Turn the lights out and look into my eyes, tell me what you think you see...
Two-and-a-half bottles of Sobe energy drink, a half box of chocolate Teddy Grahams, a half bag of everything bagels, three tanks of gas, an 800 speed disposable camera, one proudly worn black sharpie X on each hand, four elk sightings, 13 hours in the car to and from Tempe in less than a 24 hour period, 3 entire listens to Action, one listen each to How To Get Kicked Out the Mall, Punchline, Major Motion Picture, the Rewind EP and a few listens each to the new songs and Counting Crows cover in those 13 hours in the car, on top of an adrenaline rush and the feeling that we might not make it home in time, because we got kinda lost because the exit we needed didn't seem to exist on the way back...
And I'm home from my first ever Punchline show with a nice little blue ticket (which unfortunately only says "Reel Big Fish"), a sexy new t-shirt, an awesome guitar pick, and most importantly: some excellent memories of my favorite band who I've waited three years to see.
...er, my guitar pick seems to have disappeared. Shit. I just hope it's in Reva's car somewhere. :-/
Anyway, it's time for me to write ALL about the show. Here goes:
I woke up at 8-ish yesterday morning, showered, double checked that my shit was all packed, headed out the door, and gave Reva a call. She didn't answer, because she was in the shower, but called me back when I was on the way to her house. So I get to her house, we quickly pack our shit into her car, she pulls out, I pull my car into the back lot, and we're off! Well, after hitting and ATM and getting a full tank of gas.
So we hit the road, and get out of Albuquerque at 9:45 AM. We drive straight west on I-40 through Gallup to Holbrook, exit for 77/377, and get a bit confused, so we end up at a Petrified Wood National Park entrance, and the guy's like, "$10 fee per car, etc." and we're like, "Um... we're actually on our way to Tempe. How do we get to 77?" So he directs us, we take back off, and get all the way to Tempe with pretty much no problems. There's construction signs everywhere, but very little construction and nothing inhibiting us, really. So after 6.5 hours in the car listening to pretty much EVERY released Punchline song and talking about how cute it is that they get to play with Reel Big Fish, and have also played with the Get Up Kids and Less Than Jake, bands they all thanked on their first album, we make it to Tempe with PLENTY of time to blow. So we get into Tempe, find our way around to the Marquee Theatre, park, fix our hair and make-up, and pull out our sharpies. Deciding that we're way early and curious which band is there already, we walk up to the venue, around it, take another look at the marquee (which unfortunately stated only the headlining bands) and then walked around the back to try and get a look at the plates on the RV and trailer in the back, but to no avail. The RV was rented in GA, but we can't see the all-important license plate for the trailer. Sad times. So we walk up the box office, talk to a few kids who are there buying their tickets and ask if they think it's gonna sell out, and get our tickets. Vans start showing up as we do this. So we meander over to the silver van, and check the plates. Sure enough: Pennsylvania. But then we see a girl get out of the car, which confuses me, because as far as I know, they don't have a girl roadie on this tour with em. But whatever. I start freakin' out. So we walk back around the fenced area and see feet beneath the other vans and trailers back there, and hope people start moving... And I see Steve walk past and I freeze up. I DON'T DO THAT. hahaha So I stand there a few more moments, and Doug walks past, so I yell to him, he looks a bit confused, and I tell him he doesn't know me, but I'm the girl that's been bugging him about getting them a show/ taking them out to lunch. So we talk breifly, and he says he needs to head inside to set up.
So with a few hours to blow before doors, Reva and I decide to go find something to eat. We drive right down Mill St in downtown Tempe and find a nice little cafe, so we go inside, talk to the guy working (who was pretty chill) and get some drinks. We hung out there for about an hour, I think, and decided to head back to the Marquee to get our spots at the front of the line. There's more people there waiting for the box office to open back up so they can get their tickets, but since we had em, we just sat down against the wall we assumed and had been told was the wall the line leaned against. And we wait. And joke with a few random people in line, who'd been there almost as long as us. Ya know, fun times. There was also a boy there in a Catch 22 shirt (that guy!) who was alone and really cute... and I wanted to talk to him, but then didn't. ::sigh:: Oh well. There will be more about him later.
