Gigantour
I’ve outdone myself again! Not only was Wednesday night’s concert the best I’ve ever attended; it was also the best day of my life so far. My roommate Nicole and I went to Gigantour at The Rave, and she wanted to see Job for a Cowboy while I was dying to see Children of Bodom and also kind of wanted to see In Flames and Megadeth.
For those of you who don’t want to read all the minute details I need to document to preserve this wonderful memory, here’s the basic rundown of what happened:
- I met an awesome guy from Lake Geneva named Robbie who is potential boyfriend material, which is saying a lot because I’m kind of picky.
- Roope Latvala from C.O.B. and Stone walked behind me in the ballroom to get backstage, and Robbie chased after him and met him.
- The pit was really intense, but I stuck it out until after Bodom played. Robbie and I arranged to meet outside the doors after the show was over.
- We left after Children of Bodom played and stalked the buses in hopes of meeting some of the bands when they came out.
- Matt from High on Fire invited us on Job for a Cowboy’s bus, where we partied with him and all of JFAC for six hours. I only had a Jaegerbomb, but I was totally giddy and zoned out for half an hour before I could focus my eyes again. JFAC’s drummer was so nice and waited on me, mixing a drink and bringing me water while I sat on their couch. Nicole got totally wasted and reached groupie status with a certain member of JFAC.
- I met a guy from In Flames’ crew and another from C.O.B.’s crew because they are Germans and wanted to speak German with me.
- While I was talking to the Germans, Roope was behind me signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. I went on the bus to get my camera, and tried to chase Roope down, but he left and went back onto Bodom’s bus. There I met up with Robbie again.
- At midnight, JFAC’s manager got Janne Warman, the keyboardist from C.O.B. and Warmen, to come and hang out with me for an hour and a half. Nicole made me sit by him, and I was pretty much freaking out the entire time, but luckily I didn’t go into obsessive fan mode on him.
- Before they all had to leave for Omaha, Henkka and Jaska from C.O.B. came on the bus, and I got to meet them.
- Once we all got kicked off the bus, I finally met Roope in the parking lot.
There’s only one picture because I didn’t want to annoy any of the guys, so here’s Janne and I.
I’m not bummed out anymore that I didn’t buy a $275 meet and greet pass because I got so much more than that for free. I wish I would have been able to meet Alexi, but people from the other bands said that he doesn’t care too much about meeting his fans, which is really disappointing because he’s a huge musical inspiration for me.
My mom picked us up from UWM, and we got there at 4:30, just after the doors opened. We were able to get a spot in the second row between the middle and right side of the stage. The renovations they’ve done in the ballroom since the last time I was there are phenomenal. It’s actually kind of clean and nice to look at - especially the ceiling. I also like the fact they lowered the stage.
So here’s the deal with this Robbie guy. I was standing around talking to Nicole about Bodom, and he overheard, so he started talking to me. It turns out that we listen to a lot of the same music, we both play guitar, and he really is a genuinely nice guy. He’s the same age as I am and has a job, which is a vast improvement over the guys who try to get with me on MySpace. He’s also good looking, and also has curly hair, but we both straightened it for the show, so he looked a lot like Janne from Children of Bodom. He’s also thin and taller than me when I’m wearing heels. He held onto me when the pit got really bad, and kept checking to see if I was okay. It was funny that when someone slammed into him, he accidentally elbowed me in the nose, and when he apologized, my head got bashed into his.
High on Fire came on first, and I’ve never been a fan of the recorded material of theirs I’ve heard. I know they’re part of the doom/sludge genre, which I don’t like very much as a whole. It’s just too slow for me. However, I thought they were pretty good live and actually got into them a little. Their vocalist/guitarist Matt was quite good.
Job for a Cowboy played next, and that’s when things really started to get ugly in the pit. I don’t even remember much of their performance, other than that they are more rhythmic than melodic, which just doesn’t sound good to me. I don’t know if it has anything to do with playing classical music for several years, but the music I listen to has to be melodic. Their vocalist was also very monotone in his screaming.
