my baybeats experience
This post is going to be really incoherent and long and grammatically incorrect (just like this sentence) but I decided to post it so you guys could share in my joy.
I don't think the evening could have gone by any better. I honestly couldn't be happier right now. Everything that I dreamed would happen at a Copeland concert came true that night. I met the whole band, not just Aaron like I had expected to, and got their autographs as well. (And they were all such nice guys!!) The music and energy in their performance was excellent. I saw them both acoustic AND electric. Best of all, they played 'Testing The Strong Ones', at my request. That was just amazing.
So...I don't know. I'm going to write this out in full detail, so that I don't forget a single thing.
I got to the Esplanade at about 6.30 and met Ange, after which we went to check out the Pinocchio set. They were alright, pretty good but seriously not what I was there for. About halfway through their set, Ange suggested we go get ready for Copeland (calming our nerves, taking deep breaths, etc) Obviously I wasn't going to object, so we went down to the Village where Tempered Mental was just finishing their session, and got prime seats for Copeland.
I was getting really really psyched up once they came on for soundcheck. It was like I had been preventing myself from getting hyped up the whole two months in case something happened and I couldn't go see them, but once they were up there it was like OKAY YOU CAN GET YOUR HOPES UP NOW and damn did I get my hopes up. It was like, omg, omg, Aaron Marsh is sitting in front of me, with an acoustic guitar. And they're going to play. Live. Right there before my eyes. So..I don't know. I was in a really good mood.
I swear when I heard the first words that Aaron sang, I almost cried. It LITERALLY took my breath away. I couldn't believe how much BETTER they were than on the CD. My mouth actually fell open. His voice is so, so, so perfect. He has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard live. Possibly ever heard. I don't know. And when they do soundcheck, he goes like, "TEST TEST CHECK CHECK ONE TWO." hehehehe. And he says "check" like really enunciating it, like "CHeCK CHeCK" you know? :D Oh my gosh, the acoustic set was just beautiful. Beautiful. They sang all the best songs and his voice is so gorgeous. It's like..seamless. Perfect. I don't know how to describe it but when I think of something that's like his voice, it's just like..silk or something. It's actually REALLY like that in real life. He can actually REALLY hit all those high notes and everything. They sang "May I Have This Dance", "Priceless", "No One Really Wins", "Coffee" and "Brightest." In that order. I tried to pick my favourite, but I don't think I can. Too nice, too nice. I think it really, REALLY hit me that I was seeing Copeland live when he started singing "May I Have This Dance," you know the "oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo" part, it was like, DAMN that guy can sing. I was smiling soooo hard. I cried during "No One Really Wins" and "Brightest." I absolutely cannot describe the acoustic set in words. You had to be there.
After the acoustic set, everyone else went off somewhere and I decided I absolutely could not let the night go by without meeting Aaron. It's a good thing I did too, because we didn't end up seeing them after the electric set. Anyway, I went up to Aaron. It was surprisingly easy to get to him. I sort of darted through the crowd and then I was really close to him but all these other guys were taking pictures with him. Then this Baybeats crew guy came up to him and said he had to go because the rest of the band was calling for him. Aaron was like, "okay, wait, I'm trying man." Then he really had to go and I was so scared it was going to be just like Last Days Of April where they had to leave just before it was my turn to get an autograph, so I just went "can you please please sign my belt?" and he was like "sure!" and signed it. Then I fished my letter out of my bag and asked him to please, please (I don't know how many times I said "please" while talking to him, I acted like a complete idiot) read it before their second set. And he said "yeah, of course I will." I think it's a really really good thing none of you guys were there when I met Aaron, I was acting SO stupidly, like I bet my voice was all high and stuff, HAHA. Anyway, then I asked him to please play 'Testing The Strong Ones' and I was like "it's a really important song to me and it would mean so much to me if I could hear it live." So he was like "I don't know, we haven't gotten too many requests, but we can think about it" so I said "please, the lyrics mean SO much to me." Then he said (LISTEN) "Well, if 'Testing The Strong Ones' means a lot to someone, it must be for good reason, so of course we'll play it." OMGGGGG I ALMOST DIED I swear I was grinning so hard. It was just SUUUCH a sweet thing to say. Oh gosh. Then he had to go cos the rest of the band wanted him to take photos with them, so I went over to the rest of the band and got them all to sign my belt. Woo! DEFINITELY did not expect to meet the whole band. Anyway, then Angie was talking to Aaron and she was like "oh, you talked to Mel on the phone last night" and pointed to me and Aaron was like "oh hey!" and that's when I remembered that I had forgotten to tell him that I was Melissa, haha. Even though Shan reminded me to tell him so many times. haha. Oops. I think I was just too :O :O :O to remember anything, heh.