Anyway, doors finally open a bit after 6, and as we're sweating our ASSES off (or rather burning them off because we're sitting on very, very hot concrete) we're pretty excited to go inside. But instead of just giving you the normal pat down, they have us also take off our shoes, as well. Pfft, they don't even do that at the airport most of the time!
Anyway, with doors open, the contents of our pockets, our shoes, and our ticket stubs in hand, we walk inside, straight to Punchline's merch table, put our shoes back on, and talk to their merch guy (who's also in Zolof). We'd already decided we were gonna buy merch after the set, so we run into the theatre, expecting to maybe have to fight for a place center stage, and find ourselves the only ones in there at first. So front and center against the barrier it is! People start filing in around us, but no one pushes or gets into anyone else's comfort zone, which was rad. We had tons of space to move, and the barrier itself was more comfortable to lean against than the one at Sunshine. So there we were, finally, standing front and center against the barrier in the Marquee Theatre, just waiting for the show to start, with Zolof's banner is hanging proudly high above the stage, and right behind it the Rewind EP style "P" and "E" of Punchline's banner peaking through.
So Zolof opened, and played a very fun set. They were catchy, and dancey, and they were the ones in the silver van that I thought was Punchline's because of the plates. Their lead singer was the girl that got out. haha But she was really cute on stage. She had a very fun, dancey, cute way of moving, and it was awesome to see that, for once. So they were fun, and we had a blast during their set, though I won't deny that I was just anxious for Punchline to get on stage. But I do have to say: hearing "What's up, Tempe?" sounds very, very weird to my New Mexican ears.
So they finish their set, start tearing down their equipment... and Punchline starts setting up to calls from random girls of "Greg Wood, you're so hot!" I take a few photos as they're setting up, as PJ's drum kit comes out, the banner goes up, and Steve sits on the monitors talking to a few random kids during sound check. "How are you?" "I'm excited. I love playing guitar!" (That was adorable.) Reva and I bust out into "Changing Lanes" before they sound check, hoping to maybe get some other Punchkids into it to sing along, but no one can hear us above the venue's between-set music, so we decide to give it up.
So they sound check and start.
And holy shit.
They are definitely one of the most excellent live bands I've seen. Especially pop punk bands.
They open up their set with "Not Afraid," and Reva and I just sing along with every single word, excited as hell to be watching them. maybe the kids around us hated us for freaking out, but I don't care.
Between almost every song, Steve goes into a little, "This song is about..." bit.
"That song was about not being afraid to die."
"This song is about a girl who thinks she's always right. Or I could say just a girl."
"This song is about losing your virginity."
"This song is about a girl you like dating a bully."
Their set went: Not Afraid, Getting There is Getting By, The World, Open Up, Why Is He Right?, Battlescars, Heart Transplant. (I think that order's mostly right. I could be a bit off though. I didn't remember what order the songs in the middle of the set were played in.)
During Getting There Is Getting By, I pulled out my phone and called Dan so he could hear. He sent me a text with just "<3" after the song. haha
They open up The World with a request for us to pogo along with them, which Reva and I gladly do, and you can tell a good portion of the audience is getting into it. We stopped pogoing when the vocals kick in, and sing our hearts out for yet another song, but I was amused by the fact that Steve sings "I took some time to fuck up my life" when they perform it live.
Then Open Up, which I don't think I have much to say about, though I don't know why I never thought about it being about losing your virginity before. I mean, I've been on the verge of thinking that, but never thought too much about it. haha
At one point, I think it was between these two songs, Reva and I decided to yell "SKEEBALL," but we didn't think anyone in the band had heard us, as they were still talking.
Why Is He Right? was a really fun song, but I don't know what else to say about it. Well, it's not like I knew what to say about most of the set.