I am by no means a pussy, and I have a very high tolerance for pain, but the pit was the worst I’ve ever been in. Even though I’m not short, I have a small frame, and I can’t really handle getting hit by these huge guys who use all their weight to slam into me. My arm hurts quite bad and is very swollen, but there is no bruise so I’m kind of worried that it might be sprained or broken. It feels a lot like the other times I’ve broken bones, which worries me. One of my ribs is also killing me from being squished so hard it knocked the wind out of me several times. I have several other bruises throughout my body. The pit got exponentially more brutal as time progressed. During C.O.B.’s set, I was struggling so hard for air that I could barely even shout along with the choruses every now and then, and couldn’t headbang (which is why I straightened my hair in the first place). I’m not really surprised because there were a lot of rabid Bodom fans there, myself included. The most I could do was stick my pathetic little hand giving the horns over the gate. The guy in front of me was really tall and he was blocking my view of Alexi most of the time, but I was able smile at Henkka, which earned me a point and a smile in return. The guy behind me was trying to climb me and kept hitting both sides of my face with his arms. After their set was over, I sweating so hard that the money in my pockets were dripping and my hair was all curly again. So was Robbie’s, so I didn’t feel as bad. One thing that saved me from getting hurt worse was my leather jacket. Even then, when I took it off, the upper layer of skin on my forearm was shredded from some idiot who didn’t get there early enough and was trying to get my spot. I also got kicked in the head many times from crowd surfers, but there’s nothing new there. I’m glad I didn’t give in before Bodom was done, and it gave me a little pride knowing I wasn’t one of the girls who were being pulled over the gate, bawling their eyes out.
As expected, Children of Bodom were phenomenal. From what I can remember, they played "Sixpounder", "Hate Me!", "Living Dead Beat", "In Your Face", "Hellhounds on My Trail", "Angels Don’t Kill", "Blooddrunk", , and "Downfall".
Although I wish they could have played longer, they really picked great songs to play that not only showcased Alexi Laiho and Roope Latvala’s amazing fretwork, but also Janne Warman’s intricate and beautifully delicate keyboard playing. The band as a whole is very solid, but these guys are truly at the top of their game. I get so much crap from other rock ‘n’ roll musicians for being able to read music, but the fact that these guys are classically trained and understand the theory behind what they’re doing takes the music to an entirely different level. All three of them won fan-nominated Metal from Finland awards -- Alexi as best guitarist and Janne as second-best keyboardist (although that was bullshit; Tuomas Holopainen’s got nothing on him). And for whatever it’s worth, Alexi is very good at spitting booze really high and accurately! Unfortunately, there was no time for their usual stage antics, but hopefully I’ll be able to see them when they’re on a headlining tour. I was a bit disappointed that Alexi picked a fan out in the audience and made fun of them for “not being able to see shit” when he’s shorter than me, even though he’s Finnish.
Nicole and I were sore enough from the previous bands and were hopeful that we’d be able to meet some of them if we waited long enough by the buses, so we did just that. No one else was there, and we had only been standing there for a couple minutes when Matt from High on Fire comes out of Job for a Cowboy’s bus and invites us on. I didn’t want to at first because I wanted to wait for Bodom, but Matt promised me I would be able to meet them, so I ended up joining Nicole. (I later found out from Nicole that he just really wanted me to come on the bus because I’m hot. Haha!) I couldn’t believe that all but one of the guys from JFAC were under 21. They were all extremely friendly, and made me feel completely welcome. Jon, their drummer, made me a Jaegerbomb, and continued to wait on me, bringing me water. It was mostly Jaeger, so I was really happy and chilled out and couldn’t focus my eyes for a while. At that point, we were just talking, watching the Ninja Warriors on G4, and listening to Motley Crue and Black Sabbath. Matt from High on Fire was also very awesome. I told him that one of my classmates was a huge High on Fire fan, so he went and got two CDs for her, and signed them both with personal messages. She is going to flip out when I give them to her on Tuesday! He had a lot of insightful things to say about European vs. American culture, spirituality, and drug use.