We went straight from the acoustic session to the Arena to get good spots for their electric set. We had to wait through Electrico's set in the hot sweaty crowd, yuck. I was studying SS, haha. I don't know why I'm not into Electrico, I don't think they're bad just highly overrated. But hey, it's testing the strong ones, right...so I grit my teeth and bore the overwhelming heat. Well, we all did. And we got all the way to the second row! I swear there was like one person between me and the stage! Coolest thing EVER, I definitely did not expect to get so close. I expected to be like..maybe in the middle between the front and the back, but I was way in front. I was damn happy even before the set started. I'm going to go through the setlist so this is a bit more organised..
+ 'Take Care'
Really sweet song. I remember thinking "omg, 'Take Care'!" but I can't remember if I actually said it out loud or not. I think I was just too "whoa" that the set was really starting.
+ 'Pin Your Wings'
Probably one of my favourite songs off In Motion. I was really really glad they played this because I had just been listening to it on the way to the Esplanade. It was even cooler that I knew Aaron wrote it for his younger stepsister, which is pretty sweet if you look at the lyrics.
+ 'Love Is A Fast Song'
The best part of this song was when Aaron sang "What has love become?" which is one of my favourite lyrics off the whole album. Probably one of my favourite Copeland lyrics ever. I don't know how many times I've posted that line on my blog. I have put it on my MSN nickname, my LJ icon, my MSN icon, my notebook, my textbooks...and to actually hear it from the same guy who wrote it, the same guy on the CD that I have listened to hundreds of times, was really surreal. And of course the "your love is a faasst soooonnnggg!!!" with the drums and the lights and wowie!
+ 'Hold Nothing Back'
I really enjoyed this song, but I think if I had to replace any song from their set it would be this one (and replace it with 'There Cannot Be A Close Second', just for Wen's sake, haha.) That's probably because I don't like the real song THAT much. I don't know why. I definitely still loved it though.
+ 'When Paula Sparks'
I was really happy when they started playing this song because Ange had told me earlier that she really really wanted them to play this song, so I was happy for her. I think this song is sad. But I was very happy for Ange because I know it's one of her favourite Copeland songs.
+ 'Don't Slow Down'
Love, love, loooove this song. "But don't you dare slow down for me." This is one of the songs I was also listening to as one of my "okay Mel imagine hearing this LIVE"-Copeland-preparation songs. This is a really happy song. When they started the chorus I wanted to start jumping around but obviously I didn't. Well, not really, I mean it was just like there was this surge of energy when they started playing that happy part.
+ 'Brightest'
This wins first prize for the best short song ever. Definitely. I didn't expect them to play this since they said they'd only play it once, and they played it during their acoustic set, but it was so cool that they did. In the middle of the song I turned around and saw Ange crying and it was like..aww. (Little did I know I would be in the same position in about three minutes.) Aaron's voice, wow. Wow.
+ 'You Have My Attention'
I started crying when they played 'You Have My Attention'. I cried the first time I heard it on CD, and the first time I heard it live. That song is just....sweet beyond belief. It's the most honest expression of loving someone to the point where you don't care if attention is all that they need, and you're just going to look out for them and keep caring for them just because you love them and you always have. That song means volumes to me. Needless to say, 'Testing The Strong Ones' was just amazing. I thought they weren't going to play it, because it's not a highly-requested song, and because Aaron did say that they hadn't planned on playing it.
+ 'Testing The Strong Ones'
Oh my gosh. It's like some kind of divine intervention that this song came after 'You Have My Attention' because those songs are the two Copeland songs that can ALWAYS make me cry. I was DAMN surprised when this came on. You know how the start of the song goes like, "dah-nah, dah-nah" with the guitars? Everytime they paused to start a new song I was like hoping and hoping I would hear those chords. And suddenly Aaron started playing them and at first I thought I was imagining things. I honestly did not think they would play that song. I know they said they would, but it's really not a very highly-requested song. I guess because most people don't /fully/ relate to it? I mean, I suppose people relate to the part about caring for your friend and how they're going to get out of the situation, but there are other parts of the song that I can still completely relate to for personal reasons. And it was like..wow. These guys who I love so much are actually listening to me and they actually care that this song is really important to me. These guys are playing this song for me. And I started crying even more because of that. Then I started actually listening to the song and its lyrics and realising how very, very applicable they were, and I cried for the exact same reasons that I do when listening to the song over speakers. I can't describe how amazing it is to hear the same lyrics that you have posted on your blog a thousand times right in front of you. Ten times better than how it sounds on the CD.
