circles are the new squares
Stayed over at Shonna's on Thursday night since our flight was ridiculously early. Got up in the four o'clock hour to drive to the airport. We flew Airtran which is cheap but also has layovers in Atlanta. Boo. Get to ATL to discover that our flight had been cancelled. "What do you mean it's been cancelled?" we ask. "I mean it's been cancelled *eye roll*" Wow, thanks for being so friendly and helpful, airport employee. Went over to the counter where the nice lady set up us on a flight that was an hour later.
Get into Philly, attempt to rent a car at Enterprise. No go as Shonna's just renewed her license and only has the temporary paper copy and her old license that DPS cut the top off of and Enterprise can't accept any kind of temp DL. And of course, I'd left my license in TX. Fan-freaking-tastic. We're told that Avis will rent cars on temp licenses so we shuttle off there. And we see surprise!Taylor Hanson on our way out. He rented a black SUV. Shonna was all "I feel like I know who that guy is but I can't place him" and I was all "Oh lolol that's Taylor Hanson!" Had our shuttle not already been there, we totally would have fangirled him. He looked hot, though.
Got to Avis only to be told that we need an actual credit card to rent there. Which neither of us had. Cue a lot of blank looks between the two of us as we rack our brains to find a solution. Ten minutes later, the Avis lady is all "Oh well, you can put it on a debit card but they hold money." No shit, lady, rent us a flipping car! Which she did.
Jankiest rental car ever. Huge dent on the front side, trash in the trunk and squeaky windshield wipers. Whatevs, we were on our way!
Shonna brought her GPS along so finding the venue was no problem. We were a bit antsy as it was getting on to 3:30 and we're the crazy whores that like to be at venues no later than ten am (even when we have early entry, as we did for this show). The problem came when we tried to find parking. Downtown Phillie's one way streets thwarted us so much that we ended up on a random freeway and had to U-turn and come back around. We eventually parked at Dave-and-Busters and walked over to the venue. We start freaking out when we see how long the line is but we soon find out that we're looking at the regular line. Mng and EE are lined up on the other side of the gate. We see skoosiepants and _slashygoodness in the regular line. Take a few minutes to chit chat then hightail it over to our line. We were a lot farther back than we hoped we'd be but then we remembered that there were mngs for FOB, Metro Station AND All Time Low so.
We chatted with the chick behind us. Her mom mentioned that it was an outdoor venue so I decided to hike back to the car to change out of my beloved flip flops into "real" shoes. (So of course, it stopped raining five minutes later and didn't really start again until we were on our way to the airport to go home. Oooof course.)
After about an hour and a half, the line started moving and we followed along. We happened to hear a girl mention to another girl that early entry was lining up over here so we got out of that line, which was for mng, and into the EE one. Ended up being only about twelve or fifteen people back. Mother. Fucking. SCORE. It was still a bit worrisome because Metro and ATL mng also included EE and we had no idea of how many people that was gonna be.
So we waited while all the mng ppl gpt their wristbands. There were a whole freaking lot of them and only two windows open to pass out wristbands so it took a minute. Finally they're all done and through the ticket takers and it's our turn. We attempted to split up and have Shonna go to the ticket window and me get in line but there was a lady there who was watching the line and she wouldn't let you join it until you had a wristband. Whatevs. We got banded and in line and then that same lady decided to split the line so we went from having four or five little groups ahead of us to only having one. SCORE. We're finally let through the gate and the guy who rips my ticket is So. Fucking. SLOOOOOOW. Seriously. It was like he was a 90 year old man in a 20 year old's body. I wanted to snatch the damn ticket out of his hand and rip it myself. By the time he's done, Shonna is nowhere in sight (that's my girl!) so I run to the floor. I see that stage right barrier is pretty empty but there's no Shonna. This woman has managed to weasel her way in between two groups to grab our SPOT, our prime FOB-watching spot. Right between Pete and Patrick.
We rest on arms on the barrier and marvel at how the hell this all happened, what with the cancelled flight and car rental troubles and parking troubles and. WHAT.
Anyways, soon after, a local rapper comes on stage. He's kinda boring so it's whatever but then he brings his 14 year old son out and this kid? The fucking bee's knees. He was so much fun to watch, dancing and bouncing around the stage. He got major bonus points for not yelling at us to "PUT YO HANDS UP" every five seconds.
So they're done and the security guards come out. No lie, it looked like the venue had gone to a local fraternity, all "Hey, er, you guys wanna do security for Fall Out Boy?" Total dudebros, every single one of them. Plus they were PHILLY dudebros which makes them like, idk. Dudebro-ier than most. (Except maybe Jersey.)
