They shook it up. We listened.
Two nights in a row of Panic! at the Disco?
Yeah, I'm down!
So, here's the GRAND update of the two Arizona shows of theirs I attended.
After staying up til about 5AM talking, Reva and I struggled to wake up at 10AM to get out of town at a decent hour. Finally, we got up, hit up the ATM, Walmart for an atlas (mine disappeared), Natural Sound for tickets to the Academy Is... next week, and got gas, and FINALLY hit I-40 to take us out to AZ.
We took the same route out to Tempe as last time, with no problems; only some minor construction, and were still amused by the dinosaur sculptures for the Petrified Wood park and Bucket of Blood St. in Holbrook.
After 6.5 hours (just like last time) we make it into Tempe and find our way to the Clubhouse after making only a FEW U-turns.
And there, we wait in line.
Highly amused with ourselves for being such nerds (I was wearing not only my Relax Relapse blazer, but also my aubergine eye shadow, an aubergine cami, and aubergine knee-highs underneath my pant, and Reva was in her awesome blood-painted ::cough:: Cartel shirt) we waited, and waited, and heard them soundcheck with "The Only Difference..." then waited some more, then doors opened.
Reva and I ran directly to the front, kinda edged our way into an open spot, and waited some more. I, for one, could not believe I was about to see Panic! at the Disco for the first time, though I'd already peeked into the Clubhouse through the scratched off black paint while they were sound checking and I could see Brent sitting on the side of the stage with his girlfriend.
And finally... they came out. They played an unfortunately short set (which didn't surprise me, since they were first, but still) which was only 25 minutes.
But oh, how they made those 25 minutes and 5 songs worth the drive.
They opened up with "The Only Difference..." (how fitting) so Reva and I snapped and danced and sang along.
The rest of their set consisted of a new song, the new version of Nails for Breakfast and Tacks for Snacks, I Write Sins Not Tragedies and of course... It's Time to Dance.
Apparently, Brendon makes a really goofy face when he says "whore" in I Write Sins Not Tragedies, but I missed it. Ugh.
But the set was a blast. I danced, and sang, and got confused as hell by the new version of Nails for Breakfast, and danced some more, and made Brendon excited because I was singing along with every word possible, and probably pissed off a lot of scene kids there. Fuck scene kids. I enjoy music, and I may be "scene" due to the fact that I go to shows religiously, but I still enjoy it and I'm not afraid to show it.
Anywho, Reva and I stuck around at the front during Augustana's set in hopes that Cartel would make it and play next as planned...
They didn't end up playing until after Recieving End of Sirens, so we got out of the crowd toward the end of Augustana's set and talked to Ashley's mom for a bit.
Cartel then performed, so Reva made her way to the front and I hung at the back with Ashley's mom.
Let me just say, her mom is rad. A mom into hardcore AND Panic! at the Disco? Yeah, awesome.
...even if she hates William Beckett.
So Acceptance headlined, of course, and their set was beautiful. They played all four songs I actually know, as well as several I've heard but never learned the lyrics to...
And they got the whole crowd singing for So Contagious.
Honestly, "beautiful" is the only way to put it.
After the show, I went and preordered my CD but decided to wait til Flagstaff to buy my shirt, since I couldn't decide.
Exhausted, we hung out with the guys in Cartel for a few minutes as they explained their van problems to us, and finally hit the hotel before getting some dinner at Denny's.
We crashed, got up, and got ready for the Flagstaff show.
First, we went to Mill's End Cafe, this place we went before the Punchline show in Tempe, and hung out for a bit.
Then it was Dollar Store time, to keep our tradition going.
Luckily, we found EXACTLY what we were looking for at the dollar store: glow sticks, giant fake sunflowers, and candy necklaces. On top of that, we found "Funky Disco Glasses." Oh yes. That's right.
I bought a pair for myself, as did Reva, and I also got a pair of them to give to the band. It rocked.
So we hit I-17 to get up to Flagstaff and stopped at this place off the Carefree Highway for gas and Subway.
I hope I made someone's day there.
