LINE-UP: VERSAEMERGE, There for Tomorrow, The Cab, The Maine, We the Kings
I had been so completely angry and reluctant when Nora told me that she was bring Heather along. I could go into more detail, but I just thought I would put that out there because she and I had invited Caleigh, MY SUPER BFF, to come along with us to experience her first real show, and oddly enough, I was completely fine with that, but not with taking Heather. It was hard for me to get over my selfish intuitions, but throughout the entire show, I was actually really glad we had brought Heather along. Not only was she absolutely hilarious to the point where I couldn't breathe, but she was my very own personal body guard, which was a really comforting thought. I was really nervous and scared about bring Caleigh along, too, because she's really, REALLY out there and obnoxious as compared to me, but she was fine the entire night. And in the end I was really glad we had brought her along also. Now on to the actual show! (This one is going to be a long one, so watch out!)
We get to the Aggie a little less than two hours before the doors are supposed to open. It's not too cold outside, and the line isn't too terribly long, but it's already past the building. And I stand and work on my Sudoku while Heather and Caleigh talk. The times goes by pretty fast, actually and we're inside within no time. In theory, we were about third or fourth row in front of the stage to the right. As we run in, Nora asks, "Did you see Nash [from Armor for Sleep]?" And no, I hadn't, but I think him being there is utterly weird, but we'll get to that later. We only have to wait fifteen minutes before VersaEmerge comes on stage, and I am literally jumping out of my pants with excitement. They open with Theatrics and slide right into the Hider. We're on the Brendon Urie look-a-like's side, and though they only performed for twenty minutes (wtf, right?) they did incredibly. There's a reason I call them my favorite band, and they continue to blow my mind away. I knew every single one of the songs, and I sang my heart out as best as I could the entire time. It was awesome.
There for Tomorrow comes out in a timely manner, and although the drummer and guitarist on our side were really pretty, they seemed like completely douchebags. The singer, who looks like Gerard Way but definitely doesn't act like him, makes some funky ass comments about how the crowd isn't their's, but the girls are totally attractive and some inappropriate bullshit like that. They weren't even that good, no offense, and luckily, they only played for eighteen minutes because the crowd was starting to get feisty.
The Cab was up next and like the total douchebags they are, they have other people set up for them. Singer is still stupid and creepy. He'd always come toward the crowd on our side, and the girls would eat it up. NASTY. But Alex Marshall, as usual looked really good, and they performed really well. Yeah, they performed the same songs they always do, but I still liked it. Plus, they still perform Can You Keep a Secret? which is my absolute favorite. The crowd, however, are completely idiots at this point and become all pushy and douchey. We notice that Johnson isn't there, but in his place is Nash, but we have no idea what's going on! (We'll get to that later.) I'm sweating like crazy, and I hate it, so I back up as much as I can. The Cab, also, ends pretty quickly, and the Maine are up next. I decided that I only want to watch a few songs because I know that because of stupid John Oh, people are going to be even stupider, so as soon as the start The Way We Talk, we book it out of the sweaty mob and back up to our mother who's standing and watching from her perfect spot on the balcony-type thing. Plus! It's John Johnt's good side! Haaaaa. They perform the same thing, as usual, and John still doesn't really express any emotion, but I love the Maine nonetheless.
After their set, we head to the merch so Caleigh can buy a shirt, and I can scope out Versa Emerge. I convince Caleigh to buy the Maine hoodie versus the sucky Cab one, and I buy VersaEmerge's EP. While she's buying the hoodie, Nash Breen is practically standing right next to me, so I approach him and ask, "What's going on with Armor for Sleep?" He tells me that they're on a "break" right now, so I ask if that's a good or band things. He answers, "I don't know, ask Ben," and I roll my eyes. Stupid Ben Jorgensen. "How did you wind up with the Cab?" I ask. He says that they're managed by the same people, so it kind of went hand in hand. "How did I do?" he asks. I answer with a simple "good" and feel bad afterward that I didn't expand because he is such an amazing drummer! He ends it by telling me that he has to find his sweater or something, so I give him a high-five, and we're off on our own ways.
I eventually get all of VersaEmerge to sign the EP, but the bassist, Devin, who looked bored out of his mind asks me to hand it to him so he can sign it. Weirdo. I get a picture with him, Anthony, the drummer, and the guitarist, Jerry, all in one, and finally Sierra, the singer, miraculously appears. And I don't know how to approach her! She's behind the merch table, standing on a chair, so I wait.