Hey Monday came on and there was a moment (which we had with pretty much all of the bands, btw) where we could totally tell when Cassadee recognized us. Sometimes being Those Girls does not suck. She did her usual aerobics instructor bouncy thing but with bonus vee neck shirt so when she leaned over (which she kinda does a lot), we coud see her little goodies. I... was not complaining. I don't really watch anyone else in this group because I hate their hair (though I am amused by fake!Marshall). Made a lucky grab and caught the pick Cassadee threw out. Good times. And hey, I actually know some of the words to that Homecoming song now. It's fun to sing along to.
Cobra played next at this show and it was the usual kick ass Cobra Starship show. Vicky T's dress was really short. Like. REALLY. Shonna and I were all O___O at each other. I watched Alex a lot, especially on the beat boxing/heavy breathing part he does in... that one song. Papparazzi? Anyway, he did that thing he does where he claps his hands over his head and walks the stage trying to get people to clap along with him. I have no idea what the front row was doing but I was the only one who clapped with him so I got a wink from Suarez! It was hot.
Metro Station was next and all I can say about that is Blake has really awesome thighs.
The crowd surfing started either during Metro or Cobra and god damn did those frat boy dudebro security guys show us what's what. Seriously the best at pulling people out of the crowd I've ever seen. They made everyone turn over onto their backs, then grabbed them under the knees and carried them like a bride out of the pit. I don't think anyone got hit in the head with any body parts at all. They were fucking AMAZING! And so much stronger than they looked! They were pulling dudes out of the crowd no problem. I want to bring those guys to every show ever.
Anyways, for some reason, they hadn't taken Cobra's setlists off the stage before Metro. The people around us were pretty :||| at Metro so no one even bothered to ask for a setlist but I thought that maybe I'd get lucky and get a Cobra one so I asked for it and I got it. And it was Gabe's! SCORE.
Then there was All Time Low who are determined to make me love them. I got called out by Alex G. So okay. The song ended and they immediately went into the next song. I was clapping to applaud the previous song so I just kept on clapping when the new song came on. And then Jack, who was upstage, started clapping so I clapped some more. Alex was all, "That girl knows what comes next cause she's been to like, a hundred shows!" ...Riiiight.
So then. Then! There was this girl who got stuck crowdsurfing between songs and Alex called her out, too. But he made her get up on stage. He decided that there was going to be a dance contest between her and the whole crowd. The poor girl was obviously wiped but she danced her ass off. All of the guys went back to have a moment with her and Alex let her sing part of the song. Of course she won and instead of making her get off stage like I thought he would, Alex directed her to a group of people who were standing backstage and they let her watch the rest of the set from there.
Dear All Time Low,
♥__♥
Me
And then FALL OUT BOY. Like, okay. I don't even know how to explain the energy you get at a Fall Out Boy* show if you've never been to one. It's amazing and addictive and I'm already ready to do it again. We got a lot of Patrick love. A LOT. Like, if it hadn't been Patrick, it would have been creepy but since it was Patrick, we were eating that shit up. It was AMAZING. I want to kiss his little double chin. Also ALSO there was FOOT STOMPY THING and I may have gotten laughed at by the girl behind and beside me when I jumped up and down and clapped my hands like a little girl. Idk, he foot stomped, I flailed, there was laughter. You decide.
Pete was Pete. I actually watched him during his ... well, I guess it's not really banter, is it? Anyway, I watched him when he talked instead of staring creepily at Patrick like I did in TX and NoLa and guess what? Pete Wentz is really fucking hot! Did y'all know that? I think maybe I did but I didn't like, KNOW IT until that show. Damn, boy.
Joe... has a dirty Q-tip on top of his head. Andy... played the drums? Probably shirtless?
I think Shonna got another of Pete's picks. Probably two or three, knowing her. Security guards love her. :DDD
After the show, we met up with skoosiepants and _slashygoodness and also danacias and ...Allison? Braved the merch table to get a tote for vic_ramsey but it was sold out. Headed out to Melrose Diner for good convo and good food. Mmm, diner food. Shonna's GPS (who we like to call Lady!Bob) got confused either going to or coming from the diner. She does not like downtown Phila.
We dropped Skoosie off at her place, then drove two hours to NYC to drop DK and her friend off. Then drove another 40 mins (that took us out of NY and then right back in) to get to wasoncedelight's. Okay, so this trip? Really not planned out at all. Like, we knew we were going to Philly and Jersey and that was about it. Decided the day before to go ahead and rent a car. Also texted Mel that day to see if we could crash at her place. She graciously said yes. Didn't even seem to mind that we showed up at her place at five am after 9000 text messages with changing ETAs. I love her.