When we got to Flagstaff, we got lost again looking for our hotel (have we ever found a hotel, other than in Cruces, without asking someone for directions or making a lot of U-turns? Oh wait, that's happened in Cruces too.)
So we check into this sketchy, sketchy motel (hey, it was cheap) and do our makeup for the show, then head out to the LoFi Cafe.
There, we wait in line again and talk to kids from Sedona who drove out for it.
And then the whole crowd gets heckled by a creepy bum, and finally, some chick from across the street walks over and says, "You're about to get your ass kicked by a girl!"
Tension builds, and everyone's anxious, but nothing really happens. Finally, someone (I think from the venue) gets him to leave.
::sigh::
That guy was creepy.
Seriously.
So we continue hanging out for a while, goodies in hand, and trying to hide them a bit from the band members as they walk by, and finally doors open.
Even more stoked than the night before because the venue is cooler and smaller and the kids are MUCH less stuck up than the previous night, Reva and I make our way to the very front, and hang out, goodies for the band in hand, and start talking to some boys who were standing near us as I opened up and snapped the glowsticks to get them ready for the set.
So Panic! played, and the set was beautiful... even better than the night before, because of the audience, and despite the fact that someone fucked up the sound and lights, so they had to stop for several minutes to figure out what was going on.
In that break, however, I pulled the glowsticks out of my bag and tossed them on stage.
I yelled "You have to wear them," and Brendon said, "I don't know where they've been," at which point, I just said, "They're from us, it's OK."
Spencer put one on his drums and later pointed at us to ask if we were the ones who threw them on stage, Brendon put one around his neck (which he took off a few minutes later) and the rest ended up on the mic stand.
I also got shorter bracelet sized glowsticks with the necklace ones, so I put one on, handed one to the cute boy who I'd been talking to and who was dancing and singing along, but it didn't fit around his wrist, so I handed it to Reva, and I gave another to some random girl in the crowd.
Basically, the atmosphere of the show and the people there rocked.
So they fixed the electrical problems and finished up their set, and I danced harder and sang louder than ever. It was a blast.
After their set, Reva and I went to the Cafe a few doors down for something to drink and hung out with the boys we were talking to before the set. A few minutes later, Brendon and Ryan came outside, so we talked to them, and I gave Brendon the "Funky Disco Glasses."
He was highly amused, to say the least.
Reva and I listened to, but didn't watch, Augustana's set last night. They have a good sound but they're not much for a live band. Their drummer looked bored and none of them had much stage presence.
While we were out there, I got a compliment on my Bane shirt from another guy at the show and some dude in a Bane hoodie, who was walking down the street, stopped to ask me who was playing. That was pretty cool. He turned around and I saw the XXX tattoo he had on the back of his left leg... that was cool too. It was also in the colors of the German flag, but I didn't have a chance to ask him about it.
We went back in for TREOS' set and just stood at the back seeing as we don't actually know anything by them. Good stuff... they remind me of Emery.
Reva got Ryan his TREOS shirt after their set and got the guys in the band to sign it while we were waiting for Acceptance to start. Good times.
Acceptance's set was beautiful, once again.
I still love the fact that the venue was smaller... much like Harwood and the Compound. I was able to get a lot closer to the stage without fighting people or anything and I just got to enjoy it SO much more. 'Twas amazing, and the crowd was so into it, singing every word of So Contagious and... yeah.
Reva and I hung out for a few minutes after the show ended and talked to a few of the guys in Acceptance briefly.
Afterward, we hit up Village Inn and went back to the hotel.
All in all, Flagstaff was amazing, much better than Tempe, and definitely worth the drive.
I'm SO glad we could make it out both nights.
And now, for photos.
The painted glass wall of the Clubhouse:
And now the photos from the LoFi Cafe:
Oh, and for the record: I DID meet a cute guy on the trip who's into Panic! at the Disco.
However, I managed to get all his friends' names, but not his (Reva made all the introductions when he'd walked away for a few minutes) and I didn't get a chance to say, "Hey, we should keep in touch since I go to Tempe for shows every once in a while."
