entirely too much of my life thinking about that kind of thing.
The thing I noticed about Delux the most was their drummer. The Secret Handshake was okay. We the Kings continue to do nothing for me and then they pissed me off when they dumped their trash in the middle of the street after the show, so eh.
Then Cobra Starship came on and I forgot that other bands existed. Ryland sang a lot - whole versus of songs, where Gabe would just stop so he could dance or sing back up or talk to the crowd or whatever. And like, I knew Gabe owned my heart, but RYLAND, I DIDN'T KNOW. Alex was completely adorable and totally animated. At one point Gabe said something to Vickyt that made her laugh so hard she couldn't play. The lighting was better than the first time I saw them and I could see them all really well (except Nate, unfortunately) and they were all just playing to the crowd for all they were worth and their combined charisma is something it's impossible to *not* get caught up in. And Gabe. Gabe, Gabe, Gabe. It's hard to pay attention to anything else going on when he's onstage. I pointed him out before the show and Emily was like " . . . I don't really get it." She turned to me half-way through the *first song* and said, "Okay. Now I get it." I KNOW, RIGHT? Don't doubt The Cobra. At one point Gabe stopped to thank the fans and then he singled out this kid in a Midtown shirt and thanked him specifically for supporting the transition to Cobras because it's so different and he really appreciates the fans who have been there all along. He goes," for those of you who don't know, I used to be in a band called Midtown." Shut your mouth, Gabe Saporta. We know and also I don't know what to do with reminders of your existential angst in the middle of a concert.
Then he sang the first verse of "Guilty Pleasure" in Spanish and I died. The end. More stuff happened, but I was very caught up in the show and also kind of drunk.
It was a very small venue, so they all (again, except for Nate who I never did see much of at all) kept wandering around kind of randomly. I'd turn around and they would be right there. They all walked through the line right in front of me. I'm not someone who deals well with this. I know some people in bandom can meet RPS subjects, have sustained contact with them, no problem. That's not really my thing. I'm a lot more comfortable if the fourth wall is as intact as possible. I didn't even go to the Panic meet and greet because WHAT WOULD I SAY TO THEM, OH GOD? But I was with a real life friend who didn't have that problem and I'd met Ryland before in New Orleans and that was okay, so when Em wanted to hang out after and say hi, I went with it. Gabe, of course, came out immediately and was outgoing and personable and willing to stand and chat with whoever and take as many pictures as needed and he took the time to talk to everyone so he could personalize the message in the autograph at least a little bit and was just generally amazing which was pretty unfair because pretty much the last thing I needed in my life was another reason to love Gabe best. It's already kind of a problem. Then he hugged me, which I should have been expecting because he hugged everyone, but I was still unprepared. Then I had to wander away in a daze. Except then Vickyt came out and was completely gorgeous. She was a lot more reserved than Gabe, but she was very sweet when I introduced myself. I managed not to ask her to be my girlfriend, but that was mostly because Gabe was standing behind her and I didn't know where to focus my attention. Then we saw Ryland, who was just as gracious as I remember him being. Alex came out last (except for Nate who either didn't come out, or who I missed somehow.) I find Alex kind of distressingly attractive in person. We'd seen him at the merch table before the show and asked if he was signing autographs after and he said yes. He took so long to come back that I'd joked with Em that he lied to us. When she jokingly told *him* that he turned these *eyes* on me and I was just like UGH DON'T POUT AT ME ALEX SUAREZ, I CAN'T TAKE IT. But I didn't say that. I was totally chill through the whole thing and I didn't babble like an idiot at all and now I have a shirt that has been signed by 4/5 of Cobra Starship.
I don't even know, you guys. Every other concert I go to, Panic included, I'm just like "whatever, it was good, I'm too lazy to do a concert recap." And this is like LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOW GABE SAPORTA TOUCHED ME. Seriously, the depth of my devotion to the Cult of the Cobra is actually a little alarming. I feel strongly that it isn't *safe* to love celebrities the way I love fictional characters, mostly because when real people let me down, I can't blame the writers. That's actually a whole other post that doesn't belong here, but seriously, Cobra Starship, why are you the band of my heart? It was the music I was least sure of when I got into this fandom; given what I listened to before, they're not the band that is most my "type" of music. I mean, it's incredibly catchy, obviously. You NEVER get it out of your head. But otoh, Gabe's a button pusher and sometimes he absolutely goes too far. What appeals to me is mostly their foundation-story, post-modern, self-mocking, in-joky THING mixed with amazing charisma and how much fun they are so clearly having. It's like being brainwashed in a good way. Fangs up, Cobra style, GABE, YOU ARE CLEARLY DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.
It was an amazing trip. I'm glad it's done now. I'm an extreme introvert who has barely been in a room by herself in two months. Do you have any idea how tired I am? Seriously, I'm barely functional.
But anyway, that aside, what I really want to talk about is Cobra Starship. Shocking, I know. I saw them in Lubbock three nights ago at the aptly named Tequila Jungle and I drank a lot of tequila and beer and then sent many, many drunk text messages to neverneverfic and songgirl12 in which I 1) pretended I was less drunk than I was and 2) attempted to fully articulate the depth of my love for Gabe Saporta and probably failed because it's just one of those things that *really* can't be textually rendered.
