Empires at Bottom Lounge 5/22/09
Pre-Show
I realized on the descent into San Francisco (read: end of my first of three flights), that I'd forgotten my ticket for the show. Luckily, M's roommate J had an extra, so all was well.
We left at a seemingly early enough time, but we hit rush hour traffic of people headed into Chicago, so it took us three very long hours to get there. But get there we did, and we found eleanor-lavish, schuyler, and a collection of other people to have dinner and drinks before the show. If you're ever at Bottom Lounge, get the fries. They're awesome. Also awesome? Hanging out with Sky. In fact, the best part of this whole adventure was getting to spend time with her. (And M, but we're spending the whole week together, so.)
The Show
We went in for the end of Company of Thieves' set. Other people liked them, so I guess they were good? My first cranky old lady thought was that it was a lot of noise. They did "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart," which I could at least sing along to. A lot of the audience left when they did, so we burrowed our way toward the front.
I think I'm happier to have seen Empires than I was to actually see them. I am not cut out for rock concerts. I don't like sound so loud I can feel it in my body. I have, in fact, on many occasions, taken a few steps away from my computer and realized I can no longer hear the music I was listening to.
I also have to say something about their music, and bandom people should probably skip this paragraph. I'm sure if I listened to them more or knew more about music I would note more of the subtleties, but at this point the music of Empires/Mark Rose/Panic at the Disco/The Cab kind of all blurs together for me. (Although a few of Panic's songs stand out because I've heard them on the radio.)
Anyway, back to the show. Tom, Al, and Max seemed like guys doing their jobs to me, but other people told me later that they were totally into it in their ways. Ryan, the drummer, was very into it - to the point that he kept playing flat-out even as his reinjured hand bled all over everything. Sean, the frontman/singer, was awesome. He was clearly into it and loving what he does. I totally saw the guy who reenergized M's dedication to her writing. The highlight of the set, for me at least, was Sean's solo version of "Hayley." I loved that the crowd knew all the words and sang along. (I also liked that it was quieter.)
For more details, including the mosh pit, see Sky's liveblog of the show.
Post-Show
People started filtering out after the show, but it was fun to watch bits of largely underaged fans crowd around the band members as they came out from backstage. I stuck to Sky while we trailed El taking one of their other friends to talk to Sean. The awesome part of this was the merch guy shouting hilarious things like, "Buying the band's shirt makes you seem cooler than you are." When fangirls asked Nick Scimeca (I don't know; no one ever pointed him out to me, and I don't know what he looks like) for his autograph, Sky dragged us on a retreat back to the bar side of the building. Across the bar, Company of Thieves was sharing a single bowl of pasta. We were tempted to buy them a second one.
We had to say goodbye to Sky and El soon after that (they were hilariously worried about leaving me alone because I don't have a cell phone, and carefully walked me back to M), but not before M introduced us to Mark Rose. He was my favorite of all the musicians we met. He was genuinely friendly, sweet, and excited to talk to M and J. I also met Ryan, who hugged me before we were introduced because he was just hugging on down the line of the three of us; Max, who seemed like a nice guy; and Tom, who totally surprised me by being so much warmer off stage than his on-stage persona.
After we left Bottom Lounge, we headed off to the Pick Me Up Cafe for a snack before our drive home. This was the place where my cranky old lady tendencies showed up again. They sat us in a corner booth, where I immediately thought, "This is way too dark," and then laughed. Their fries were nothing special, but I also had a vegan strawberry shake that was awesome. Our evening ended with a drive that was only half the time of our drive there. I spent large portions of it asleep.
We have now safely arrived at WisCon. M's not feeling well and skipping out on the slash panel to lie in bed, and I'm feeling settled in and more inclined to write, so I'm skipping it too. I'll have to read reports later.
I realized on the descent into San Francisco (read: end of my first of three flights), that I'd forgotten my ticket for the show. Luckily, M's roommate J had an extra, so all was well.
We left at a seemingly early enough time, but we hit rush hour traffic of people headed into Chicago, so it took us three very long hours to get there. But get there we did, and we found eleanor-lavish, schuyler, and a collection of other people to have dinner and drinks before the show. If you're ever at Bottom Lounge, get the fries. They're awesome. Also awesome? Hanging out with Sky. In fact, the best part of this whole adventure was getting to spend time with her. (And M, but we're spending the whole week together, so.)
The Show
We went in for the end of Company of Thieves' set. Other people liked them, so I guess they were good? My first cranky old lady thought was that it was a lot of noise. They did "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart," which I could at least sing along to. A lot of the audience left when they did, so we burrowed our way toward the front.
I think I'm happier to have seen Empires than I was to actually see them. I am not cut out for rock concerts. I don't like sound so loud I can feel it in my body. I have, in fact, on many occasions, taken a few steps away from my computer and realized I can no longer hear the music I was listening to.
I also have to say something about their music, and bandom people should probably skip this paragraph. I'm sure if I listened to them more or knew more about music I would note more of the subtleties, but at this point the music of Empires/Mark Rose/Panic at the Disco/The Cab kind of all blurs together for me. (Although a few of Panic's songs stand out because I've heard them on the radio.)
Anyway, back to the show. Tom, Al, and Max seemed like guys doing their jobs to me, but other people told me later that they were totally into it in their ways. Ryan, the drummer, was very into it - to the point that he kept playing flat-out even as his reinjured hand bled all over everything. Sean, the frontman/singer, was awesome. He was clearly into it and loving what he does. I totally saw the guy who reenergized M's dedication to her writing. The highlight of the set, for me at least, was Sean's solo version of "Hayley." I loved that the crowd knew all the words and sang along. (I also liked that it was quieter.)
For more details, including the mosh pit, see Sky's liveblog of the show.
Post-Show
People started filtering out after the show, but it was fun to watch bits of largely underaged fans crowd around the band members as they came out from backstage. I stuck to Sky while we trailed El taking one of their other friends to talk to Sean. The awesome part of this was the merch guy shouting hilarious things like, "Buying the band's shirt makes you seem cooler than you are." When fangirls asked Nick Scimeca (I don't know; no one ever pointed him out to me, and I don't know what he looks like) for his autograph, Sky dragged us on a retreat back to the bar side of the building. Across the bar, Company of Thieves was sharing a single bowl of pasta. We were tempted to buy them a second one.
We had to say goodbye to Sky and El soon after that (they were hilariously worried about leaving me alone because I don't have a cell phone, and carefully walked me back to M), but not before M introduced us to Mark Rose. He was my favorite of all the musicians we met. He was genuinely friendly, sweet, and excited to talk to M and J. I also met Ryan, who hugged me before we were introduced because he was just hugging on down the line of the three of us; Max, who seemed like a nice guy; and Tom, who totally surprised me by being so much warmer off stage than his on-stage persona.
After we left Bottom Lounge, we headed off to the Pick Me Up Cafe for a snack before our drive home. This was the place where my cranky old lady tendencies showed up again. They sat us in a corner booth, where I immediately thought, "This is way too dark," and then laughed. Their fries were nothing special, but I also had a vegan strawberry shake that was awesome. Our evening ended with a drive that was only half the time of our drive there. I spent large portions of it asleep.
We have now safely arrived at WisCon. M's not feeling well and skipping out on the slash panel to lie in bed, and I'm feeling settled in and more inclined to write, so I'm skipping it too. I'll have to read reports later.