As the night progressed, Nicole drank more and more until she was almost out of control. Sarah, a friend of JFAC’s joined us, and she was actually really cool. We all got along really well, except JFAC’s vocalist was really reclusive. We all had a good time talking about and showing off body mods. There were even a few of the guys who were really into visual art! I felt kind of bad because I kept talking about Children of Bodom, but at least Matt from High on Fire also appreciates their musical talent. However, he said that Alexi won’t really care to meet me, but he was going to make it happen so that I would meet the other guys. After a while, Matt ended up leaving to meet a friend of his at a bar. However, JFAC’s manager said he was going to take over make it happen. He also found out that I speak German, and since C.O.B. and In Flames are under German management, their crews are all German. So I ended up leaving the bus to talk to them about Milwaukee’s German culture in mixed German and English. After a while, Robbie is on the sidewalk yelling for me. Roope is standing behind me handing out autographs and taking pictures. I went back in the bus, grabbed my camera, but it was too late. He was just going back to C.O.B.’s bus as I reached him, so I went back on JFAC’s bus.
Around midnight, Job for a Cowboy’s manager leaves the bus and returns with none other than Janne fucking Warman! He said he picked him out especially for me because he is the most fun. No one’s ever done anything that nice for me before. That manager and Janne are saints. I can’t believe a rock star would agree to go and hang out with one of their fans for an hour and a half. The next thing I know, Nicole is dragging me onto the other couch next to him, and I’m shaking his hand and Nicole is introducing me to him because I’m completely gobsmacked. I promised I wouldn’t get weird on him, but he said that was fine with him if I did. When I told him I’d been waiting to meet someone from C.O.B., he said, “Sorry, all you got is the lighting technician!” Nicole was even more drunk, and actually managed to weird Janne out when she told him that his accent is “fucking sexy”. At this point, there was this really annoying trashy scenester chick on the bus that was trying to argue that Smiths and Morrissey fans are completely different people. What the fuck? She was probably drunk off her ass anyway. I later found out from Nicole that she was extremely jealous and wanted me off the bus. She was dancing like a complete retard and Janne kept making remarks to me about her. I’m pretty sure she was one of the merchandisers, and even though she is married, she keeps trying to get with Henkka. Come on Henkka, you can do better than that! Thank gods she didn’t stay too long. At that point, Nicole was going back and forth from the bathroom and the back rooms to the lounge, and she sat down next to me and was like to Janne, “This is my friend Megan. She’s a big Children of Bodom fan!” Janne said, “Ja, I know, I already met her.” Later on, Nicole tried “introducing” me again, which probably annoyed him further, but I can’t believe Janne remembered my name! Then she asked him what his name was for like the fourth time, and he said it was George. When she asked me and I told her what it was, she starting yelling, “You lied to me! You fucking lied to me!,” at him, which wasn’t too cool. Janne replied, "How could I ever lie to a beautiful lady with beautiful eyes such as yourselves?" Nice one. While she was there, I did get her to take a picture of Janne and I, and it actually turned out decent despite the state she was in. Of course I asked Janne for permission, and he decided to mess with me before telling her to take the picure. He was not satisfied with our proximity, so he threw an arm around me, leaned in, and you can see me dying of joy in the above picture that I’ve been whoring out around the Internet. I made sure to thank him in Finnish; it was the least I could do. After Nicole left the lounge for a while to get with one of the JFAC guys, Janne and I talked about all kinds of things from embarrassing bathroom incidents to buying too small underwear in Canada to watery American beer (as he was drinking Bud Light) to how he was going to be an architect, and of course he asked about the boring details about my life and future. I ended up making a complete fool out of myself by skanking with the annoying scenester to some random ska music, but whatever. Janne danced in his aforementioned too-small underwear to several cheesy pop songs, so I wasn’t embarrassed. Although at that point he had a few beers and moved on to some Jameson’s, so at least he had an excuse. Unfortunately, I was completely sober at that point and didn’t have enough courage to let someone I idolize be the first to see my ass. We even sang along with Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” and