Saturday, September 8, 2007

Jacks Mannequin at UB

Annie and I got to the University of Buffalo around 11am and had basically one of the craziest days ever. We couldn't bring cameras into the venue so Walt had to walk back to where we were waiting in line and get Annie's camera, I kept mine because I figured I could just hide it like I always do. Then Annie and I went to Subway and I got a sandwhich and a cookie...both were subpar. Then we got back in line to wait and eat said sandwhich. Then we found out that when we were let in at 4pm we were had to go through metal detectors and put our phones in a tray while we walked through. So then I started freaking out because I still had my camera and there was no way I was going to be able to sneak it in. So we called Walt and he said he was in the library. So we walked to the library to give him the camera. On the way there, however, Annie had a minor mishap with a manhole. She fell through.

Once we finally calmed down and Annie was able to get herself up, we continued on to the third floor of the library to meet Walt. Then we headed over to the commons and bought a disposable camera to sneak in, just in case somehow Annie met Bobby. Then we got back in line, only to find out bags and purses weren't allowed in. So we made a second trip to the library to give Walt Annie's purse. Finally around 3pm we got back in line and stayed there until doors opened a little after four. Once we got in Annie got in line to go in while I got the tickets at will call. Then I handed her ticket to her once she was on the other side of security and I got in line to go through security. We hauled ass down to the floor and Annie got baricade and I was right behind her.

The first band to play was One Republic. They were boring and I disliked them greatly. Then Trapt played, again I disliked them greatly. Their singer looked like a total douchebag. Reel Big Fish played third, I don't particularly like ska, but they were a good live band, very entertaining. "do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" "no but i kiss yours!!" ahahaha. Jacks Mannequin played third and amazing of course. At one point these two girls behind me got in a bitch fight and the black girl would not back down and she kept saying she was gonna fuck the other girl up. There wasn't really any securtiy by the baricade, just kids who worked there, and one of them kept looking to see what was happening but he had no idea what to do. It was lame but kind of amusing. Anyway, yeah. Jacks was fucking great. After Jacks, All American Rejects played; Annie and I left the crowd because we really didn't feel like watching.

We went up to the main lobby area and we saw Jeff, Tom and Fred from CIWWAF. Jeff said hi and said he was going out to his car and would be right back. About a half hour later we saw him again while we were sitting on some stairs and he said he'd be right back...he didn't come back. But either way it was nice seeing him again. Annie went back in to listen to a song and found Jay from JM while she was in there. So I went back in but she chickened out on getting a picture. So then we left again and sat for a little while. Then randomly we went back in hoping to find Bobby, and we did. We ran down the bleachers to the floor where he was, and we just stood at a distance for a couple minutes. Annie wouldn't go up to him and ask for a picture so I had to. I got a picture with him and then Annie did and then that was that. We said thank you and walked away. It was extremely awkward. Annie got her picture though. so we were able to leave.

And to end the night, once we got back to Rochester we stopped at Schaller's for some food and while we were waiting an extrememly drunk lady came up to me and grabbed my shoulder and asked if my name was Emma. I said no and she walked away. WTF. I really wonder about my life sometimes

Catching up on what happened over the summer

Valencia Human Circus Tour- July 6-10th
The past five days were without a doubt the best five days of my life.

The tour started out in Cleveland on Friday at the Grog Shop. It was amazing. It was great to see Valencia again and to FINALLY see Self Against City. Permanent Me were good and Forever the Sickest Kids were fantastic. So much fun. After the show I got to talk to Jon from SAC, it was great, I've been wanting to meet him for so long. After the show we drove back to Buffalo, dropped Mike off at his house and got a hotel room at the Comfort Suites near the Icon. Amazing room...king sized bed, french doors, pull out couch....

Saturday we slept in and then went to see June at the Icon. Rianna IMd Mark before the show and he ended up putting the three of us on guest list, so nice of him. Being the lazy fucks we are we decided to wait until almost 7:30 before walking over to the Icon. It was a good show despite me knowing only Emanuel, and even then not really caring about seeing them. June turned out to be really good though. AJ was really cool, even if he did spit all over me more than once while talking. After the show we went to Jims Steakout for some food then returned to the hotel.

The next morning we drove to Pittsburgh for Day 2 of the Human Circus Tour. We stopped at Cici's Pizza Buffet before the show...it was pretty good. The show was pretty good. The bands were great, but the crowd was lame. Everytime I see Self Against City play I love them more and more. After the show we talked to everyone for awhile before leaving for the 8+ hour drive to Hartford for Day 3.

Driving through PA was a nightmare. For at least a couple hours we were on this bendy, windy, hilly road; it was dark as hell and there was absolutely nothing around. At about 4am we stopped and got a motel room at the Key Motor Inn and slept for about 4 hours. Then around 9am we started driving to Hartford once again.

Once we got to the club in Hartford we soon saw the guys from SAC again. Apparently they (and FTSK) experienced the same roads in PA we did and they definitely sympathized with us.