And then Battlescars... Ay, ay, ay... it was excellent. It's a song that's just begging for kids to sing along, because of the volume of and emotion in the vocals, I guess. So of course, I sang it extra loud, pogoed, and had a good time.
And then Heart Transplant. Probably the most fun song of the set, just because the band has a blast with it. "Alright, sing after me. Even a heart transplant..." "Even a heart transplant" "Wouldn't show you how I feel would it baby." Reva and I pretty much kept intentionally fucking it up. I mean, it was fun, but I was getting anxious, just like, "C'mon, get on with the song the way it really goes!" hehe But it was still fun, even when the audience yelled the line out of key.
The set as a whole was amazing. The guys had a ton of energy, jumped around on stage more than most other bands I've ever seen (maybe not more than Fall Out Boy...), and their actual playing was still awesome. Reva and I sang along with every word, which Steve, Greg, and PJ noticed (Chris was on the other side of the stage, so I didn't see much of him, but I did catch a few awesome timed jumps from him) and it's always cool looking directly at someone in a band, whether they're the lead singer or not, while they're singing, while your mouth forms the same notes, and they sing straight at you.
So after the set, Steve tossed a pick to Reva, but she didn't catch it, or it bounced against the barrier, or something, but either way, it fell on the floor behind the barrier, which we couldn't reach. Bummer, no? Steve came down a few moments later and picked it up for her, and she handed it to me saying, "This isn't rightly mine." (Again, thanks Reva. But shit, I'm gonna have to look in your car for it, since it disappeared on me this morning.) We talked to Steve for a few seconds, and just asked if he was gonna be at the merch table later, which he said he was, so we went back out, bought our shirts (unfortunately, they don't have the Antidote stuff on this tour, otherwise I was gonna buy another shirt), and then talked to Steve and Greg a bit.
You could definitely tell Greg's the one that everyone flocks after, which isn't a bad thing, but Reva and I decided to wait a few minutes to talk to him. So we talked to Steve for a while, and mentioned that we'd yelled "Skeeball" but didn't think they'd heard us. Turns out he did, and he was GONNA comment, but then decided not to, because they like to pretend that was a different band. Oh dear. Fun times. As much as I love that song and the old stuff, I do have to admit that I only like some of it because, well.. it's Punchline, and it's cute how bad they were compared to how amazing they are now. And it's also cute that they tried being a ska band.
So after talking to Steve a bit, we also talked to Greg briefly, mostly just saying, "Aw, where are your X's?" and had them both take a photo with us. Aw... haha It's actually a cute photo. But yeah, fun times. Chris came out a bit later, so I talked to him, introduced myself, and he said, "Oh, I know who you are! MinorKaty, right?" hahaha... Guess I've harassed them enough on the message board to have made a name for myself. But Chris was cool, and when we asked where PJ was, he told us that he was out loading the van, but he'd get him to come out and meet us, since we had to leave before the show ended. Very cool of him. So the rest of the band kinda disappeared, but PJ came out, and we ended up talking to him the most... for a good, solid half hour.
We told him we were bummed they didn't play any of the new songs, but his reasoning (since it wasn't on the record) made sense. I mean, if they were headlining, I would've been a lot more bummed, but when you go for a band, and the opening band turns out to be awesome, normally there's ONE SONG that sticks with you. It'd suck to get the CD and not have that song on it. So yeah, for a supporting band, it makes sense to only play the stuff on their most recent album.
He also said Changing Lanes might not come out on the CD, but it was written for a movie called Geppetto's Story (I think), so I'm gonna have to look for that.
I also asked if they were planning to bring back anything from Major Motion Picture (I was hoping for Here Goes Nothing or I Don't Know) but PJ said they might teach Greg Weekends and Express, which would be very, very cool.
We also discussed both FBR-affiliated Mikes we know (Metal and Ski) and a bit about street teams... and PJ asked if I was head of any of the street teams, because he said I seem like someone that would be. And I wouldn't mind, to tell the truth, but I'm not the right location to be doing that at all, ya know? Hell, I can't even do much for the teams I'm on already unless the bands come through, because I refuse to do online promo. Anyway, that was interesting.
