Metal concerts make me oh so happy. =D
I'll start with the exciting part of the entry:
Friday, after a certain amount of rescheduling and angst, I drove to Katonah Station with Chloe and caught a midafternoon train to Grand Central. (That's, what, the third trip to NYC on the train in less than 2 weeks?) We met up with Maddie, her friend (boyfriend?) Joey and his friend Adam in GC, and then proceeded to walk to the Roseland Ballroom, on 52nd and Broadway, where we waited in line in the cold for about 2 hours while eating a quick dinner. But the wait was totally worth it. The entire show was amazing - even the first band, Til December, which wasn't very heavy, so a mosh pit didn't break out until they did a cover of Pantera's "Walk" and that Marilyn Manson song, heehee. Next was Lacuna Coil, which was better live than anyone expected; not much moshing, but still good music. And they definitely earn major bonus points for the hot metalchick singer. =D Things really picked up when Shadows Fall came on. Last was the main act, Stone Sour, which (conveniently) ended just about when we needed to go, so Chloe and I made our train with time to spare. (My parents wanted me home on the 12:08 train. Maddie and the boys didn't need to go till the 2 am train or something. Such is life.) I sat down on the train home, and I hurt. A lot. I was surprised the next morning when far fewer bruises manifested themselves than I expected. There's a large spot on my back that by rights should have been deep purple. Maybe sleeping 11 hours helped me heal up. Or maybe I just hurt so much because I'd been on my feet for 7 hours straight. I dunno. My back is still kind of stiff, though, and my lips got cut up because I got hit in the face several times, and the braces sure didn't help. My ears were still ringing 24 hours later.
I LOVED IT.
Yes, I paid $30 - plus about $20 for train tickets - for the privilege of getting aurally and physically beaten up. Talk about a RUSH. There's something about the brutal physicality of a metal concert that makes me feel so alive and fierce, makes every breath a refreshing, wondrous thing not to be taken for granted. Also a wonderful way to vent; where else can you beat people up and get beaten up and be welcomed in doing so? (Besides Fight Club.) I went crowd surfing for the first time: for 2 seconds I was FLYING, but then the crowd threw me where there was no one to catch me, and I fell about 8 feet to the hard floor. (Thus the banged-up side/back and elbow that turned out to not be as bad as I feared.) And I totally can't wait to do it again. Yeah, it hurt afterwards, but the pain is worth the flight, and the pain eventually faded. (Yet another metaphor for life, heehee!) Crowd-surfing doesn't usually end so painfully, anyways.
Maddie and her two friends made the experience really fun, too. Joey is a totally ridiculous ladies' man who has a talent for being so adorable you just have to forgive him when he messes up. Also quite the gentleman. Adam, a baseball player with muscular biceps of just the right size, was nice too, though a bit more reserved; we danced a bunch while Joey and Maddie were doing so, heehee. Maddie's taking Joey to prom; maybe I'll take Adam? Perhaps, perhaps. I might have a prom date after all. In that case, I absolutely need to go dress shopping the weekend after vacation. I also saw Maddie's formidable metal-friend-making skills in action; she started talking to a guy near us with a mohawk (who looked vaguely familiar to me; not sure why), who later kept the crowd off me when I needed a break. I love sweetie metalheads!! =) He gave me a goodbye hug afterward the show. And he wasn't the only one; after I got dumped over the barrier from crowd-surfing, I had to push through much of the crowd to reach my friends again, and several guys along the way kindly helped me squeeze through.
Fragments:
-The guy who introduced each man was Lizardman, who had green tatoos on his face and all over his torso, and drank a shot each time (of Jagermeister, who sponsored the tour); the first was to us, the second to pussy (HELL YEAH!!!), the third to the crew, and the fourth to us again.
-As a reward for being "the loudest crowd on the tour so far" (like every other place, I bet, haha), the Stone Sour lead singer played and sang "Sweet Home Alabama," which totally had us rocking out, headbanging and throwing devil-horns while lustily singing along, heehee.
-There was alcohol and weed aplenty available for those interested, such as some of those I was with, although I refused since I had to be the responsible one and drive home.
-Free condoms! Some HIV awareness group was giving out cards to get a free HIV test (if you took it, you'd get a $15 Best Buy gift card too), and had free condoms, so before the concert started, a bunch people made condom balloons and the whole crowd played keep it up, heehee.
-Joey and Adam convinced Maddie and I to make out at one point. I really should have made them reciprocate. Fair's fair, right? ;-P
-I learned what the Squaredance from Hell is, and I totally want to do it at some point, though I didn't get a chance to that night.