In the meantime, the guitarist/vocalist, Blake, of VersaEmerge appears - and in my personal opinion, he resembles Brendon Urie quite a bit - who smiles at me first, so I approach him. After getting a picture with him, I tell him that his band is absolutely amazing, and that I really love them because they are just so refreshing, especially. He is awed, apparently, and gives me a hug. (Score!) He thanks me for coming out to see him, asks me my name, we shake hands, and I tell him thanks for making music. And he says he will keep doing that then. (I always make people feel awkward with that comment, ha ha.) He asks me if I'm going to see them again, and I say, of course! I tell him that the next day I was going to miss them because it was sold out, but that they were playing with Craig Owens after that, so I was definitely going to see them at at that show! Blake then asks me if I was going to Warped Tour, and I said that if more than one good band was playing, I would go. Even though I don't offer much explanation other than that, he still says, "I can understand that," and goes on to explain that this year there are less stages - four, he thinks - so it's going to feel more like an actual versus a festival. Knowing this, I nod, and put Warped Tour into consideration as I ask him if they're playing Warped this summer. He says, of course! Then I say that if they play our date, I would consider going just for them. I don't remember how the conversation ends, but it does somewhere at this point, and I turn to my sister and totally grin. I feel bad because SHE was the one who said he was really good-looking, and I pretty much stole him right out of her grasp. But being that her personality is sometimes far from mine, she said it was okay, as long as she got association. Haaa.
We finally get our chance to talk to Sierra, and we all get pictures. I tell her that I think her band is incredible, and she says thanks. I decide to play the compliment game to see what she's really like because we all think she's really full of herself, and I tell her that I also think her voice is really unique. She gives me a sincere thank you for that one, and says that it's better than hearing "Oh you sound like Hayley," and I tell her she definitely does not sound like her. Which she doesn't. That's about it for Sierra.
We the Kings is starting, so we run back over to Mom to catch them play. They, too, pretty much play the same thing aside from a new song and Mr. Brightside, but I really can't blame them due to their lack of catalog. But they're always a lot of fun to watch, especially the Ginger with this "sexual intercourse" comments, and seeing Sierra, Blake, and Alex Marshall on the side watching We the Kings, too. It was sad, though, because Drew, their bassist, was missing, but the Ginger explains that he totally broke his arm and knee the night before and he couldn't play so they had their guitar tech, Scooter take his place. And that was about it.
After the show, we see Pat, from the Maine, first, whom Nora totally has a crush on. He's get hoarded by a bunch of girls, so we really just have to wait. That's when we see John Oh coming up, but he also gets bombarded, so it's more waiting for us, until we see Kennedy, and no one's bothering him. I take this opportunity to make him feel important by asking for a picture with him. (I told Caleigh it was Garrett, even though it wasn't. I totally got them confused, and I felt SO bad because she had wanted to meet Garrett. Oops.) Pat disappears, so we just wait around for John, pressuring Mom to offer him a place to stay. Har har.
A lot of girls ask him to sign a bunch of things, but the idiot doesn't have a Sharpie! Nora, to the rescue, lets him borrow hers over and over again, and he keeps apologizing and using it at the same time. Nora doesn't mind because this gives him the opportunity to actually look at her and take her face in; plus Mom is enjoying the view, if you know what I mean. After a pretty decent about of time, he's finally free, and he thanks Nora again for the Sharpie, and tells her he owes her something. Ha ha. We all get our pictures, and he asks Mom how she is.
Caleigh asks John Oh what his tattoo on his chest says, and he answers, "We All Will Be the Greatest". I'm praying in my head over and over again that Caleigh DOES NOT ask him where that line is from because that would be absolutely embarrassing for her, but thankfully she doesn't, and instead I say, "That's my favorite line. I love it," or something like that, and John Oh says "Thanks." (My first thought, I was saying that because I was complimenting you, buddy.) We see Cash about three seconds later, and get pictures with him before heading back up to find VersaEmerge again. Weeeee.
Nora gets a picture with all the guys I got pictures with separately, and I do, too. I tell the bassist that I think his band is incredible, and he puts his arm around me, in a half-hugging motion, but the alleged "picture arm" as well, which confuses me. Nora says something, and he goes, "Oh I was just hugging her." (He just didn't want to feel like a dumbass.) But I get another picture with him.
