Why Smith Puget is my hero!
I saw AFI on Sunday at HFStival 2006, and wow...
I posted this on the Despair Faction board as well:
This is a somewhat long story, but bear with me, there are rewards at the end:
So, I got floor tickets to HFStival 2006. I got there right after the gates opened, picked up a few bottles of water, and camped out at the barricade to wait for AFI. I was right up against the stage, in front of where Jade's mic was later set up. After what seemed like forever (I now hate Coheed and Cambria after their godawful set), I saw Smith come out and kind of walk around to make sure things were bewing set up correctly.
My friend Jason and I were the only die-hard AFI fans where we were standing, and I was the only person who recognized Smith, so I called out to him "Smith, you're the man!", and he caught sight of me, smiled, and waved. This may not seem important now, but it will be later.
So, the band finally comes out and of course, I am in complete awe from the second the first note rang out. My friend Jason had never seen them live, so we were going nuts. Singing, dancing, jumping, and pumping our fists to every word. Davey noticed Jason and I going crazy in the front, and walked over to where we were numerous times, which of course made me feel like a million bucks. He kind of smiled when he first saw us, and I think it also had something to do with the Blondie t-shirt I was wearing, since it's really similar to one of his. I noticed Smith crouched down beside the speakers on Jade's side, watching the set the whole time. Finally, after an amazing performance, the band walks off, and I stay behind as everyone clears out to see if there is a set list on the stage, and do not see one. Just as I'm about to walk away, a speaker gets moved and I see a drumstick go rolling across the floor. I started screaming at the roadie to get his attention, and he finally (after giving me a "Are you crazy?" kind of look) tossed me the stick. YES! Now this would have been enough but, just as I was turning to go, this blond girl next to me who had been giving me shit all day because I was in front of her starts to complain, because I had also caught Ville Valo's towel after HIM's set. As I'm about to say something to her I catch motion out of the corner of my eye, and turn to see Smith who comes running from the side of the stage, jumps down, and HANDS ME A SETLIST (!) and then goes running back. I immediately screamed out "Smith, you're my hero!" and turn to see the blond girl standing with her jaw on the floor.
HA!
Not only did I score a drumstick, but Smith himself came back to personally hand me a setlist. I love this man!
I also got some amazing pictures, which are posted in the "Expressions of AFI" forum.
I didn't think anything could compete with my TRL trip from May 8th, but this was incredible. It was a 7 hour drive to get there, and 6 hours standing with that blond bitch in my ear, but damn, I would do it all again in a second.
Here are pics of the setlist and drumstick:
I also took an insane amount of pics, so they're all posted on my website, but here are a few teaser faves:
My website is www.madaudiophile.com. If you take any pics, please credit me.
I posted this on the Despair Faction board as well:
This is a somewhat long story, but bear with me, there are rewards at the end:
So, I got floor tickets to HFStival 2006. I got there right after the gates opened, picked up a few bottles of water, and camped out at the barricade to wait for AFI. I was right up against the stage, in front of where Jade's mic was later set up. After what seemed like forever (I now hate Coheed and Cambria after their godawful set), I saw Smith come out and kind of walk around to make sure things were bewing set up correctly.
My friend Jason and I were the only die-hard AFI fans where we were standing, and I was the only person who recognized Smith, so I called out to him "Smith, you're the man!", and he caught sight of me, smiled, and waved. This may not seem important now, but it will be later.
So, the band finally comes out and of course, I am in complete awe from the second the first note rang out. My friend Jason had never seen them live, so we were going nuts. Singing, dancing, jumping, and pumping our fists to every word. Davey noticed Jason and I going crazy in the front, and walked over to where we were numerous times, which of course made me feel like a million bucks. He kind of smiled when he first saw us, and I think it also had something to do with the Blondie t-shirt I was wearing, since it's really similar to one of his. I noticed Smith crouched down beside the speakers on Jade's side, watching the set the whole time. Finally, after an amazing performance, the band walks off, and I stay behind as everyone clears out to see if there is a set list on the stage, and do not see one. Just as I'm about to walk away, a speaker gets moved and I see a drumstick go rolling across the floor. I started screaming at the roadie to get his attention, and he finally (after giving me a "Are you crazy?" kind of look) tossed me the stick. YES! Now this would have been enough but, just as I was turning to go, this blond girl next to me who had been giving me shit all day because I was in front of her starts to complain, because I had also caught Ville Valo's towel after HIM's set. As I'm about to say something to her I catch motion out of the corner of my eye, and turn to see Smith who comes running from the side of the stage, jumps down, and HANDS ME A SETLIST (!) and then goes running back. I immediately screamed out "Smith, you're my hero!" and turn to see the blond girl standing with her jaw on the floor.
HA!
Not only did I score a drumstick, but Smith himself came back to personally hand me a setlist. I love this man!
I also got some amazing pictures, which are posted in the "Expressions of AFI" forum.
I didn't think anything could compete with my TRL trip from May 8th, but this was incredible. It was a 7 hour drive to get there, and 6 hours standing with that blond bitch in my ear, but damn, I would do it all again in a second.
Here are pics of the setlist and drumstick:
I also took an insane amount of pics, so they're all posted on my website, but here are a few teaser faves:
My website is www.madaudiophile.com. If you take any pics, please credit me.