And we discussed the differences between Brother's Keeper and the A.K.A.s. Reva and I prefer the A.K.A.s, PJ prefers Brother's Keeper. It's all a matter of who each of us heard first, I guess. The conversation was entertaining, though.
As we were leaving, I told PJ that they seriously need to come to Albuquerque, and I'd book it if I had to. He said, "Oh, that was you?" hahaha.... Yes, t'was me. Next time it'll happen, though, because I'll know further in advance, so I'll have a venue, no sweat. He said, "Well, we know who to get ahold of now." heh
So overall, the night rocked. Punchline blew me away (though I'd seriously KILL to see them play the Launchpad so I don't have to deal with a barrier and it feels more real) and they were all really nice guys, and flattered we drove out from NM to see them.
Ah, so then the drive back. We make it safely back to Payson following the speed limits, and start taking 260 East... And 277 seems to not exist, so we start freaking out. So we didn't take the route we took there, back. Oh no. Instead, we ended up taking 60 East all the way to Socorro, speeding insanely the ENTIRE way, but I must say: we must have good karma or something. We made it back just in time. It was intense, though, and we definitely had adrenaline coursing through our systems, what with the fear of being late on our minds, as well as seeing elk in the road, and being in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and the brush fires we passed, which caused the moon to glow red at one point.
So I'm home. And I'm as happy as you could imagine. Life is amazing. Punchline puts on an excellent show and are all-around awesome guys.
They definitely remain my favorite band.
It never fully hit me that I got to see them, but it did sink in.
I saw Punchline for the first time, after being a fan for three years.
I was blown away.
And, because it's me, and I wouldn't have left if I hadn't: I talked to everyone in the band.
But of course.
My life is complete.
It'd be more complete if I saw them at a smaller venue, though, and we all know that. haha :-D
Unfortunately, I didn't get any good ones of Chris or PJ, as Chris was on the other side of the stage and PJ, being the drummer, was at the back. Reva and I should have had them take photos with us. Oh well...
The Marquee Theatre:
Pre-set:
During the set:
(total crotch shot... oops.)
AZ kids:
Steve, Reva, me, Greg:
The Punchline van!
And I'm home from my first ever Punchline show with a nice little blue ticket (which unfortunately only says "Reel Big Fish"), a sexy new t-shirt, an awesome guitar pick, and most importantly: some excellent memories of my favorite band who I've waited three years to see.
...er, my guitar pick seems to have disappeared. Shit. I just hope it's in Reva's car somewhere. :-/
Anyway, it's time for me to write ALL about the show. Here goes:
I woke up at 8-ish yesterday morning, showered, double checked that my shit was all packed, headed out the door, and gave Reva a call. She didn't answer, because she was in the shower, but called me back when I was on the way to her house. So I get to her house, we quickly pack our shit into her car, she pulls out, I pull my car into the back lot, and we're off! Well, after hitting and ATM and getting a full tank of gas.
