SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR SUMMER
Band order:
The Maine
Metro Station
Good Charlotte
Boys Like Girls
My throat is STILL sore from screaming so much. I think there may have been a moment of insanity where I bellowed “I love you” at Boys Like Girls that didn’t really help. There will definitely be more concerts in my future.
Jeanne, a friend from Hollins who lived in the town where the concert was, my grandma, and I stood outside in the hot rainy Texas weather for a little over two hours. Yes, Texas is all you’re getting. After eating at a nearby Hard Rock Cafe and realizing it was raining too hard to go back to the hotel, there wasn’t much else for us to do. Plus, the crowd outside the theater was growing steadily and we wanted to be inside as soon as possible. A local radio station blasted music for us at a booth they set up, so the multiplying indie kids could sing along while they waited. The rain stopped and started, but for the most part pounded constantly on the pavilion that the hundreds of us stood under.
Getting inside was a flurry of security guards, pushing, shoving tickets at the checkers, and holding onto Jeanne and grandma so we wouldn’t get separated. Our seats were on the balcony above the stage and to the right (our left). I was a little disappointed we weren’t down right in front of the stage, but for my first concert, I was also a little relieved. Plus, watching the crowd was almost as fun as watching the bands, as it turned out. (Mosh pits! Crowd diving! Mosh pits!!)
We were in out seats about forty five minutes before the show started, but it passed quickly with me hyperventilating, Jeanne laughing at me, and my grandma looking anxious.
The Maine had the opening act. I hadn’t heard of them before, but found I enjoyed their music. They did a great job warming up the crowd, and even though I wasn’t standing up and dancing yet, I was already having the time of my life. Metro station came up next, with a ten minute set change in between. They didn’t talk to the crowd as much, but you could feel the energy in every song. I’d never heard of them before either, and I still wasn’t standing, but I felt the excitement growing.
We tried going downstairs to buy a concert teeshirt, but the crowd was so thick downstairs between acts that we soon gave up. There was a fifteen minute set change before Good Charlotte, so I snapped more pictures of the crowd.
As soon as GC came onto stage, I jumped out of my seat. They immediately started in on one of my favorite song’s, The Anthem. Having not know the words for the first two bands, I sand along with vigor. Unfortunately, due to my gratuitous screaming for the first two performances, I was already starting to lose my voice.
The lead singer worked the crowd brilliantly. Jeanne and I were screaming, dancing, throwing up our arms, sweating, and I was bellowing all the lyrics I knew. Other songs they played included I Don’t Wanna Be In Love, Hold On, Little Things, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. By the time they ran off stage, I was sweating so badly you would have thought I’d just taken a shower. A hot, bad smelling shower. But I didn’t care. I couldn’t talk much, because I wanted to save my voice for Boys Like Girls. I knew every one of their songs. I would be singing all of it. And I would be dancing and screaming like a madman.
Ok, so since this is already a really long blog, I’m gonna post about BLG tomorrow (bonus!) and post my pictures.