tried to be gangster during 2Pac’s “California Love”. He made fun of me for being shy, but I know he used to be really shy too, so at least he can sympathize with that. When the bus driver appeared, I stood up to ask Nicole if we had to leave, and unknowingly, my ass was in front of Janne’s face. I only noticed when he squeezed my thigh, which I didn’t mind, but when I went to sit back down, he was leaning over my spot talking to a roadie, and my ass kind of came in contact with his head. I was mortified! I noticed what I was doing pretty quickly, so I’m hoping he didn’t really notice what happened, since he didn’t say anything. He was so nice, and I wish I would have talked to him a little more, but I was in a state of shock the entire time. Before everyone had to leave, I see Henkka and Jaska come up the stairs to the lounge. At 1:30 we all left the buses together, and I got a big hug from a half-naked Janne and told him hauska tavata. As I was walking toward the door, none other than Henkka and Jaska start coming up the stairs. I said hi to Henkka, shook his hand, introduced myself, and told him it was nice to meet him in Finnish. Once we were all off Job for a Cowboy’s bus, Nicole and I walked to the bus stop to find out that at 1:45 AM, the buses weren’t running. She ended up calling one of her friends to come get us. While we were waiting for him, I noticed Roope was over by the buses, so we went back over to meet him. He was pretty wasted at that point and didn’t get what I was saying at first about how I loved his work in Stone, but he said those were the “good old times”. One thing I really love about all these Finnish guys is that they all can pronounce my name correctly. Hopefully I’ll be able to meet all of the Bodom guys (including Alexi, even if he is an asshole) again.
By 2:00 AM, everyone was on the road and this homeless guy comes up to us asking for money. Fortunately Nicole still had half a bottle of beer and some cigarettes on her, which satisfied him enough to leave us alone until our ride got there.
When we got back to the dorms, I quickly glued the parts of my sculpture together the morning it was due and at 5:00 AM set my alarm for 8:00 AM so I would have enough time to paint it before my 11:00 final exam in rock ‘n’ roll history. I couldn’t fall asleep until around 6:30 AM, and must have turned my alarm off and accidentally went back to sleep. When I woke up, the clock read 10:15, and I panicked. I’ve never painted anything that fast and put myself together all in half an hour. Although I’m not that satisfied with how my sculpture turned out, it wasn’t any worse than everyone else’s, especially considering my time management issues.
All in all, I had a very successful day. The only thing is that now I’m going to try to get on every band’s tour bus that I can.
For those of you who don’t want to read all the minute details I need to document to preserve this wonderful memory, here’s the basic rundown of what happened:
- I met an awesome guy from Lake Geneva named Robbie who is potential boyfriend material, which is saying a lot because I’m kind of picky.
- Roope Latvala from C.O.B. and Stone walked behind me in the ballroom to get backstage, and Robbie chased after him and met him.
- The pit was really intense, but I stuck it out until after Bodom played. Robbie and I arranged to meet outside the doors after the show was over.
- We left after Children of Bodom played and stalked the buses in hopes of meeting some of the bands when they came out.
- Matt from High on Fire invited us on Job for a Cowboy’s bus, where we partied with him and all of JFAC for six hours. I only had a Jaegerbomb, but I was totally giddy and zoned out for half an hour before I could focus my eyes again. JFAC’s drummer was so nice and waited on me, mixing a drink and bringing me water while I sat on their couch. Nicole got totally wasted and reached groupie status with a certain member of JFAC.
- I met a guy from In Flames’ crew and another from C.O.B.’s crew because they are Germans and wanted to speak German with me.
- While I was talking to the Germans, Roope was behind me signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. I went on the bus to get my camera, and tried to chase Roope down, but he left and went back onto Bodom’s bus. There I met up with Robbie again.
- At midnight, JFAC’s manager got Janne Warman, the keyboardist from C.O.B. and Warmen, to come and hang out with me for an hour and a half. Nicole made me sit by him, and I was pretty much freaking out the entire time, but luckily I didn’t go into obsessive fan mode on him.
- Before they all had to leave for Omaha, Henkka and Jaska from C.O.B. came on the bus, and I got to meet them.
- Once we all got kicked off the bus, I finally met Roope in the parking lot.
There’s only one picture because I didn’t want to annoy any of the guys, so here’s Janne and I.