+ 'No One Really Wins'
I had just written the lyrics for this song in my diary that morning because it was describing a situation I was in to a perfect T. It's one of those songs where I don't know how Aaron could have been in Any other situation than the one I was in. You know?
+ 'California'
I don't know why, but I had a feeling they were going to end their set with 'California'. It was really really awesome. The guitar part, you know, the "da-na-na-na-naaaah-nahhhh" part, wow. That really just ended the set really well for me. It was perfect.
I don't know, the whole performance was such an experience for me. Every, EVERY single one of Copeland's songs has described how I feel at one point or another. "No One Really Wins" had described my feelings perfectly just that morning. And everytime they played another song, I remembered how it had applied to my life before and it was just like...I could close my eyes and remember all the times their lyrics had described my situation perfectly. Then I could open my eyes and see Aaron and all of them right in front of me and the flashing lights and...wow. Wow.
I can't believe I cried at a live concert, though. How lame. Aaron probably thinks I'm a wuss.
I'm so obsessively into Copeland now. I've listened to NOTHING else since Sunday. And before, I absolutely disliked 'Kite', but now that I can imagine Aaron like..singing it..it's SUCH a gorgeous song. It makes my heart like..swell. Everytime I listen to a Copeland song now, I imagine being back there with the bright lights and the whole band there and it makes me feel SO good.
SETLIST
Acoustic set (7.30-8pm)
-May I Have This Dance
-Priceless
-No One Really Wins
-Coffee
-Brightest
Electric set (9.30-10.30pm)
-Take Care
-Pin Your Wings
-Love Is A Fast Song
-Hold Nothing Back
-When Paula Sparks
-Don't Slow Down
-Brightest
-You Have My Attention
-Testing The Strong Ones
-No One Really Wins
Encore
-California
Yeah, I like LJ cuts a lot.
I don't think the evening could have gone by any better. I honestly couldn't be happier right now. Everything that I dreamed would happen at a Copeland concert came true that night. I met the whole band, not just Aaron like I had expected to, and got their autographs as well. (And they were all such nice guys!!) The music and energy in their performance was excellent. I saw them both acoustic AND electric. Best of all, they played 'Testing The Strong Ones', at my request. That was just amazing.
So...I don't know. I'm going to write this out in full detail, so that I don't forget a single thing.
I got to the Esplanade at about 6.30 and met Ange, after which we went to check out the Pinocchio set. They were alright, pretty good but seriously not what I was there for. About halfway through their set, Ange suggested we go get ready for Copeland (calming our nerves, taking deep breaths, etc) Obviously I wasn't going to object, so we went down to the Village where Tempered Mental was just finishing their session, and got prime seats for Copeland.
I was getting really really psyched up once they came on for soundcheck. It was like I had been preventing myself from getting hyped up the whole two months in case something happened and I couldn't go see them, but once they were up there it was like OKAY YOU CAN GET YOUR HOPES UP NOW and damn did I get my hopes up. It was like, omg, omg, Aaron Marsh is sitting in front of me, with an acoustic guitar. And they're going to play. Live. Right there before my eyes. So..I don't know. I was in a really good mood.
I swear when I heard the first words that Aaron sang, I almost cried. It LITERALLY took my breath away. I couldn't believe how much BETTER they were than on the CD. My mouth actually fell open. His voice is so, so, so perfect. He has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard live. Possibly ever heard. I don't know. And when they do soundcheck, he goes like, "TEST TEST CHECK CHECK ONE TWO." hehehehe. And he says "check" like really enunciating it, like "CHeCK CHeCK" you know? :D Oh my gosh, the acoustic set was just beautiful. Beautiful. They sang all the best songs and his voice is so gorgeous. It's like..seamless. Perfect. I don't know how to describe it but when I think of something that's like his voice, it's just like..silk or something. It's actually REALLY like that in real life. He can actually REALLY hit all those high notes and everything. They sang "May I Have This Dance", "Priceless", "No One Really Wins", "Coffee" and "Brightest." In that order. I tried to pick my favourite, but I don't think I can. Too nice, too nice. I think it really, REALLY hit me that I was seeing Copeland live when he started singing "May I Have This Dance," you know the "oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo" part, it was like, DAMN that guy can sing. I was smiling soooo hard. I cried during "No One Really Wins" and "Brightest." I absolutely cannot describe the acoustic set in words. You had to be there.