Got up about around 9, showered and headed out for BAMBOOZLE. Somehow the GPS got us there before Mel even though we stopped for food. Shonna and I had originally planned to camp out in front of the FOB stage all day. But then we saw that the Imagination Stage had every act we wanted to see except FOB. We figured we'd sacrifice a couple of the later acts to make our move on the FOB stage but once we got there and saw how crowded it was already at noon, we decided to screw it and headed for the barricade at the Wonka stage. Which we got, easily. The hard part was keeping it for the next eleven hours and 89403274319432 crowdsurfers.
I'm actually pretty glad we stayed. I saw a lot of acts that I would not have otherwise ever seen and we could still mostly hear the bands on the other stage (which was the BND tour minus Hey Monday who played a different stage plus We The Kings and The Cab). Saw the tail end of Sexy Heroes in Transit. They were fun. There was a song about Super Mario Brothers! Plus they were wearing brilliant purple button downs over firefighter pants! The day glo yellow kind! I don't know why I used exclamation points for that! Then we listened to The Cab and had glimpses of Cash and Singer on the other stage. Then Cash Cash played. There have been at least four shows that I should have seen them at but they weren't there for whatever reason so this was my first time seeing them. I'm not gonna cry and moan if they open for a band I like but they were just meh for me. I don't remember what band played at the other stage. Then Edna's Goldfish (who I constantly want to call Erin's Birdbath and actually had to check my Bamboozle flier to get the name right) played. If you don't know, Edna's Goldfish was Brian Diaz's old band. If you don't know, Brian Diaz is currently a guitar tech for Fall Out Boy. They had a lot more fans there than I thought and it was completely precious to see pretty much the entire FOB camp fill the wings to watch their boy play. They were fun to watch if only for the campy trumpet player who really liked to shake his hips. Pete and Andy stood sidestage to watch and frequently were both bent over their phones texting like madmen. Shonna saw when Pete spotted us so. He knows we're crazyfaces who will camp out and stand in one spot for twelve hours to see him. :D?
Then FTSK played on the other stage but I ignored them. I discovered on this day that is indeed possible for me to sleep standing up. Next on our stage was Bayside. They're a local band and the fucking crowdsurfers went wild. I think I saw maybe half a song before it was a constant deluge of duck and cover/grab their shoe before they kick you in the head/hands up so they don't fall on you. Also there was a security guard with a very large and protruding belly who liked to stand on the step and wait for the crowdsurfers to get to him. He seriously camped out up there. Not so comfortable when you're the one who's space his belly is protruding into. :/ I can't even tell you what Bayside's music was like, I was so distracted by crowdsurfers and BELLY >:(
Then Metro played the other stage and let me tell you, it's a much better show when you can't actually see Cyrus.
Bloodhound Gang was next on our stage. They started out great. A little campy and little funny. Good times. But then lead singer ripped bassist's t-shirt a little so when the shirt was over bassist (who is seriously built and has a Vin Diesel-type voice) did a little strip tease and ripped his shirt off. But then he used it to wipe his armpits. And then his crotch. No, really. He unzipped his pants and pulled his underwear away from his body so he could dig down in his crotch with the shirt. And then he wiped his ass with it. And then he threw it into the audience. Unsurprisingly, no one tried to catch it.
A bit later in the set, bassist comes out with a ... not quite a pitcher but bigger than a glass of beer. Chugs it. Pukes a little bit of it back into the cup. I'm assuming from the crowd reaction that he drank the bit he puked up but I turned my head so I'm not 100% on that. What I am 100% on is the fact that the dude can vomit at will. I know that he puked on lead singer. Puked into lead singer's hat at lead singer's prompting. (Lead singer then put the hat on his head.)
Aaaaaand this is the part where I stop talking about them because it's seriously making me nauseous.
We The Kings played the other stage next and this was pretty much the only time all day that I was actually sad that I wasn't watching them. But I got to hear them and see Drew - who had to have been pretty active to move so far forward that he was in my line of sight. Man, now I really do wish that I had seen that!
Gavin Rossdale was next on our stage and maaan is he pretty! Also, that accent? Ugh, talk to me forever! And he had his kidlets with him. Or somebody's kidlets, idk. Two were sitting out on the barrier, one was with the nanny backstage. Gavin made a point to stop and play to each of them. PRECIOUS. I surprised myself by knowing more Bush/Gavin songs than I thought I did.