I tell Sierra, whose sitting on the bench with Jerry standing beside her, that I love her jacket, and ask her where she got it. She said that she honestly didn't remember. Jerry says, it's one of those jackets that you get from murdering a bum who has it on, or something like that. I really don't. The next conversation is really awkward and random. See, I
think, but I'm not quite sure, I tell Sierra that I also like her key necklace, and points out that everyone has one, and it kind of represents foundations. Jerry even has a tattoo of a key on the inside of his left arm. Then she goes on to make a joke that it was some beneficial things for kid without toe nails, and I totally get lost in what's going on. Jerry agrees, and Sierra tells me that Jerry doesn't have a toenail. He asks if I want to see it, and I say no. She says the keys are for all the kids who get hot sauce, soap, and hand sanitizer on their bare toe because it stings like crazy, and for the kids without fingernails, too. I say, that she's right, that totally would hurt, but I didn't really think about it. And I mention that my sister lost one of her fingernails once. Her and Jerry ask if I want to see something I don't remember, so I say, sure, and then the conversation pretty much ended because they stood up and got distracted. Yeah, I really didn't get any of it, either.
Blake is sitting on the wall bench, pretty much doing nothing as Nora and I whip out the CD to whip out the liner notes. We want to see who writes the songs. As we stare, he looks up at Nora and she explains to him what's we're doing, so I waltz up to him and ask who writes the songs because the songs were written by both Blake and Sierra, but it said lyrics were by her, so it definitely confused me a lot of the time. He clarifies, explaining that Sierra wrote the words, but they both wrote the actual music to the songs. This makes sense. I mean, duh!
A new song in the venue begins playing, and Blake tells me that he loves Jimi Hendrix! I tell him I've never listened to him, but I knew that he was amazing. Blake also tells me, at one point, that he believes that bands these days need to listen to older music like Jimi Hendrix, and artists the existed more than five years ago in order to develop a unique sounds as opposed to sounding like every band on the scene. I take this opportunity to ask him what his influences were. "Me, personally," he says, "TREOS-" "I knew it!" I exclaim, and tell him that I could hear the TREOS in their music, but I didn't feel as though it was ripped off, and that it was really sad when they broke up because they were so amazing and epic! (Can you say kiss-ass?)
"Muse," Blake says next, and I nod. He explains that he also liked to listen to a lot of composers and drew a lot of influence from that, like Danny Elfman who doesn't all of Tim Burton's movies like Edward Scissorhands. I know this, of course. He says he also liked somebody else, and I'm not one hundred percent positive, but I think he said James Newton Howard, and he named off a movie, but I don't remember what it was. I think this is really cool, and nod frantically, explaining that I heard the theatrical aspect in the music, but I didn't think it was overdone, and I love it a lot.
It's getting pretty late at this point, so I tell Blake that I think we're going to go. I stretch out my arms, and he gives me a really nice, tight hug, and tells me it was nice meeting me. It was nice meeting HIM, really. As I walk away we run into Sierra, and I tell her the same thing. According to Nora, Blake says, "No, she wants a hug," but I didn't hear this; all I hear him say is that I'm leaving, so I stretch out my arms to Sierra, too, and she returns a very generous hug. "Just a little longer," she jokes as I'm about to let go, so I cling onto her. Ha ha. We wait around in the venue a little longer, but we realize that it's probably easier to go the back of the venue to find We the Kings and Alex Marshall.
Alex Marshall, as we figured, is surrounded by a circle of girls that I don't particularly mind, like Becky, Karina, and Laura, but I really don't want to go up to talk to him with all of them around, ears wide open and clinging onto every word we say. None of us do, so we wait around for a little, meanwhile meeting We the Kings and seeing Drew looking all drugged up and out of it. Poor kid.
The Ginger has on this shirt of a tall stick figure with blocky red hair, and it's absolutely hilarious. I laugh and ask him who made it. And he says some girl just gave it to him. I tell him I think it's hilarious. We all get pictures, and he hugs my dear old mother, saying that he really needs a mom figure away from home, or something along the lines of that. He had, also, just taken a shower, which caused his hair to become super curly, so Caleigh asks him if he had used the Ginger body wash she had given him. (Silly girl.) He says no, having no idea what she was talking about. It was kind of sad, and to be honest, I felt a little embarrassed for her, even though I really shouldn't care. Anyhow, we wait around a few meters away from Alex Marshall in hopes that he'll approach us. He keeps shooting glances in our direction, but we make no motion to come over.
Nash comes out of the back of the venue, totally wasted, and I feel so bad! I go up to him and I want to give him a hug, but instead I say, "Would it totally be weird if I asked you for a picture?" "Yeah," he answers, but we take one anyway. "Good luck with Armor for Sleep," I add. "Thanks. I'm gonna need it," the poor guy answers...