After the acoustic set, everyone else went off somewhere and I decided I absolutely could not let the night go by without meeting Aaron. It's a good thing I did too, because we didn't end up seeing them after the electric set. Anyway, I went up to Aaron. It was surprisingly easy to get to him. I sort of darted through the crowd and then I was really close to him but all these other guys were taking pictures with him. Then this Baybeats crew guy came up to him and said he had to go because the rest of the band was calling for him. Aaron was like, "okay, wait, I'm trying man." Then he really had to go and I was so scared it was going to be just like Last Days Of April where they had to leave just before it was my turn to get an autograph, so I just went "can you please please sign my belt?" and he was like "sure!" and signed it. Then I fished my letter out of my bag and asked him to please, please (I don't know how many times I said "please" while talking to him, I acted like a complete idiot) read it before their second set. And he said "yeah, of course I will." I think it's a really really good thing none of you guys were there when I met Aaron, I was acting SO stupidly, like I bet my voice was all high and stuff, HAHA. Anyway, then I asked him to please play 'Testing The Strong Ones' and I was like "it's a really important song to me and it would mean so much to me if I could hear it live." So he was like "I don't know, we haven't gotten too many requests, but we can think about it" so I said "please, the lyrics mean SO much to me." Then he said (LISTEN) "Well, if 'Testing The Strong Ones' means a lot to someone, it must be for good reason, so of course we'll play it." OMGGGGG I ALMOST DIED I swear I was grinning so hard. It was just SUUUCH a sweet thing to say. Oh gosh. Then he had to go cos the rest of the band wanted him to take photos with them, so I went over to the rest of the band and got them all to sign my belt. Woo! DEFINITELY did not expect to meet the whole band. Anyway, then Angie was talking to Aaron and she was like "oh, you talked to Mel on the phone last night" and pointed to me and Aaron was like "oh hey!" and that's when I remembered that I had forgotten to tell him that I was Melissa, haha. Even though Shan reminded me to tell him so many times. haha. Oops. I think I was just too :O :O :O to remember anything, heh.
We went straight from the acoustic session to the Arena to get good spots for their electric set. We had to wait through Electrico's set in the hot sweaty crowd, yuck. I was studying SS, haha. I don't know why I'm not into Electrico, I don't think they're bad just highly overrated. But hey, it's testing the strong ones, right...so I grit my teeth and bore the overwhelming heat. Well, we all did. And we got all the way to the second row! I swear there was like one person between me and the stage! Coolest thing EVER, I definitely did not expect to get so close. I expected to be like..maybe in the middle between the front and the back, but I was way in front. I was damn happy even before the set started. I'm going to go through the setlist so this is a bit more organised..
+ 'Take Care'
Really sweet song. I remember thinking "omg, 'Take Care'!" but I can't remember if I actually said it out loud or not. I think I was just too "whoa" that the set was really starting.
+ 'Pin Your Wings'
Probably one of my favourite songs off In Motion. I was really really glad they played this because I had just been listening to it on the way to the Esplanade. It was even cooler that I knew Aaron wrote it for his younger stepsister, which is pretty sweet if you look at the lyrics.
+ 'Love Is A Fast Song'
The best part of this song was when Aaron sang "What has love become?" which is one of my favourite lyrics off the whole album. Probably one of my favourite Copeland lyrics ever. I don't know how many times I've posted that line on my blog. I have put it on my MSN nickname, my LJ icon, my MSN icon, my notebook, my textbooks...and to actually hear it from the same guy who wrote it, the same guy on the CD that I have listened to hundreds of times, was really surreal. And of course the "your love is a faasst soooonnnggg!!!" with the drums and the lights and wowie!
+ 'Hold Nothing Back'
I really enjoyed this song, but I think if I had to replace any song from their set it would be this one (and replace it with 'There Cannot Be A Close Second', just for Wen's sake, haha.) That's probably because I don't like the real song THAT much. I don't know why. I definitely still loved it though.