I’m not bummed out anymore that I didn’t buy a $275 meet and greet pass because I got so much more than that for free. I wish I would have been able to meet Alexi, but people from the other bands said that he doesn’t care too much about meeting his fans, which is really disappointing because he’s a huge musical inspiration for me.
My mom picked us up from UWM, and we got there at 4:30, just after the doors opened. We were able to get a spot in the second row between the middle and right side of the stage. The renovations they’ve done in the ballroom since the last time I was there are phenomenal. It’s actually kind of clean and nice to look at - especially the ceiling. I also like the fact they lowered the stage.
So here’s the deal with this Robbie guy. I was standing around talking to Nicole about Bodom, and he overheard, so he started talking to me. It turns out that we listen to a lot of the same music, we both play guitar, and he really is a genuinely nice guy. He’s the same age as I am and has a job, which is a vast improvement over the guys who try to get with me on MySpace. He’s also good looking, and also has curly hair, but we both straightened it for the show, so he looked a lot like Janne from Children of Bodom. He’s also thin and taller than me when I’m wearing heels. He held onto me when the pit got really bad, and kept checking to see if I was okay. It was funny that when someone slammed into him, he accidentally elbowed me in the nose, and when he apologized, my head got bashed into his.
High on Fire came on first, and I’ve never been a fan of the recorded material of theirs I’ve heard. I know they’re part of the doom/sludge genre, which I don’t like very much as a whole. It’s just too slow for me. However, I thought they were pretty good live and actually got into them a little. Their vocalist/guitarist Matt was quite good.
Job for a Cowboy played next, and that’s when things really started to get ugly in the pit. I don’t even remember much of their performance, other than that they are more rhythmic than melodic, which just doesn’t sound good to me. I don’t know if it has anything to do with playing classical music for several years, but the music I listen to has to be melodic. Their vocalist was also very monotone in his screaming.
I am by no means a pussy, and I have a very high tolerance for pain, but the pit was the worst I’ve ever been in. Even though I’m not short, I have a small frame, and I can’t really handle getting hit by these huge guys who use all their weight to slam into me. My arm hurts quite bad and is very swollen, but there is no bruise so I’m kind of worried that it might be sprained or broken. It feels a lot like the other times I’ve broken bones, which worries me. One of my ribs is also killing me from being squished so hard it knocked the wind out of me several times. I have several other bruises throughout my body. The pit got exponentially more brutal as time progressed. During C.O.B.’s set, I was struggling so hard for air that I could barely even shout along with the choruses every now and then, and couldn’t headbang (which is why I straightened my hair in the first place). I’m not really surprised because there were a lot of rabid Bodom fans there, myself included. The most I could do was stick my pathetic little hand giving the horns over the gate. The guy in front of me was really tall and he was blocking my view of Alexi most of the time, but I was able smile at Henkka, which earned me a point and a smile in return. The guy behind me was trying to climb me and kept hitting both sides of my face with his arms. After their set was over, I sweating so hard that the money in my pockets were dripping and my hair was all curly again. So was Robbie’s, so I didn’t feel as bad. One thing that saved me from getting hurt worse was my leather jacket. Even then, when I took it off, the upper layer of skin on my forearm was shredded from some idiot who didn’t get there early enough and was trying to get my spot. I also got kicked in the head many times from crowd surfers, but there’s nothing new there. I’m glad I didn’t give in before Bodom was done, and it gave me a little pride knowing I wasn’t one of the girls who were being pulled over the gate, bawling their eyes out.
As expected, Children of Bodom were phenomenal. From what I can remember, they played "Sixpounder", "Hate Me!", "Living Dead Beat", "In Your Face", "Hellhounds on My Trail", "Angels Don’t Kill", "Blooddrunk", , and "Downfall".