:(
Oh well, the trip was still fun.
More than worth it.
Yeah, I'm down!
So, here's the GRAND update of the two Arizona shows of theirs I attended.
After staying up til about 5AM talking, Reva and I struggled to wake up at 10AM to get out of town at a decent hour. Finally, we got up, hit up the ATM, Walmart for an atlas (mine disappeared), Natural Sound for tickets to the Academy Is... next week, and got gas, and FINALLY hit I-40 to take us out to AZ.
We took the same route out to Tempe as last time, with no problems; only some minor construction, and were still amused by the dinosaur sculptures for the Petrified Wood park and Bucket of Blood St. in Holbrook.
After 6.5 hours (just like last time) we make it into Tempe and find our way to the Clubhouse after making only a FEW U-turns.
And there, we wait in line.
Highly amused with ourselves for being such nerds (I was wearing not only my Relax Relapse blazer, but also my aubergine eye shadow, an aubergine cami, and aubergine knee-highs underneath my pant, and Reva was in her awesome blood-painted ::cough:: Cartel shirt) we waited, and waited, and heard them soundcheck with "The Only Difference..." then waited some more, then doors opened.
Reva and I ran directly to the front, kinda edged our way into an open spot, and waited some more. I, for one, could not believe I was about to see Panic! at the Disco for the first time, though I'd already peeked into the Clubhouse through the scratched off black paint while they were sound checking and I could see Brent sitting on the side of the stage with his girlfriend.
And finally... they came out. They played an unfortunately short set (which didn't surprise me, since they were first, but still) which was only 25 minutes.
But oh, how they made those 25 minutes and 5 songs worth the drive.
They opened up with "The Only Difference..." (how fitting) so Reva and I snapped and danced and sang along.
The rest of their set consisted of a new song, the new version of Nails for Breakfast and Tacks for Snacks, I Write Sins Not Tragedies and of course... It's Time to Dance.
Apparently, Brendon makes a really goofy face when he says "whore" in I Write Sins Not Tragedies, but I missed it. Ugh.
But the set was a blast. I danced, and sang, and got confused as hell by the new version of Nails for Breakfast, and danced some more, and made Brendon excited because I was singing along with every word possible, and probably pissed off a lot of scene kids there. Fuck scene kids. I enjoy music, and I may be "scene" due to the fact that I go to shows religiously, but I still enjoy it and I'm not afraid to show it.
Anywho, Reva and I stuck around at the front during Augustana's set in hopes that Cartel would make it and play next as planned...
They didn't end up playing until after Recieving End of Sirens, so we got out of the crowd toward the end of Augustana's set and talked to Ashley's mom for a bit.
Cartel then performed, so Reva made her way to the front and I hung at the back with Ashley's mom.
Let me just say, her mom is rad. A mom into hardcore AND Panic! at the Disco? Yeah, awesome.
...even if she hates William Beckett.
So Acceptance headlined, of course, and their set was beautiful. They played all four songs I actually know, as well as several I've heard but never learned the lyrics to...
And they got the whole crowd singing for So Contagious.
Honestly, "beautiful" is the only way to put it.
After the show, I went and preordered my CD but decided to wait til Flagstaff to buy my shirt, since I couldn't decide.
Exhausted, we hung out with the guys in Cartel for a few minutes as they explained their van problems to us, and finally hit the hotel before getting some dinner at Denny's.
We crashed, got up, and got ready for the Flagstaff show.
First, we went to Mill's End Cafe, this place we went before the Punchline show in Tempe, and hung out for a bit.
Then it was Dollar Store time, to keep our tradition going.
Luckily, we found EXACTLY what we were looking for at the dollar store: glow sticks, giant fake sunflowers, and candy necklaces. On top of that, we found "Funky Disco Glasses." Oh yes. That's right.
I bought a pair for myself, as did Reva, and I also got a pair of them to give to the band. It rocked.
So we hit I-17 to get up to Flagstaff and stopped at this place off the Carefree Highway for gas and Subway.
I hope I made someone's day there.