+ 'When Paula Sparks'
I was really happy when they started playing this song because Ange had told me earlier that she really really wanted them to play this song, so I was happy for her. I think this song is sad. But I was very happy for Ange because I know it's one of her favourite Copeland songs.
+ 'Don't Slow Down'
Love, love, loooove this song. "But don't you dare slow down for me." This is one of the songs I was also listening to as one of my "okay Mel imagine hearing this LIVE"-Copeland-preparation songs. This is a really happy song. When they started the chorus I wanted to start jumping around but obviously I didn't. Well, not really, I mean it was just like there was this surge of energy when they started playing that happy part.
+ 'Brightest'
This wins first prize for the best short song ever. Definitely. I didn't expect them to play this since they said they'd only play it once, and they played it during their acoustic set, but it was so cool that they did. In the middle of the song I turned around and saw Ange crying and it was like..aww. (Little did I know I would be in the same position in about three minutes.) Aaron's voice, wow. Wow.
+ 'You Have My Attention'
I started crying when they played 'You Have My Attention'. I cried the first time I heard it on CD, and the first time I heard it live. That song is just....sweet beyond belief. It's the most honest expression of loving someone to the point where you don't care if attention is all that they need, and you're just going to look out for them and keep caring for them just because you love them and you always have. That song means volumes to me. Needless to say, 'Testing The Strong Ones' was just amazing. I thought they weren't going to play it, because it's not a highly-requested song, and because Aaron did say that they hadn't planned on playing it.
+ 'Testing The Strong Ones'
Oh my gosh. It's like some kind of divine intervention that this song came after 'You Have My Attention' because those songs are the two Copeland songs that can ALWAYS make me cry. I was DAMN surprised when this came on. You know how the start of the song goes like, "dah-nah, dah-nah" with the guitars? Everytime they paused to start a new song I was like hoping and hoping I would hear those chords. And suddenly Aaron started playing them and at first I thought I was imagining things. I honestly did not think they would play that song. I know they said they would, but it's really not a very highly-requested song. I guess because most people don't /fully/ relate to it? I mean, I suppose people relate to the part about caring for your friend and how they're going to get out of the situation, but there are other parts of the song that I can still completely relate to for personal reasons. And it was like..wow. These guys who I love so much are actually listening to me and they actually care that this song is really important to me. These guys are playing this song for me. And I started crying even more because of that. Then I started actually listening to the song and its lyrics and realising how very, very applicable they were, and I cried for the exact same reasons that I do when listening to the song over speakers. I can't describe how amazing it is to hear the same lyrics that you have posted on your blog a thousand times right in front of you. Ten times better than how it sounds on the CD.
+ 'No One Really Wins'
I had just written the lyrics for this song in my diary that morning because it was describing a situation I was in to a perfect T. It's one of those songs where I don't know how Aaron could have been in Any other situation than the one I was in. You know?
+ 'California'
I don't know why, but I had a feeling they were going to end their set with 'California'. It was really really awesome. The guitar part, you know, the "da-na-na-na-naaaah-nahhhh" part, wow. That really just ended the set really well for me. It was perfect.
I don't know, the whole performance was such an experience for me. Every, EVERY single one of Copeland's songs has described how I feel at one point or another. "No One Really Wins" had described my feelings perfectly just that morning. And everytime they played another song, I remembered how it had applied to my life before and it was just like...I could close my eyes and remember all the times their lyrics had described my situation perfectly. Then I could open my eyes and see Aaron and all of them right in front of me and the flashing lights and...wow. Wow.
I can't believe I cried at a live concert, though. How lame. Aaron probably thinks I'm a wuss.
I'm so obsessively into Copeland now. I've listened to NOTHING else since Sunday. And before, I absolutely disliked 'Kite', but now that I can imagine Aaron like..singing it..it's SUCH a gorgeous song. It makes my heart like..swell. Everytime I listen to a Copeland song now, I imagine being back there with the bright lights and the whole band there and it makes me feel SO good.
SETLIST
Acoustic set (7.30-8pm)
-May I Have This Dance
-Priceless
-No One Really Wins
-Coffee
-Brightest
Electric set (9.30-10.30pm)
-Take Care
-Pin Your Wings
-Love Is A Fast Song
-Hold Nothing Back
-When Paula Sparks
-Don't Slow Down
-Brightest
-You Have My Attention
-Testing The Strong Ones
-No One Really Wins
Encore
-California
Yeah, I like LJ cuts a lot.