So we hit the road, and get out of Albuquerque at 9:45 AM. We drive straight west on I-40 through Gallup to Holbrook, exit for 77/377, and get a bit confused, so we end up at a Petrified Wood National Park entrance, and the guy's like, "$10 fee per car, etc." and we're like, "Um... we're actually on our way to Tempe. How do we get to 77?" So he directs us, we take back off, and get all the way to Tempe with pretty much no problems. There's construction signs everywhere, but very little construction and nothing inhibiting us, really. So after 6.5 hours in the car listening to pretty much EVERY released Punchline song and talking about how cute it is that they get to play with Reel Big Fish, and have also played with the Get Up Kids and Less Than Jake, bands they all thanked on their first album, we make it to Tempe with PLENTY of time to blow. So we get into Tempe, find our way around to the Marquee Theatre, park, fix our hair and make-up, and pull out our sharpies. Deciding that we're way early and curious which band is there already, we walk up to the venue, around it, take another look at the marquee (which unfortunately stated only the headlining bands) and then walked around the back to try and get a look at the plates on the RV and trailer in the back, but to no avail. The RV was rented in GA, but we can't see the all-important license plate for the trailer. Sad times. So we walk up the box office, talk to a few kids who are there buying their tickets and ask if they think it's gonna sell out, and get our tickets. Vans start showing up as we do this. So we meander over to the silver van, and check the plates. Sure enough: Pennsylvania. But then we see a girl get out of the car, which confuses me, because as far as I know, they don't have a girl roadie on this tour with em. But whatever. I start freakin' out. So we walk back around the fenced area and see feet beneath the other vans and trailers back there, and hope people start moving... And I see Steve walk past and I freeze up. I DON'T DO THAT. hahaha So I stand there a few more moments, and Doug walks past, so I yell to him, he looks a bit confused, and I tell him he doesn't know me, but I'm the girl that's been bugging him about getting them a show/ taking them out to lunch. So we talk breifly, and he says he needs to head inside to set up.
So with a few hours to blow before doors, Reva and I decide to go find something to eat. We drive right down Mill St in downtown Tempe and find a nice little cafe, so we go inside, talk to the guy working (who was pretty chill) and get some drinks. We hung out there for about an hour, I think, and decided to head back to the Marquee to get our spots at the front of the line. There's more people there waiting for the box office to open back up so they can get their tickets, but since we had em, we just sat down against the wall we assumed and had been told was the wall the line leaned against. And we wait. And joke with a few random people in line, who'd been there almost as long as us. Ya know, fun times. There was also a boy there in a Catch 22 shirt (that guy!) who was alone and really cute... and I wanted to talk to him, but then didn't. ::sigh:: Oh well. There will be more about him later.
Anyway, doors finally open a bit after 6, and as we're sweating our ASSES off (or rather burning them off because we're sitting on very, very hot concrete) we're pretty excited to go inside. But instead of just giving you the normal pat down, they have us also take off our shoes, as well. Pfft, they don't even do that at the airport most of the time!
Anyway, with doors open, the contents of our pockets, our shoes, and our ticket stubs in hand, we walk inside, straight to Punchline's merch table, put our shoes back on, and talk to their merch guy (who's also in Zolof). We'd already decided we were gonna buy merch after the set, so we run into the theatre, expecting to maybe have to fight for a place center stage, and find ourselves the only ones in there at first. So front and center against the barrier it is! People start filing in around us, but no one pushes or gets into anyone else's comfort zone, which was rad. We had tons of space to move, and the barrier itself was more comfortable to lean against than the one at Sunshine. So there we were, finally, standing front and center against the barrier in the Marquee Theatre, just waiting for the show to start, with Zolof's banner is hanging proudly high above the stage, and right behind it the Rewind EP style "P" and "E" of Punchline's banner peaking through.
So Zolof opened, and played a very fun set. They were catchy, and dancey, and they were the ones in the silver van that I thought was Punchline's because of the plates. Their lead singer was the girl that got out. haha But she was really cute on stage. She had a very fun, dancey, cute way of moving, and it was awesome to see that, for once. So they were fun, and we had a blast during their set, though I won't deny that I was just anxious for Punchline to get on stage. But I do have to say: hearing "What's up, Tempe?" sounds very, very weird to my New Mexican ears.
So they finish their set, start tearing down their equipment... and Punchline starts setting up to calls from random girls of "Greg Wood, you're so hot!" I take a few photos as they're setting up, as PJ's drum kit comes out, the banner goes up, and Steve sits on the monitors talking to a few random kids during sound check. "How are you?" "I'm excited. I love playing guitar!" (That was adorable.) Reva and I bust out into "Changing Lanes" before they sound check, hoping to maybe get some other Punchkids into it to sing along, but no one can hear us above the venue's between-set music, so we decide to give it up.