When we got to Flagstaff, we got lost again looking for our hotel (have we ever found a hotel, other than in Cruces, without asking someone for directions or making a lot of U-turns? Oh wait, that's happened in Cruces too.)
So we check into this sketchy, sketchy motel (hey, it was cheap) and do our makeup for the show, then head out to the LoFi Cafe.
There, we wait in line again and talk to kids from Sedona who drove out for it.
And then the whole crowd gets heckled by a creepy bum, and finally, some chick from across the street walks over and says, "You're about to get your ass kicked by a girl!"
Tension builds, and everyone's anxious, but nothing really happens. Finally, someone (I think from the venue) gets him to leave.
::sigh::
That guy was creepy.
Seriously.
So we continue hanging out for a while, goodies in hand, and trying to hide them a bit from the band members as they walk by, and finally doors open.
Even more stoked than the night before because the venue is cooler and smaller and the kids are MUCH less stuck up than the previous night, Reva and I make our way to the very front, and hang out, goodies for the band in hand, and start talking to some boys who were standing near us as I opened up and snapped the glowsticks to get them ready for the set.
So Panic! played, and the set was beautiful... even better than the night before, because of the audience, and despite the fact that someone fucked up the sound and lights, so they had to stop for several minutes to figure out what was going on.
In that break, however, I pulled the glowsticks out of my bag and tossed them on stage.
I yelled "You have to wear them," and Brendon said, "I don't know where they've been," at which point, I just said, "They're from us, it's OK."
Spencer put one on his drums and later pointed at us to ask if we were the ones who threw them on stage, Brendon put one around his neck (which he took off a few minutes later) and the rest ended up on the mic stand.
I also got shorter bracelet sized glowsticks with the necklace ones, so I put one on, handed one to the cute boy who I'd been talking to and who was dancing and singing along, but it didn't fit around his wrist, so I handed it to Reva, and I gave another to some random girl in the crowd.
Basically, the atmosphere of the show and the people there rocked.
So they fixed the electrical problems and finished up their set, and I danced harder and sang louder than ever. It was a blast.
After their set, Reva and I went to the Cafe a few doors down for something to drink and hung out with the boys we were talking to before the set. A few minutes later, Brendon and Ryan came outside, so we talked to them, and I gave Brendon the "Funky Disco Glasses."
He was highly amused, to say the least.
Reva and I listened to, but didn't watch, Augustana's set last night. They have a good sound but they're not much for a live band. Their drummer looked bored and none of them had much stage presence.
While we were out there, I got a compliment on my Bane shirt from another guy at the show and some dude in a Bane hoodie, who was walking down the street, stopped to ask me who was playing. That was pretty cool. He turned around and I saw the XXX tattoo he had on the back of his left leg... that was cool too. It was also in the colors of the German flag, but I didn't have a chance to ask him about it.
We went back in for TREOS' set and just stood at the back seeing as we don't actually know anything by them. Good stuff... they remind me of Emery.
Reva got Ryan his TREOS shirt after their set and got the guys in the band to sign it while we were waiting for Acceptance to start. Good times.
Acceptance's set was beautiful, once again.
I still love the fact that the venue was smaller... much like Harwood and the Compound. I was able to get a lot closer to the stage without fighting people or anything and I just got to enjoy it SO much more. 'Twas amazing, and the crowd was so into it, singing every word of So Contagious and... yeah.
Reva and I hung out for a few minutes after the show ended and talked to a few of the guys in Acceptance briefly.
Afterward, we hit up Village Inn and went back to the hotel.
All in all, Flagstaff was amazing, much better than Tempe, and definitely worth the drive.
I'm SO glad we could make it out both nights.
And now, for photos.
The painted glass wall of the Clubhouse:
And now the photos from the LoFi Cafe:
Oh, and for the record: I DID meet a cute guy on the trip who's into Panic! at the Disco.
However, I managed to get all his friends' names, but not his (Reva made all the introductions when he'd walked away for a few minutes) and I didn't get a chance to say, "Hey, we should keep in touch since I go to Tempe for shows every once in a while."
:(
Oh well, the trip was still fun.
More than worth it.