Don't remember who played the other stage and I've already put my flier away so. After Gavin, it was ... New Found Glory, I think. Surprisingly, I didn't know a single song they played. Not that it mattered, with all the crowdsurfing and BELLY >:( we got during their set.
Cobra played on the other stage and listening to Gabe speak was almost painful. His singing voice wasn't that great but just talking, he sounded wrecked.
Next on our stage were the Get Up Kids aka James Dewees band. I... did not know which one was James until the lead singer pointed him out and then I was like, "Keyboards. Duh, self." They were fun to watch. Band boys think so as well. We saw Butcher chilling out by the gate between the two stages, Suarez with who I imagine was his lady friend standing in front of the barrier on stage right and Gabe backstage, smiling and singing along.
The crowd really swelled during All Time Low and I don't know really know their music so it was mostly just a mushmash garble of bass and drums. At our stage, they were setting up for Linc's Special Guest. We weren't sure if that was a band or an actual special guest so we started talking to the security guards. There was a 5% chance that the special 20 minute set would be Fiddy, 95% chance that it'd be a Journey cover band.
We were all very o___O at this but settled in to wait. I'm not the biggest Journey fan but it was still super thrilling to be caught up in the wave of energy that swept the place when they took the stage. It was amaaaaaazing. And even though it turned out to not actually be the band but a really fucking good cover band called Evolution, it was still pretty fucking awesome. We got journey-rolled by Bamboozle! I figure they should officially retire that term now. No one's ever gonna top that.
So then Third Eye Blind played at the other stage. We couldn't really hear anything over the crowd at our stage. Well we got Jumper. And the longest version of Semi Charmed Life eveeeeer. Fall Out Boy was supposed to start playing at 9:30 but I think it was closer to 9:45 before they took the stage.
It was the same show as the BND show but it was still fantastic. Had a moment of eye contact with Patrick which was fun. And then the crowdsurfing began and it started to be not so fun. I got lucky and had a pretty clear view for most of the show but I'd have to say that probably for 75, 80% of the show, there was a security guard smack dab in front of Shonna and she had to peer around him to see. Girl is hardcore so she still sang her little face off and rocked out as much as she could but wow with the suckage. And the stage was pretty far back which I only realized when I realized that I couldn't see much of the foot stompy thing. :( And when Pete went down to do his crotch raise and flail thing, he was completely lost. I could see the neck of his guitar and his knees.
I mean, it was still a good show but it could have been so much better. No one actually leaves the barrier for about ten minutes after the show ends these days, in hopes of getting picks or sticks or setlists but people cleared out pretty soon after Andy tossed his sticks into the crowd. Well, they didn't leave but they didn't seem to be paying attention to what was going on onstage. So when the one random tech started to rip up Patrick's setlist, he was able to hear me over the crowd when I yelled out, "Can I have that?" And nodded at me and was nice enough to point me out to the security guard I sent to go get it from him. A lot of times you'll ask these guys to go get something but they have no idea who you are so they'll get it and then give it to some random person. But he gave it to me so now I have Patrick's setlist! From Bamboozle! That says N.Y.C. at the top of it! And has Patrick footprints all over it. Hee.
So then we headed toward the merch booth. Justin had come on stage during FOB's set and tossed out a few of their Amnesty International shirts. I'd forgotten all about them and I really wanted one so we tried to find the booth. We did but it was already closed for the night. Randomly saw DK and her friend again. Got ahold of Mel and very briefly met up with Lars... and some other people.
And then we went to Tick Tock for diner food, mmm. Last time I was at that diner was after seeing Justin Timberlake at that same venue. Oh lol.
Randomly ran into a couple of Houston girls at the diner. Went back to Mel's place and ptfo'd.
Woke up with plenty of time to make our flight but there was coffee and talking and then we went and sat in the dining room and talked and then we went to Mel's room and talked and then finally we left. But it was raining and the highway we were on went through 564897 small towns so we ran into 564897 red lights and then we had to return the car so we ended up missing our flight by about ten minutes. The guy at the counter was extremely helpful. Got us on a later flight no problem but everything leaving the airport was significantly delayed so we probably wouldn't make our connecting flight in Atlanta. We checked the boards as we walked to the gate and it seemed like everything was going to be fine, all flights were leaving on time. But when they put the flight info up at the gate, it showed that our 6pm flight was delayed til 8. And our connecting flight was set to leave Atlanta at 8:15. I texted around to make sure that someone would be available to cover for me at work, we got a reservation for a hotel and decided not to worry about it. Read BBB summaries and came up with outrageous AUs while we waited.