-Joey also mistook me for Maddie on several occasions, which caused him several awkward/embarrassed moments (and me much laughter). We were both wearing jeans (mine black, hers blue), the same belt, and black tank tops, and according to Joey, we both feel the same when grabbed around the waist. We're also boob twins, apparently. =D
\m/
Backtracking: We had our first outdoor meet on Thursday, but it didn't go so well - it was extremely cold (we've had indoor meets with warmer weather!), and actually snowed pretty hard for half an hour or so, and then we had a ton of problems getting the pole vault pit standards set up, and then all the vaulters were forever running off to run various events... it was a mess. I'm taking it a little easier this season, and I'm tired of my love-hate relationship with middle distance, so I'm not doing the 800 this season; at the meet, I was signed up for the PV, and the 400 for fun, except I skipped the 400 because I was busy dealing with the pit (and I didn't want to have to strip down to my uniform, eheh.) In the PV, by the time we got around to jumping, I did 5'6", although I expect to do 6'6" within the next meet or two (when I hopefully won't be trying to jump in 3 layers while grouchy and partially frozen!) And the worst part was that the meet was supposed to be the previous day, but it got postponed because it had been pouring all day... so they cancel for rain, but not for snow?
Thursday night I'd been hoping to have several friends over to watch movies, but only Cait and Sara could make it, and we were all very tired, so we just watched 2 movies and then slept for a good 7 hours. We watched Brokeback Mountain - such a good movie, I enjoyed watching it again - and then Rent, which I hadn't had a chance to watch before. It's AMAZING. I highly recommend it to everyone, and was deeply saddened to hear that Ocelot felt the need to close her mind and turn around. =( Bad Ocelot. It doesn't matter whether or not you agree, you at least need to LISTEN!!! Then judge after you see the whole presentation. Ok, enough Ocelot-bashing. (I love you, I really do. Maybe in a couple years you should go back and try to watch it all the way through. It's not like there are any sex scenes or anything.) Anyways, it was such an uplifting outlook on life - when you know you're going to die any day, you don't waste your time being angry or hateful or depressed about it, you go out and live! Viva la Boehme!!!! (...or something like that. I don't speak French.) I also recommend watching it with subtitles so you don't miss ANY of the subtleties and little ties in here and there and so forth. (I find I pick up a lot more when I can read the dialogue as well as hear it - a side effect of all my childhood reading, I suppose.)
Saturday I slept and went shopping. I wanted to get a rainbow bandana for Day of Silence, but no luck. I did find severay tops at H&M, including two - one royal blue, one black - that, when I tried it on, I just KNEW was made for me. Quite excited. Also got a black halter and two tube tops, one light blue, one black. Then I got a rainbow studded belt from Spencer's. I didn't like any of the rainbow jewelry I found, so I decided to make a necklace myself.
This morning I went to church for the first time since Christmas and sang both Easter services. 'Twas somewhat nice - as was the challenge of singing alto - but at the end of the second Communion I wanted to shoot myself because that woman is SO FUCKING SLOW!!! argh!!!!!!!!!!! The trumpets were gorgeous, though. (In both senses, for one of them. =D)
~The Bookwyrm
Friday, after a certain amount of rescheduling and angst, I drove to Katonah Station with Chloe and caught a midafternoon train to Grand Central. (That's, what, the third trip to NYC on the train in less than 2 weeks?) We met up with Maddie, her friend (boyfriend?) Joey and his friend Adam in GC, and then proceeded to walk to the Roseland Ballroom, on 52nd and Broadway, where we waited in line in the cold for about 2 hours while eating a quick dinner. But the wait was totally worth it. The entire show was amazing - even the first band, Til December, which wasn't very heavy, so a mosh pit didn't break out until they did a cover of Pantera's "Walk" and that Marilyn Manson song, heehee. Next was Lacuna Coil, which was better live than anyone expected; not much moshing, but still good music. And they definitely earn major bonus points for the hot metalchick singer. =D Things really picked up when Shadows Fall came on. Last was the main act, Stone Sour, which (conveniently) ended just about when we needed to go, so Chloe and I made our train with time to spare. (My parents wanted me home on the 12:08 train. Maddie and the boys didn't need to go till the 2 am train or something. Such is life.) I sat down on the train home, and I hurt. A lot. I was surprised the next morning when far fewer bruises manifested themselves than I expected. There's a large spot on my back that by rights should have been deep purple. Maybe sleeping 11 hours helped me heal up. Or maybe I just hurt so much because I'd been on my feet for 7 hours straight. I dunno. My back is still kind of stiff, though, and my lips got cut up because I got hit in the face several times, and the braces sure didn't help. My ears were still ringing 24 hours later.
I LOVED IT.
Yes, I paid $30 - plus about $20 for train tickets - for the privilege of getting aurally and physically beaten up. Talk about a RUSH. There's something about the brutal physicality of a metal concert that makes me feel so alive and fierce, makes every breath a refreshing, wondrous thing not to be taken for granted. Also a wonderful way to vent; where else can you beat people up and get beaten up and be welcomed in doing so? (Besides Fight Club.) I went crowd surfing for the first time: for 2 seconds I was FLYING, but then the crowd threw me where there was no one to catch me, and I fell about 8 feet to the hard floor. (Thus the banged-up side/back and elbow that turned out to not be as bad as I feared.) And I totally can't wait to do it again. Yeah, it hurt afterwards, but the pain is worth the flight, and the pain eventually faded. (Yet another metaphor for life, heehee!) Crowd-surfing doesn't usually end so painfully, anyways.