Although I wish they could have played longer, they really picked great songs to play that not only showcased Alexi Laiho and Roope Latvala’s amazing fretwork, but also Janne Warman’s intricate and beautifully delicate keyboard playing. The band as a whole is very solid, but these guys are truly at the top of their game. I get so much crap from other rock ‘n’ roll musicians for being able to read music, but the fact that these guys are classically trained and understand the theory behind what they’re doing takes the music to an entirely different level. All three of them won fan-nominated Metal from Finland awards -- Alexi as best guitarist and Janne as second-best keyboardist (although that was bullshit; Tuomas Holopainen’s got nothing on him). And for whatever it’s worth, Alexi is very good at spitting booze really high and accurately! Unfortunately, there was no time for their usual stage antics, but hopefully I’ll be able to see them when they’re on a headlining tour. I was a bit disappointed that Alexi picked a fan out in the audience and made fun of them for “not being able to see shit” when he’s shorter than me, even though he’s Finnish.
Nicole and I were sore enough from the previous bands and were hopeful that we’d be able to meet some of them if we waited long enough by the buses, so we did just that. No one else was there, and we had only been standing there for a couple minutes when Matt from High on Fire comes out of Job for a Cowboy’s bus and invites us on. I didn’t want to at first because I wanted to wait for Bodom, but Matt promised me I would be able to meet them, so I ended up joining Nicole. (I later found out from Nicole that he just really wanted me to come on the bus because I’m hot. Haha!) I couldn’t believe that all but one of the guys from JFAC were under 21. They were all extremely friendly, and made me feel completely welcome. Jon, their drummer, made me a Jaegerbomb, and continued to wait on me, bringing me water. It was mostly Jaeger, so I was really happy and chilled out and couldn’t focus my eyes for a while. At that point, we were just talking, watching the Ninja Warriors on G4, and listening to Motley Crue and Black Sabbath. Matt from High on Fire was also very awesome. I told him that one of my classmates was a huge High on Fire fan, so he went and got two CDs for her, and signed them both with personal messages. She is going to flip out when I give them to her on Tuesday! He had a lot of insightful things to say about European vs. American culture, spirituality, and drug use.
As the night progressed, Nicole drank more and more until she was almost out of control. Sarah, a friend of JFAC’s joined us, and she was actually really cool. We all got along really well, except JFAC’s vocalist was really reclusive. We all had a good time talking about and showing off body mods. There were even a few of the guys who were really into visual art! I felt kind of bad because I kept talking about Children of Bodom, but at least Matt from High on Fire also appreciates their musical talent. However, he said that Alexi won’t really care to meet me, but he was going to make it happen so that I would meet the other guys. After a while, Matt ended up leaving to meet a friend of his at a bar. However, JFAC’s manager said he was going to take over make it happen. He also found out that I speak German, and since C.O.B. and In Flames are under German management, their crews are all German. So I ended up leaving the bus to talk to them about Milwaukee’s German culture in mixed German and English. After a while, Robbie is on the sidewalk yelling for me. Roope is standing behind me handing out autographs and taking pictures. I went back in the bus, grabbed my camera, but it was too late. He was just going back to C.O.B.’s bus as I reached him, so I went back on JFAC’s bus.
Around midnight, Job for a Cowboy’s manager leaves the bus and returns with none other than Janne fucking Warman! He said he picked him out especially for me because he is the most fun. No one’s ever done anything that nice for me before. That manager and Janne are saints. I can’t believe a rock star would agree to go and hang out with one of their fans for an hour and a half. The next thing I know, Nicole is dragging me onto the other couch next to him, and I’m shaking his hand and Nicole is introducing me to him because I’m completely gobsmacked. I promised I wouldn’t get weird on him, but he said that was fine with him if I did. When I told him I’d been waiting to meet someone from C.O.B., he said, “Sorry, all you got is the lighting technician!” Nicole was even more drunk, and actually managed to weird Janne out when she told him that his accent is “fucking sexy”. At this point, there was this really annoying trashy scenester chick on the bus that was trying to argue that Smiths and Morrissey fans are completely different people. What the fuck? She was probably drunk off her ass anyway. I later found out from Nicole that she was extremely jealous and wanted me off the bus. She was dancing like a complete retard and Janne kept making remarks to me about her. I’m pretty sure she