So they sound check and start.
And holy shit.
They are definitely one of the most excellent live bands I've seen. Especially pop punk bands.
They open up their set with "Not Afraid," and Reva and I just sing along with every single word, excited as hell to be watching them. maybe the kids around us hated us for freaking out, but I don't care.
Between almost every song, Steve goes into a little, "This song is about..." bit.
"That song was about not being afraid to die."
"This song is about a girl who thinks she's always right. Or I could say just a girl."
"This song is about losing your virginity."
"This song is about a girl you like dating a bully."
Their set went: Not Afraid, Getting There is Getting By, The World, Open Up, Why Is He Right?, Battlescars, Heart Transplant. (I think that order's mostly right. I could be a bit off though. I didn't remember what order the songs in the middle of the set were played in.)
During Getting There Is Getting By, I pulled out my phone and called Dan so he could hear. He sent me a text with just "<3" after the song. haha
They open up The World with a request for us to pogo along with them, which Reva and I gladly do, and you can tell a good portion of the audience is getting into it. We stopped pogoing when the vocals kick in, and sing our hearts out for yet another song, but I was amused by the fact that Steve sings "I took some time to fuck up my life" when they perform it live.
Then Open Up, which I don't think I have much to say about, though I don't know why I never thought about it being about losing your virginity before. I mean, I've been on the verge of thinking that, but never thought too much about it. haha
At one point, I think it was between these two songs, Reva and I decided to yell "SKEEBALL," but we didn't think anyone in the band had heard us, as they were still talking.
Why Is He Right? was a really fun song, but I don't know what else to say about it. Well, it's not like I knew what to say about most of the set.
And then Battlescars... Ay, ay, ay... it was excellent. It's a song that's just begging for kids to sing along, because of the volume of and emotion in the vocals, I guess. So of course, I sang it extra loud, pogoed, and had a good time.
And then Heart Transplant. Probably the most fun song of the set, just because the band has a blast with it. "Alright, sing after me. Even a heart transplant..." "Even a heart transplant" "Wouldn't show you how I feel would it baby." Reva and I pretty much kept intentionally fucking it up. I mean, it was fun, but I was getting anxious, just like, "C'mon, get on with the song the way it really goes!" hehe But it was still fun, even when the audience yelled the line out of key.
The set as a whole was amazing. The guys had a ton of energy, jumped around on stage more than most other bands I've ever seen (maybe not more than Fall Out Boy...), and their actual playing was still awesome. Reva and I sang along with every word, which Steve, Greg, and PJ noticed (Chris was on the other side of the stage, so I didn't see much of him, but I did catch a few awesome timed jumps from him) and it's always cool looking directly at someone in a band, whether they're the lead singer or not, while they're singing, while your mouth forms the same notes, and they sing straight at you.
So after the set, Steve tossed a pick to Reva, but she didn't catch it, or it bounced against the barrier, or something, but either way, it fell on the floor behind the barrier, which we couldn't reach. Bummer, no? Steve came down a few moments later and picked it up for her, and she handed it to me saying, "This isn't rightly mine." (Again, thanks Reva. But shit, I'm gonna have to look in your car for it, since it disappeared on me this morning.) We talked to Steve for a few seconds, and just asked if he was gonna be at the merch table later, which he said he was, so we went back out, bought our shirts (unfortunately, they don't have the Antidote stuff on this tour, otherwise I was gonna buy another shirt), and then talked to Steve and Greg a bit.
You could definitely tell Greg's the one that everyone flocks after, which isn't a bad thing, but Reva and I decided to wait a few minutes to talk to him. So we talked to Steve for a while, and mentioned that we'd yelled "Skeeball" but didn't think they'd heard us. Turns out he did, and he was GONNA comment, but then decided not to, because they like to pretend that was a different band. Oh dear. Fun times. As much as I love that song and the old stuff, I do have to admit that I only like some of it because, well.. it's Punchline, and it's cute how bad they were compared to how amazing they are now. And it's also cute that they tried being a ska band.