The Hartford show was hands down the best show. The crowd was great, everyone was really into it. Valencia dedicated the song 3000 Miles to us, they said "we've played 3 show so far, and these kids up front have been to every one. This is for you.. Its called 3000 Miles". That was really cool. After the show Shane thanked us for coming to all the shows and said that it was more than he could ever expect from anyone. Kyle from FTSK put Rianna on guest list for the show the next day and K Dirty (FTSK merch guy) gave us a mission, find him a white bandanna (which we succeeded in doing).

After the show we drove for about a half hour and then got a motel room for the night. The next morning some guy randomly walked into our room and was just like "oh, sorry, wrong room"...that was creepy.

We got to the ICC in Allston around 3pm (after driving around the wrong city for about a half hour looking for the ICC). FTSK and Valencia were already there. SAC and Permanent Me showed up not much later. We gave K Dirty his bandannas and a hello kitty lollipop. Michelle and Catherine came to the show, I was so happy to see them! It's been forever! The show was good, the "venue" sucked so the bands were a little off, but regardless it was great and we had so much fun. It was so sad saying goodbye to everyone after seeing them everyday for four days. I really didn't want it to end. We said goodbye to everyone and gave hugs a million times and then left for Rochester.

Not long after getting onto the Mass Pike we stopped at a rest stop to eat. We were sitting by the window eating and then all of a sudden some people started banging on the window...it was Self Against City! They decided to stop to eat too (they got lost looking for abblebee's, so they had to settle for Mickey D's). It was great seeing them again. They came and ate with us and then it was time to say goodbye again, that part always sucks. Hopefully we will see them again soon (maybe sooner than they think).


Overall the trip was absolutely amazing. We met some really great people. Saw some really great bands. And had a lot of sweet hangs. It been less than 12 hours since I last saw everybody and already I miss them like crazy. Being home in Rochester really sucks.
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Human Circus Bonus: Altoona, PA- July 20th
The drive to Altoona, PA was rediculous. We left somewhere around 10am, a little after, and we arrived at the "venue" sometime just after 5pm. The entire drive was highways that were full of construction, which meant detours and stalled traffic. When we finally got to Altoona we couldn't find the venue because of all the one way streets and we didn't actually know what we were looking for. The "venue" turned out to be a church, which we passed twice because we didn't know it was what we were looking for.

Once we finally pulled into the parking lot the only bands there were Permanent ME and the local band. SAC and Valencia hadn't gotten there yet. So we hung outside for awhile, then went in and paid and then went back outside. SAC and Valencia didn't get there until almost 6...we all left and went to Sheetz across the street so we could eat and when we came back the rest of the bands had arrived.

The show was decent. The sound sucked because once again they were playing in a church, a very unsuitable venue. But it was great to see SAC and Valencia again. Despite the problems they still were great and we had so much fun.

After the show we hung out a bit. Jon was a creep as usual...he took Rianna's camera and started taking random pictures of people in the room and he said that Thursday they all went to six flags and they thought of us...uh only mildly creepy (to add to the mildly creepy things he said last week in regards to lenny)...but all this aside we still adore him.

Once outside we busted out the sparklers and somehow managed to go through six boxes. Oh how I love running around like a spaz while holding flaming sticks. George seemed to love them too. Yay.

It was such a fun night. I wish we were able to go to the Deleware show tomorrow..err today...but we can't. Everyone was kind of expecting us to be there I guess, because they asked us if we'd be there but based on how they said it they assumed we would be. BUT in 5 days we get to see Valencia and Forever the Sickest Kids again. I'm so sad that SAC is going all the way to the UK, it's just too far away. Hopefully once they get back they'll tour again, because I need to see them again soon.


Oh yeah, at some point just before SAC played some girl next to us asked us if we were feeling christian tonight...um no, rianna basically told her we aren't religious and then she asked if we were feeling good tonight...it was really weird. People from Altoona are creepy.
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Warped Tour Scranton-July 26th
Warped Tour in Scranton was great, but I am never going to warped tour there again. You have to walk down a bug ass mountan to get to it, which means you have to walk back up it to when its time to leave. Other than that though it was fun. I saw All Time Low and Valencia, which were really the only two bands that I really wanted to see, and they were great. Rianna bought Brendan a tie that he wore for their set. And it turns out Brendan and I both shop at target and buy the same pants! haha JD commented my facebook Tuesday night and then brought it up yesterday...I have a response to the readers poll in AP and he saw it and told me about it via facebook...which completely made my day, because a)that means he knows my name and he went out of his way to tell me about it and b)he was just adorable. Valencia were amazing, as usual, and it was great seeing everyone again. Ri and I showed them our pictures that we took in Wendys and Arbys the day before and everone thought they were funny. Overall, it was a great day.