Overnighted at the Crowne Plaza in Atlanta. Almost missed our flight again when we stopped for breakfast type things. Good thing the kiosk was literally right next to our gate.
Also, all four flights? Were remarkably uneventful. No turbulence. No upset stomach. Barely any ear popping. Idk, it was weird.
So we were deplaning in Houston when I turned my phone on and realized that I had two voicemal messages. The first was from my mom, saying, "Don't be scared but my left arm really hurts and I'm having trouble catching my breath. I'm gonna call my doctor but I might end up going to the ER?" The second was from my sister to call her ASAP. The EMTs were at my house, working on my mom. They said she looked fine but they were gonna take her to the ER justin in case. So I left the airport and drove like a bat out of hell to the hospital. By the time I got there, the shortness of breath had gone away but she still had some serious pain in her left arm. All her bloodwork and tests came back okay for her heart so the ER doc said that he thought that it was maybe muscle spasms caused by complications from her diabetes and urged us to see her primary care doc as soon as possible. While we were waiting for him to sign the release papers, my mom asked if I had a show to go to that night. I told her yes but I'd skip it and hang with her instead. She gave me an O___o look and was all, "Do you enjoy watching me sleep? Cause that's all I'm gonna do. Go to your show, doofus." So I did. Took her home, got her prescription and hightailed it to the Verizon for All American Rejects.
Shonna had left my ticket at the merch counter at the Hard Rock next to the venue but the chick I asked about it kept asking the hostesses and they knew nothing about it. Right when I was starting to freak out, the guy at the merch counter called out and asked if I was Lesa. He made me spell my name and Shonna's first and last names before he gave me the ticket but at least he had it!
It was about 5:50 and doors opened at 5:30 so I'd mostly resigned myself to being in the back for this show but it was surprisingly easy to make my way through the still meager crowd and get to Shonna, Heather and Jen at the barrier. SCORE. Plus there wasn't a lot of time to wait before the show started. I don't even remember the opening band's name anymore. They had some technical difficulties during which the lead singer could have really charmed us but you could tell that he couldn't think of a single thing to say. Then it was Ace Enders who were fun to watch. Lead singer kind of reminded me of Tomrad at times. Good set, nice music. I wasn't bored.
Then it was Shiny Toy Guns. I'm not familiar with them and they're a bit more hardcore than I'm used to but jesus on a pogo stick, that girl was rocking the fuck out in four inch heels. I love them if only for that alone.
So my thoughts on the All American Rejects show can be summed up as: NICK WHEELER, OH MY GOD, YOU ARE SO FUCKING ADORABLE, CAN I KEEP YOU? Tyson was wearing Chucks with hot pink sequins all over them. I covet. It was a great show. I especially liked... shit, that one song during which Tyson had security pull a girl out of the audience and up on stage and he sang the entire song to her. No really. The ENTIRE song. Like, it had to be a bit awkward for her after about a minute because he was all up in her grill. But he danced with her and then sat on the stage with her and then he laid down and the crowd was all "PLAY WITH HIS HAIR!" but she didn't. She did lay down next to him after a minute. Idk, it was cute if slightly creepy. Which pretty much sums up Tyson's entire existence so I guess it was fitting.
I was wiped so I bailed right after the show. Literally. I didn't even wait around for pics or setlists or what not. Did turn back when I heard screaming and saw Nick and Mike tossing stuff out into the crowd. Didn't feel any need to venture back into the crowd except for a moment when Nick LICKED a drum stick before he tossed it out. I mean. I don't think I'd necessarily want that stick but it would have been awesome to see that up close.
Briefly saw Amy (random Houston girl in the NJ diner). Which reminds me that I owe her or Shonna or someone for the Clan Amensty shirt she picked up for me on Sunday. Then I drove myself home, blaring Cobra to keep myself awake.
*And also Discos. And My Chem. And *NSYNC back in the day.
I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting all kinds of things but whatevs. Will edit as needed. Now y'all go bug Shonna to upload her pictures!
I would have finished this last night but Jon Walker was being ridiculous on the internet and I had to watch that about 4678 times. And then I managed to gross out about 95% of my twitter friends with just one statement. Heh. It's amusing if you're me.
Today is my sister's birthday so instead of being in Chicago with Fall Out Boys like I really want to be, I am in Houston with her. We're seeing Star Trek later and then going out to dinner and idek what all else. It'll be good times, I hope.
But seriously. Go bug Shonna!