was one of the merchandisers, and even though she is married, she keeps trying to get with Henkka. Come on Henkka, you can do better than that! Thank gods she didn’t stay too long. At that point, Nicole was going back and forth from the bathroom and the back rooms to the lounge, and she sat down next to me and was like to Janne, “This is my friend Megan. She’s a big Children of Bodom fan!” Janne said, “Ja, I know, I already met her.” Later on, Nicole tried “introducing” me again, which probably annoyed him further, but I can’t believe Janne remembered my name! Then she asked him what his name was for like the fourth time, and he said it was George. When she asked me and I told her what it was, she starting yelling, “You lied to me! You fucking lied to me!,” at him, which wasn’t too cool. Janne replied, "How could I ever lie to a beautiful lady with beautiful eyes such as yourselves?" Nice one. While she was there, I did get her to take a picture of Janne and I, and it actually turned out decent despite the state she was in. Of course I asked Janne for permission, and he decided to mess with me before telling her to take the picure. He was not satisfied with our proximity, so he threw an arm around me, leaned in, and you can see me dying of joy in the above picture that I’ve been whoring out around the Internet. I made sure to thank him in Finnish; it was the least I could do. After Nicole left the lounge for a while to get with one of the JFAC guys, Janne and I talked about all kinds of things from embarrassing bathroom incidents to buying too small underwear in Canada to watery American beer (as he was drinking Bud Light) to how he was going to be an architect, and of course he asked about the boring details about my life and future. I ended up making a complete fool out of myself by skanking with the annoying scenester to some random ska music, but whatever. Janne danced in his aforementioned too-small underwear to several cheesy pop songs, so I wasn’t embarrassed. Although at that point he had a few beers and moved on to some Jameson’s, so at least he had an excuse. Unfortunately, I was completely sober at that point and didn’t have enough courage to let someone I idolize be the first to see my ass. We even sang along with Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” and tried to be gangster during 2Pac’s “California Love”. He made fun of me for being shy, but I know he used to be really shy too, so at least he can sympathize with that. When the bus driver appeared, I stood up to ask Nicole if we had to leave, and unknowingly, my ass was in front of Janne’s face. I only noticed when he squeezed my thigh, which I didn’t mind, but when I went to sit back down, he was leaning over my spot talking to a roadie, and my ass kind of came in contact with his head. I was mortified! I noticed what I was doing pretty quickly, so I’m hoping he didn’t really notice what happened, since he didn’t say anything. He was so nice, and I wish I would have talked to him a little more, but I was in a state of shock the entire time. Before everyone had to leave, I see Henkka and Jaska come up the stairs to the lounge. At 1:30 we all left the buses together, and I got a big hug from a half-naked Janne and told him hauska tavata. As I was walking toward the door, none other than Henkka and Jaska start coming up the stairs. I said hi to Henkka, shook his hand, introduced myself, and told him it was nice to meet him in Finnish. Once we were all off Job for a Cowboy’s bus, Nicole and I walked to the bus stop to find out that at 1:45 AM, the buses weren’t running. She ended up calling one of her friends to come get us. While we were waiting for him, I noticed Roope was over by the buses, so we went back over to meet him. He was pretty wasted at that point and didn’t get what I was saying at first about how I loved his work in Stone, but he said those were the “good old times”. One thing I really love about all these Finnish guys is that they all can pronounce my name correctly. Hopefully I’ll be able to meet all of the Bodom guys (including Alexi, even if he is an asshole) again.
By 2:00 AM, everyone was on the road and this homeless guy comes up to us asking for money. Fortunately Nicole still had half a bottle of beer and some cigarettes on her, which satisfied him enough to leave us alone until our ride got there.
When we got back to the dorms, I quickly glued the parts of my sculpture together the morning it was due and at 5:00 AM set my alarm for 8:00 AM so I would have enough time to paint it before my 11:00 final exam in rock ‘n’ roll history. I couldn’t fall asleep until around 6:30 AM, and must have turned my alarm off and accidentally went back to sleep. When I woke up, the clock read 10:15, and I panicked. I’ve never painted anything that fast and put myself together all in half an hour. Although I’m not that satisfied with how my sculpture turned out, it wasn’t any worse than everyone else’s, especially considering my time management issues.
All in all, I had a very successful day. The only thing is that now I’m going to try to get on every band’s tour bus that I can.