Finally, though, as we come closer, Alex Marshall extends an arm towards us and tells us to come join them because they're telling stories. Caleigh begins to skip over as none of us move, and I'm pretty sure I shoot her the death glare at this point as I turn to Alex Marshall and blurt out, "No," explaining that I didn't like big groups of people. Part lie, part fact, but whatever, it worked.
"Okay," he says, "I'll just go over there then," and makes his way towards us. (Hahahahha. Hilarious.) There's a quick hi how are you guys, I think, and he asks if we want pictures, so we take some. "I don't think we've ever been formally introduced," I say and stick out my hand. "I'm Sarah." He responds, "I'm Alex." Shakes hands. "And you go by?" I clarify. "Marshall," shakes hands again, and goes through the introduction with everyone. A good amount of chatter goes on, but I know for sure that Caleigh asks him who chose the winner for the Bounce contest. He says all of them and their manager.
I take over, accidentally (weird, huh?), and my blunt side emerges. "Yeah! Whoever chose that winner is an idiot!" "What, you didn't like it?" Alex Marshall asks. No, it was horrible. Half of them were a joke, though, he explains. I agree, and sometime I say that there were 120 or so videos that they could of chose from. Did I watch all 120, Alex asks. No, you could typically tell within the first five seconds whether it was going to be bad or not. In other words, he could have made a WAY better choice, but Mr. Defensive says that he didn't really choose the winner; it was mostly Cash, and I should ask him about it. Angry me goes, "Yeah I will ask him!" However, I see Alex's eye dart past me, and luckily, I figure out that Cash is behind me. I turn around and restart my yelling. "Whoever chose the Bounce video winner is an idiot!" I don't really feel bad for calling him out, but Cash pretty much just lifts his hands up in the air, providing hardly a rebuttal, but telling Alex that he wasn't the one pointing the fingers. Alex adds that Cash, himself, wanted to submit a video as a joke, but it'd be horrible. I say that he should have, just for the heck of it because if I was him, I would. Alex disagrees, "If you had made a video, then it'd be cool." Not that the three of us had submitted a video or anything, you know...
I think we talk a little more, but I honestly can't remember right now. I know that Nora thanks him for still coming out after the shows to meet people, and he says something about how he'll always come out to hang out. "It's chill," he says, but Nora adds, "You haven't gotten harassed yet?" laughing. Alex starts to talk about how this one time in New York, this girl... "Is this the Sharpie story?" I ask. "Yeah!" he answers. "Who told you about that?" "You did," I reply. "Oh," he goes. "You probably gave me shit about that, too," he says to Nora. We all laugh, and he goes on to explain his story about this girl decided to pull out a Sharpie and "write all over his face," to which he got angry and yelled at her, but nothing like that, thus far, has happened to him. And until it does, he would still come out. The girl next to me says, "Yeah, as long as you don't write on his face with Sharpie or grab his ass, you'll be alright." "Oh yeah, 'cause you know that's what I come here to do," I joke, "... to write on your face with Sharpie." I believe some laughing ensues.
Still, we continue talking for a little longer until, finally, we decide it's time to go (so put all your clothes on!) Alex goes around to give everyone hugs. I go first as he reaches only ONE arm out, so I make a comment, asking him what was up with the one arm hugs; they're lame. "Oh okay," Alex says all defensively and forceably hugs me with both arms. According to my mother and sister, as he is hugging me, he turns to them and makes an astonished face, mouthing, "She's so blunt!" Hehehehe. After he goes around to everyone, my mom tells him that whenever they need anything, to just give them a call, and we will totally provide them with anything that they need. "You'd have room for all five of us?" he jokes. We nod, but he agrees to it. Nora offers him her phone number, to which he offers his email because he "doesn't give out his phone number." "I don't want your number," Nora snaps. "Oh," he says. "I want to give you mine," she explains. "Okay," he answers, "Shoot 'em at me," but she shoots them too fast for him. "You said shoot them at you," she retorts. "I meant semi-automatic." "But I want automatic."
Alex gets her number into his phone as Nora with no L, or something like that, meanwhile Caleigh makes some "I"m going to make a fool out of myself by saying these things" comments. I apologize to him for being blunt, stating that next time I might be a little softer. "No, it's okay," he says, "I am, too." We say our final goodbyes and head off, spotting Kennedy from the Maine spray-painting his own van. "Don't grafitti your own van!" I yell as we walk by. I have no idea where that comment came from, or any of my lip that night. It was incredible how much I let my inhibitions go and stepped out of my box. It was incredible how much I amazed myself; plus, that show was just so fun. I love Alex Marshall... yay!