So after talking to Steve a bit, we also talked to Greg briefly, mostly just saying, "Aw, where are your X's?" and had them both take a photo with us. Aw... haha It's actually a cute photo. But yeah, fun times. Chris came out a bit later, so I talked to him, introduced myself, and he said, "Oh, I know who you are! MinorKaty, right?" hahaha... Guess I've harassed them enough on the message board to have made a name for myself. But Chris was cool, and when we asked where PJ was, he told us that he was out loading the van, but he'd get him to come out and meet us, since we had to leave before the show ended. Very cool of him. So the rest of the band kinda disappeared, but PJ came out, and we ended up talking to him the most... for a good, solid half hour.
We told him we were bummed they didn't play any of the new songs, but his reasoning (since it wasn't on the record) made sense. I mean, if they were headlining, I would've been a lot more bummed, but when you go for a band, and the opening band turns out to be awesome, normally there's ONE SONG that sticks with you. It'd suck to get the CD and not have that song on it. So yeah, for a supporting band, it makes sense to only play the stuff on their most recent album.
He also said Changing Lanes might not come out on the CD, but it was written for a movie called Geppetto's Story (I think), so I'm gonna have to look for that.
I also asked if they were planning to bring back anything from Major Motion Picture (I was hoping for Here Goes Nothing or I Don't Know) but PJ said they might teach Greg Weekends and Express, which would be very, very cool.
We also discussed both FBR-affiliated Mikes we know (Metal and Ski) and a bit about street teams... and PJ asked if I was head of any of the street teams, because he said I seem like someone that would be. And I wouldn't mind, to tell the truth, but I'm not the right location to be doing that at all, ya know? Hell, I can't even do much for the teams I'm on already unless the bands come through, because I refuse to do online promo. Anyway, that was interesting.
And we discussed the differences between Brother's Keeper and the A.K.A.s. Reva and I prefer the A.K.A.s, PJ prefers Brother's Keeper. It's all a matter of who each of us heard first, I guess. The conversation was entertaining, though.
As we were leaving, I told PJ that they seriously need to come to Albuquerque, and I'd book it if I had to. He said, "Oh, that was you?" hahaha.... Yes, t'was me. Next time it'll happen, though, because I'll know further in advance, so I'll have a venue, no sweat. He said, "Well, we know who to get ahold of now." heh
So overall, the night rocked. Punchline blew me away (though I'd seriously KILL to see them play the Launchpad so I don't have to deal with a barrier and it feels more real) and they were all really nice guys, and flattered we drove out from NM to see them.
Ah, so then the drive back. We make it safely back to Payson following the speed limits, and start taking 260 East... And 277 seems to not exist, so we start freaking out. So we didn't take the route we took there, back. Oh no. Instead, we ended up taking 60 East all the way to Socorro, speeding insanely the ENTIRE way, but I must say: we must have good karma or something. We made it back just in time. It was intense, though, and we definitely had adrenaline coursing through our systems, what with the fear of being late on our minds, as well as seeing elk in the road, and being in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and the brush fires we passed, which caused the moon to glow red at one point.
So I'm home. And I'm as happy as you could imagine. Life is amazing. Punchline puts on an excellent show and are all-around awesome guys.
They definitely remain my favorite band.
It never fully hit me that I got to see them, but it did sink in.
I saw Punchline for the first time, after being a fan for three years.
I was blown away.
And, because it's me, and I wouldn't have left if I hadn't: I talked to everyone in the band.
But of course.
My life is complete.
It'd be more complete if I saw them at a smaller venue, though, and we all know that. haha :-D
Unfortunately, I didn't get any good ones of Chris or PJ, as Chris was on the other side of the stage and PJ, being the drummer, was at the back. Reva and I should have had them take photos with us. Oh well...
The Marquee Theatre:
Pre-set:
During the set:
(total crotch shot... oops.)
AZ kids:
Steve, Reva, me, Greg:
The Punchline van!