Maddie and her two friends made the experience really fun, too. Joey is a totally ridiculous ladies' man who has a talent for being so adorable you just have to forgive him when he messes up. Also quite the gentleman. Adam, a baseball player with muscular biceps of just the right size, was nice too, though a bit more reserved; we danced a bunch while Joey and Maddie were doing so, heehee. Maddie's taking Joey to prom; maybe I'll take Adam? Perhaps, perhaps. I might have a prom date after all. In that case, I absolutely need to go dress shopping the weekend after vacation. I also saw Maddie's formidable metal-friend-making skills in action; she started talking to a guy near us with a mohawk (who looked vaguely familiar to me; not sure why), who later kept the crowd off me when I needed a break. I love sweetie metalheads!! =) He gave me a goodbye hug afterward the show. And he wasn't the only one; after I got dumped over the barrier from crowd-surfing, I had to push through much of the crowd to reach my friends again, and several guys along the way kindly helped me squeeze through.
Fragments:
-The guy who introduced each man was Lizardman, who had green tatoos on his face and all over his torso, and drank a shot each time (of Jagermeister, who sponsored the tour); the first was to us, the second to pussy (HELL YEAH!!!), the third to the crew, and the fourth to us again.
-As a reward for being "the loudest crowd on the tour so far" (like every other place, I bet, haha), the Stone Sour lead singer played and sang "Sweet Home Alabama," which totally had us rocking out, headbanging and throwing devil-horns while lustily singing along, heehee.
-There was alcohol and weed aplenty available for those interested, such as some of those I was with, although I refused since I had to be the responsible one and drive home.
-Free condoms! Some HIV awareness group was giving out cards to get a free HIV test (if you took it, you'd get a $15 Best Buy gift card too), and had free condoms, so before the concert started, a bunch people made condom balloons and the whole crowd played keep it up, heehee.
-Joey and Adam convinced Maddie and I to make out at one point. I really should have made them reciprocate. Fair's fair, right? ;-P
-I learned what the Squaredance from Hell is, and I totally want to do it at some point, though I didn't get a chance to that night.
-Joey also mistook me for Maddie on several occasions, which caused him several awkward/embarrassed moments (and me much laughter). We were both wearing jeans (mine black, hers blue), the same belt, and black tank tops, and according to Joey, we both feel the same when grabbed around the waist. We're also boob twins, apparently. =D
\m/
Backtracking: We had our first outdoor meet on Thursday, but it didn't go so well - it was extremely cold (we've had indoor meets with warmer weather!), and actually snowed pretty hard for half an hour or so, and then we had a ton of problems getting the pole vault pit standards set up, and then all the vaulters were forever running off to run various events... it was a mess. I'm taking it a little easier this season, and I'm tired of my love-hate relationship with middle distance, so I'm not doing the 800 this season; at the meet, I was signed up for the PV, and the 400 for fun, except I skipped the 400 because I was busy dealing with the pit (and I didn't want to have to strip down to my uniform, eheh.) In the PV, by the time we got around to jumping, I did 5'6", although I expect to do 6'6" within the next meet or two (when I hopefully won't be trying to jump in 3 layers while grouchy and partially frozen!) And the worst part was that the meet was supposed to be the previous day, but it got postponed because it had been pouring all day... so they cancel for rain, but not for snow?
Thursday night I'd been hoping to have several friends over to watch movies, but only Cait and Sara could make it, and we were all very tired, so we just watched 2 movies and then slept for a good 7 hours. We watched Brokeback Mountain - such a good movie, I enjoyed watching it again - and then Rent, which I hadn't had a chance to watch before. It's AMAZING. I highly recommend it to everyone, and was deeply saddened to hear that Ocelot felt the need to close her mind and turn around. =( Bad Ocelot. It doesn't matter whether or not you agree, you at least need to LISTEN!!! Then judge after you see the whole presentation. Ok, enough Ocelot-bashing. (I love you, I really do. Maybe in a couple years you should go back and try to watch it all the way through. It's not like there are any sex scenes or anything.) Anyways, it was such an uplifting outlook on life - when you know you're going to die any day, you don't waste your time being angry or hateful or depressed about it, you go out and live! Viva la Boehme!!!! (...or something like that. I don't speak French.) I also recommend watching it with subtitles so you don't miss ANY of the subtleties and little ties in here and there and so forth. (I find I pick up a lot more when I can read the dialogue as well as hear it - a side effect of all my childhood reading, I suppose.)
Saturday I slept and went shopping. I wanted to get a rainbow bandana for Day of Silence, but no luck. I did find severay tops at H&M, including two - one royal blue, one black - that, when I tried it on, I just KNEW was made for me. Quite excited. Also got a black halter and two tube tops, one light blue, one black. Then I got a rainbow studded belt from Spencer's. I didn't like any of the rainbow jewelry I found, so I decided to make a necklace myself.
This morning I went to church for the first time since Christmas and sang both Easter services. 'Twas somewhat nice - as was the challenge of singing alto - but at the end of the second Communion I wanted to shoot myself because that woman is SO FUCKING SLOW!!! argh!!!!!!!!!!! The trumpets were gorgeous, though. (In both senses, for one of them. =D)
~The Bookwyrm