Wendys:



Arbyz:



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Warped Tour Buffalo-August 10th
Annie, Rianna, and I got there shortly after doors and I called JD from the parking lot. It took him a little while but he eventually mosied over to us at the front gate and I gave him his veggie burgers and water. We chatted for a minute and he gave me $20, which I attempted to not accept. Seeing JD first thing when I got there made me so happy, we laughed about the Valencia Update JD Edition that had been put online this morning. Good fun. Then we went inside and Forever the Sickest Kids were just leaving the front gate so Rianna and I ran to catch up and we walked with Caleb, who informed us that they were playing an acoustic set at the myspace tent now. So we ran back to find Annie (who had been stopped by some monk asking her for money and showing her pictures of snakes and spears, weird), then we ran to to myspace tent only to find out that we had about forty-five minutes until their set. So we sat and waited, OHIO came to watch the set too. It was great. After the acoustic set we headed right over to the East Coast Indie stage to see FTSK play their full set. We were right up front. At some point I got whacked in the head with something, I have no idea what exactly happened. But anyway....Jonathan asked if I was ok and I said yeah I'm fine, and he rubbed my head and kept eyeing me, and at the end he kept high fiving me and what not. And Caleb and I had a moment at the end...basically he wiggled his fingers at me idk (like on the little rascals, and our fingers tips touch)...it was cute.

After FTSK played I walked around for a bit. Bought a couple t-shirts. Lurked the FTSK tent, K Dirty signed my forehead. Then Annie and I went over to the Paramore signing. I got a card signed for Sam's friend Nikki. Then we headed back over to FTSK tent. I pretty much just went back and forth between the amnesty tent and the FTSK tent for the next hour until Valencia played at 3:30. Around 3 Danielle and I went over to the general area of Valencia's tent and stage, we met up with everyone else, and then went to the Hot Topic stage to wait for their set. The set was good, the crowd was kind of lame. But it doesn't matter, they were great.

At 4:30 Valencia had a signing and as soon as they all got to the table I walked up to the front of the line and pulled out the $20 that JD had given me, showed it to him and put it in the tip jar. George asked him what it was and JD said it was the money he had given me for the food. And then I walked away. I ended up getting in line for the Valencia signing with Sam because she wanted to get a card signed for her friend. It was mildly awkward because once we got closer they saw me; JD gave me a head nod and George and Brendan acknowledged me and it was weird that I was standing in a line to see them. Once we got up to the table Sam got the card signed and got a picture. Brendan said he liked the DARE shirt I was wearing...I didn't hear him at first and said "whhaaaaatttt?" and George mocked me and said "whaaaaatttt". It was cute.

At 5 I went to see FTSK play their second acoustic set at the skull candy tent. They were great. Then when that was over we were hanging out by the skull candy tent and got pictures and what not. Then we went with Caleb to the side of the tent to watch Cute Is What We Aim For play their acoustic set. It was fun watching CIWWAF with Caleb. I hand fed him a ritz bit cracker at one point....put it right in his mouth, that was fun times. After that we went over to FTSK's booth to get more pictures and say goodbye to everyone. It was sad because they are touring the west coast next and then going into the studio, so it's gonna be a few months at least until we see them again.

After saying goodbye to FTSK, I went over to Valencia's booth because I had to leave in an hour or so and I wanted to say goodbye to everyone. I sat with George under their tent for a little bit. I told him that they have the day before the Rochester show in September off, so they should come to Rochester the 24th and hang out. He said maybe. Then he left to go shower and Brendan came over. I sat with Brendan for a little bit. Danielle, Sandra, and their other friend met up with me at Valencia's tent. Then me and the OHIOOOOO girls went and sat under the tree across from the booth. I had about a half hour until I had to leave and I wanted to say goodbye to JD so I was waiting for him to come out. Then George said he was on the bus. So I texted him and told him I had to leave and wanted to say goodbye, but he didn't respond, probably because t-mobile gets shitty reception everywhere warped is soooo I'm just going to assume that he didn't get the message. So I ended up leaving without saying goodbye to JD and I was really really sad (I legit thought I was going to cry, but I didn't).


The End.

Mike Birbiglia and Christian Finnegan

Tonight I saw Christian Finnegan and Mike Birbiglia at U of R. It was such a great night, despite the overwhelming heat inside of the auditorium. The first comedian was a guy named Jeff, he was pretty funny. Then Christian Finnegan came on, and he was hilarious! I love that guy. Every joke was unbelievably hilarious. I could not stop laughing. Mullets are the Kentucky waterfall! Like I said, it was unbearably hot and everyone was dying. Anyway, Mike Birbiglia was fantastic! I've been waiting four years to see him and now I finally have! He was hilarious. I loved when he walked off stage and was looking for a towel and asked a kid backstage if he had one and the kid didn't. Then some girl who works there handed one to another kid and he gave it to Mike. And at one point towards the end Christian opened the door in front on the right side of the auditorium and had a look on his face like oh shit, it was amusing. Mike sang a couple sangs at the end...funniest fucking thing ever! I love the one about christian music, about how they start like a Bon Jovi song then become "jesus is god". Then he says all religions should have their own radio station and starts singing the same song but for Jews and Muslims. It is hilarious. I hope he comes back soon, I need to see him again!