Monday, October 6, 2003

Back from a well-needed break.

I need a remedy of diesel and dust. Something I can taste with a fix I can trust. Another high, more potent than lust. Eating and repeating like the workings of rust and time. I woke to the sound and the rhythm of rain dancing on the window pane. Comatose. Eyes half closed. Arms wrapped up with the wounds all sewn. I froze from head to toe. Clenched the jaw, then felt my body roll over slow. I must live to know that healing takes some time. So no regrets, and no looking back to sinking ships. I'll strip the gauze for a rational self-analysis. "I'm down. Cut and bound. Counting scars, and counting blessings loud." So loud. I must live to know that time alone is always healing as long as there's bleeding. No regrets, or falling fits. I'll strip the gauze and bleed it. There's no worry. It's only simple therapy.      It is now 9:54 a.m. and I am back from my AFI weekend! I actually got back closer to 8:00 a.m.-ish, but I took a shower and did a couple other things online first. Friday, October 3      Anyway, so it all started Friday around 4:00 p.m. when my friends mom picked me up from my house, and, after a few quick errands, returned to her home where I met up with my friend, Natalie. I found out then that the other person that we were going to go with could not go because of a class she had to attend on Saturday (she is in college). So that was some saddening news. From there we pretty much just hung out while her mom took forever in getting ready to go like she always does. We were supposed to leave at 6:00 p.m., but ended up leaving around 8:30 p.m. o_O Yeah ... It was fun waiting, though. We watched stand-up comedy while eat pizza - really good pizza.      Natalie is vegan so she ordered a 'vegetable lovers' pizza with no cheese, and it was really good; better than any other normal pizza I have had. It is not as filling either because it does not have the cheese.      Finally we left for Sauget, Illinois. Natalie was driving and I was there to make sure she stayed awake and to switch CD's when one finished; singing along is a way to keep us awake, lol. I think the band we had the most fun singing along to was Tenacious D, lol, followed closely by the Misfits. Third place I would say goes to Mindless Self Indulgence; my friend said that she was impressed by my falsetto abilities, lol. Saturday, October 4      We arrived in Sauget at about 3:00 a.m. and just went straight to the venue, parked, and got some sleep until about 11:00 a.m. when we got up and went to wait outside the venue where some people were already at the doors. So we waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited, until finally at 7:00 p.m. they let people in. My friends and I were at the front of the line so we got in first ^_^. There were three bands playing total: Bleeding Through, a really good hardcore band of whom I had not heard of previously to this show; Hot Water Music, just a really good band; and, of course, AFI. I was up in the front of the crowd for Bleeding Through, but of course people are stupid and do not know to spread out a bit between bands. So between Bleeding Through and Hot Water Music I was about to pass out from being crushed so much and being dehydrated. So I had security pull over over the barrier to get me out of the crowd and went to the bathroom and soaked my face in the sink, then went and got some water to drink. By this time Hot Water Music was on and I tried to fight my way back up the front, which I got pretty far. I was about three people deep in the crowd trying to get back up to my friends. I couldn ot get any further than that, though so I pretty much just decided against staying there so I would not pass out again, and I really was not in the mood to be fighting people off. I moved over to a less dense area of the crowd off to the side. AFI came on after AFI and put on a good show, as usual. ^_^ After the show, we bought some AFI merchandise to mark the occasion - I got a shirt. During that time in line Jude Puget, AFI's guitarist, was out among the pool tables talking with a guy from Bleeding Through. So I went up to the both and told them that they put on a great show, and asked Jade if he remembered back at Warped Tour when a group of people (being my friends and I) gave him a paper cut-out doll of our friend who could not make it to Warped Tour because her grandma was dying, and he said "yeah" and that he still has it. He said that "I thought I recognized you", which is pretty cool considering it has been about 5 months and all the fans they meet that he would recognize me. Then we went out in the parking lot where Davey Havok, AFI's vocalist, and Adam, AFI's drummer, were talking to people. Adam left before I could meet him, but I got to meet Davey breifly. It was cool. ^_^ After that we decided to drive half-way to Chicago and rent a room at a hotel. Sunday, October 5 We woke up around 5:00 a.m., packed up our stuff, and headed out for Chicago. We got there around 10:00 a.m. and took our places outside the venue where some people were waiting. Chicago is a really awesome city, but my one complaint it the lack of public restrooms. -__- I had to walk around forever until I found a place where I could just go in and use the restroom without having to buy something first. Despite how much I do not like McDonald's, at least it is good for something, lol. On the way back I stopped at a small pizza place and got a slice of pepperoni pizza, which was good. After that I went back to the venue and fell asleep for an hour or two, lol. And yes, I was wearing my skirt to this one. ^_^ The people in Chicago seem pretty nice. I met some people who had some really interesting stories. There was this one guy who had 'made out' with Jimmy Urine from MSI, and actually had friends that backed up his claim. It is a pretty funny story. Then there was this other person who had met a bunch of bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Tenacious D (saw Jack Black pretty much completely nude except for a pillow), and others. About a half hour before people were to be let in, I saw Hunter, AFI's bassist, outside the venue incognito - in a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and in half-tinted sunglasses. I recognized him because of his facial structure and other features. So I talked to him shortly and went back into line. At 6:00 p.m. they started letting people in, and of course I got a spot up front since I was one of the first people in line. Then, an hour later, the show started ... and it was so amazing. Bleeding Through was more fierce than that night before, Hot Water Music was more energetic, and AFI was just so, so awesome. They played all of some of their best songs. I was singing along, and screaming/metal growling even though I know I really cannot. It was by far the best show I have been to. The crowd was really good too. There was some pushing and such, but it was pretty tame. The only problems were those damn crowd surfers and the fact that the stage was about 8 feet high. I was barely able to see the drummers in any of the bands (but Adam was making the stangest faces during the beginning of Silver and Cold; funny stuff). I never passed out or anything, it was just a really, really good show. I could not have asked for much more. After the show, we bought some more merchandise. I got a Bleeding Through t-shirt and Hot Water Music CD's. The CD's were a really good deal too. There were two of them and they were $5 each, and they are 12 and 14 track long CD's. I was impressed. After that, we just drove straight back to Omaha, and now here I am. ^_^ The above song before all of this is Remedy by Hot Water Music. It is one of my favorite songs by them, and the played it. So I decided to put it up there.

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