Cracked Ribs

So, this morning, I think I woke up at 3 am or so, maybe. I had to wait until 9 to go to the bank and get money, and then I left at 10. The drive was shorter than it was to Cleveland, but the distance was further... weird! I basically went through all my CD's and listened to Metro Station the whole time. I totally got lost because my GPS told me that the venue was an empty grassy hill. I had to ask some people in a gas station where it was and they directed me right to it. When I got there, I stayed in my car for a while to do my make up, which later got totally spattered and ruined and I probably looked like a total freak, but I'm sure everyone understands.

So anyway, I met some cool girls when I walked out to get in line at about 2. They were all 15 and let me sit with them. After a while, Shane, followed not so closely by Max walked into what we thought was a sports store. One of the girls and I decided to take a bathroom break then. We walked into the sports store thinking, how hard could this be? And discovered that we had just walked into a mall... dammit.

We stalked around for a little while then went to the bathroom. After, we came out and were walking back to the entrance when we saw Shane. We started giggling and whispering and turned around to find some old man right behind us who was decidedly not Shane Told. I was like, "Oh... hi." Haha. I'm such a dork. Anyway... that was fun. We decided to go into a skate shop to look at the snowboards and Max was in there. Apparently he wears glasses. Adorable. Anyway, we talked for a bit, because... I dunno... he knows me and is nice like that. His mom went to the Chicago show and got drunk or something, so that wasn't good. But we got hugs and then headed back into the line.

I was wearing shorts and got pretty cold, so this rather adorable kid gave us a blanket, then we talked for a while and he was pretty interesting. He sped up the long wait very well with stories of how the back of his van is morally dirty and he's never even done anything in it. Gross!

When it was finally time to go in, we got centre left as usual, stage right, that is. This old lady and some girl with glasses who had never been to a hxc show were right behind me. I was like, um... you realize that the crowd is not going to stay spaced like this, right? We convinced them to leave half way through A Skylit Drive, because really, it was only about to get worse. This is the craziest venue I've ever been to! For their last song, they decided it would be a great idea to announce that there should be a crowd surfing contest. Thanks...

I got pushed a little further away during Alesana... okay, I got pushed way far away, which only got worse during Escape The Fate. This adorable kid next to me was like, "Don't worry, I'll get you to your spot." It was so cute! So yeah, thank god for Craig. He decided to stand in the crowd and everyone moved right so that I was way more center than I had been before. Bomb. Ass.

It took a while for Silverstein to set up, but once they did, it was epic. Josh walked across the stage, and I was like, "JOSH! JOSH!!!!" he noticed me and waved. He's so nice, I love him! Anyway, I saw Paul and Billy backstage as well which was cool. They were sooo good though. I love this band. They played Love With Caution, as ever. Which totally rocks, because if they hadn't, I probably would have cried. During the second to last song, I got my hat and backed the fuck up out of there. I went to the back and crowd surfed my way forward. Not the best idea as it wasn't packed very much toward the back and I got dropped. However, I am amazing and naturally landed on my feet. I was like, "AGAIN, AGAIN!" so they lifted me up and launched me forward again. It was so ace.

After that, I went to the merch tables, stopping on my way to talk to Dennis of Alesana. He's nice. I got 2 t-shirts, but the hoodie I wanted was sold out... seeing as they had only started with 2 in the first place... hahaha. Anyway, I met Billy. Which basically rocked. I was like, "Can I have a hug? It would make my decade... like, the whole thing." I'm such a dork, anyway, he did give me a hug... and it was awkward because I didn't really want to let go. I asked him how many tattoos he had, and although he does know that he has them all over, he doesn't count. Which is a fine answer! Then Paul came by and gave me a high five and I told him I like the way he plays, and he signed my shirt and gave me a hug. After that, Josh came by and he totally remembers me!!! Haha, score. He's soooooooooo nice! But I already knew that. He was like, hmmm... I know you but where from? And I was like, Detroit! And he's like, "oh yeah, we talked FOREVER." And I was like, yup. He has lots of tattoos too. More than me, less than Billy. He has a tofu tattoo as well! It's adorable and a half.

After that, I saw the guy from Detroit who helped me crowd surf the first time and had been standing behind me when I first saw this concert a month ago. He and his buddy had been talking to Craig. I forgot he loves Escape The Fate. Good for him! Anyway, after talking to the guitar player from A Skylit Drive for a while, I left and went home. I think I fell asleep for like.... 2 seconds twice while I was driving, so I turned on a light and talked to some friends on the phone.

I'll be in Toronto for the entire weekend. We'll see how that goes...