Most of the drinking was done with Damien, the drummer from Delux, who were the first opening band. He is incredibly attractive, drinks vodka & pineapple, is from Tijuana and has a crush on Vickyt. He spent a good part of the evening flirting with my friend while I spent a good part of the evening worrying about bandom and the fourth wall because I really do spend entirely too much of my life thinking about that kind of thing.
The thing I noticed about Delux the most was their drummer. The Secret Handshake was okay. We the Kings continue to do nothing for me and then they pissed me off when they dumped their trash in the middle of the street after the show, so eh.
Then Cobra Starship came on and I forgot that other bands existed. Ryland sang a lot - whole versus of songs, where Gabe would just stop so he could dance or sing back up or talk to the crowd or whatever. And like, I knew Gabe owned my heart, but RYLAND, I DIDN'T KNOW. Alex was completely adorable and totally animated. At one point Gabe said something to Vickyt that made her laugh so hard she couldn't play. The lighting was better than the first time I saw them and I could see them all really well (except Nate, unfortunately) and they were all just playing to the crowd for all they were worth and their combined charisma is something it's impossible to *not* get caught up in. And Gabe. Gabe, Gabe, Gabe. It's hard to pay attention to anything else going on when he's onstage. I pointed him out before the show and Emily was like " . . . I don't really get it." She turned to me half-way through the *first song* and said, "Okay. Now I get it." I KNOW, RIGHT? Don't doubt The Cobra. At one point Gabe stopped to thank the fans and then he singled out this kid in a Midtown shirt and thanked him specifically for supporting the transition to Cobras because it's so different and he really appreciates the fans who have been there all along. He goes," for those of you who don't know, I used to be in a band called Midtown." Shut your mouth, Gabe Saporta. We know and also I don't know what to do with reminders of your existential angst in the middle of a concert.
Then he sang the first verse of "Guilty Pleasure" in Spanish and I died. The end. More stuff happened, but I was very caught up in the show and also kind of drunk.
It was a very small venue, so they all (again, except for Nate who I never did see much of at all) kept wandering around kind of randomly. I'd turn around and they would be right there. They all walked through the line right in front of me. I'm not someone who deals well with this. I know some people in bandom can meet RPS subjects, have sustained contact with them, no problem. That's not really my thing. I'm a lot more comfortable if the fourth wall is as intact as possible. I didn't even go to the Panic meet and greet because WHAT WOULD I SAY TO THEM, OH GOD? But I was with a real life friend who didn't have that problem and I'd met Ryland before in New Orleans and that was okay, so when Em wanted to hang out after and say hi, I went with it. Gabe, of course, came out immediately and was outgoing and personable and willing to stand and chat with whoever and take as many pictures as needed and he took the time to talk to everyone so he could personalize the message in the autograph at least a little bit and was just generally amazing which was pretty unfair because pretty much the last thing I needed in my life was another reason to love Gabe best. It's already kind of a problem. Then he hugged me, which I should have been expecting because he hugged everyone, but I was still unprepared. Then I had to wander away in a daze. Except then Vickyt came out and was completely gorgeous. She was a lot more reserved than Gabe, but she was very sweet when I introduced myself. I managed not to ask her to be my girlfriend, but that was mostly because Gabe was standing behind her and I didn't know where to focus my attention. Then we saw Ryland, who was just as gracious as I remember him being. Alex came out last (except for Nate who either didn't come out, or who I missed somehow.) I find Alex kind of distressingly attractive in person. We'd seen him at the merch table before the show and asked if he was signing autographs after and he said yes. He took so long to come back that I'd joked with Em that he lied to us. When she jokingly told *him* that he turned these *eyes* on me and I was just like UGH DON'T POUT AT ME ALEX SUAREZ, I CAN'T TAKE IT. But I didn't say that. I was totally chill through the whole thing and I didn't babble like an idiot at all and now I have a shirt that has been signed by 4/5 of Cobra Starship.
I don't even know, you guys. Every other concert I go to, Panic included, I'm just like "whatever, it was good, I'm too lazy to do a concert recap." And this is like LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOW GABE SAPORTA TOUCHED ME. Seriously, the depth of my devotion to the Cult of the Cobra is actually a little alarming. I feel strongly that it isn't *safe* to love celebrities the way I love fictional characters, mostly because when real people let me down, I can't blame the writers. That's actually a whole other post that doesn't belong here, but seriously, Cobra Starship, why are you the band of my heart? It was the music I was least sure of when I got into this fandom; given what I listened to before, they're not the band that is most my "type" of music. I mean, it's incredibly catchy, obviously. You NEVER get it out of your head. But otoh, Gabe's a button pusher and sometimes he absolutely goes too far. What appeals to me is mostly their foundation-story, post-modern, self-mocking, in-joky THING mixed with amazing charisma and how much fun they are so clearly having. It's like being brainwashed in a good way. Fangs up, Cobra style, GABE, YOU ARE CLEARLY DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.