Saturday, June 24, 2006

   AFI concert news, kiddos!
I don't know how it's possible...but somehow, my love for AFI has doubled, maybe even tripled over night.
It's true. The energy of their concerts are addictive. To see hundreds of other people chanting the same words as you, feeling the same feelings as you, sharing the same air as you. It's like, for those two hours, four people with some instruments can connect the world.


BUT...before all that could happen...





We (Morgan, Ricky and I) got to NYC with all hopes of going to the Metropolitan museum before AFI, because we had a lot of time to kill.
Walk walk walk, only to find out that the Met was at 80-something street, while we were currently at 60 street. If we went to the Met, there'd be no way in hell that we'd have time to enjoy ourselves and not be running like crazy back to the concert hall for AFI. Plus, we wanted to line up early, because of course, it was going to be crowded as hell.
So, we did what we usually do.
We went to Friday's. =D
The waiter was freaking cool! He didn't charge us for dessert (and we still can't figure out if this was an honest mistake or on purpose) and he was just a generally nice person--which seems like something that has gotten harder to come by. So we left him a generous tip and a cute little note on a napkin.
(Oh, and while we were in Friday's, Ricky drew a dog on his arm but it looked a LOT like ovaries. OVARY DOG!)

Anyway, we sitll had a few hours of life to kill.
We poked around the Virgin Megastore, Ricky made an obscene joke, but Morgan and I found the Holy Grail of AFI fandon.
The AFI biography (or something like it) with piiiiictures! And, apparently, Davey worked at a pear-packing industry making a little over minimun wage. Never knew that. He is KING OF THE PEARS!
But, we still had hours to kill.
So we went to Toys R Us.
Contemplated going on the huge ferris wheel, untill I realized that I hate heights and it was pretty damn high. Read our AFI book....sat down....got our energy back....made fun of the Bratz dolls.....the usual.


So, we finally left for the concert, three hours in advance. We're thinking, ALRIGHT! We're early!
Oh no.
The line wrapped around the corner, and we sat there for three hours playing hangman and the dot game-thing on a piece of yellow paper with a dying pen.
So the line FINALLY started moving.
HUZZAH!


We got into the concert hall, and it was pretty small. Nice, though. Even if Ricky got shamelessly padded down when no one else did.
We got pretty damn close to the stage, which was exciting!
Nightmare of You started, and it was nice. No one was really energized, but we were tapping out feet to it, getting really into the music. The singer/guitarist was REALLY fun to watch, he was a nutball of fun. And, their music was really good. Melodic, not too hard, not too easygoing. Perfect mix. Also, the harmonics with their guitars was outstanding.
But, it was REALLY hot in there, and were packed sardine tight.

So, Dillinger Escape Plan started setting up, and slowly our breathing space became tighter and tighter and everyone starting pushing up, trying to get a view of an empty stage.
And then--
ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.

Now, I'm sorry, but Dillinger Escape Plan sucked. Plain and simple. Maybe it's because all I could hear was BLAHGHJWTGHWHRAWRR!!!! and bunch of bass and screaming guitar with no real motive, but it seemed they didn't have talent...just a lot of rage to vent. That's not music to me. That's anarchy of intruments. Not. Good.

But, it wasn't their music that killed us. It was their damn fans.
Because, the entire floor turned into a huge mosh pit. And not a happy little mosh pit with just flailing arms or some happy little skankin. It was just push push push, shove shove shove, punch in the face, le die, le die!!! Oh God, it was HORRIBLE.
And it wasn't helping that it was hot, sticky and crowded.


Now, any of you who have known me for more than....oh, let's say two months knows that in heat, I loose it. (Especially heat + crowds.) I start to black out and loose my vision, coherency and ability to walk in straight line, and if given the chance, I'll just plain faint. (And just for the record, yes, I have had it checked out. They say it's nothing, really.)
Through the pushing, and Morgan and Ricky and I clinging to each other, creating some sort of makeshift Triforce, holding on for dear life (!!!), I started to black out.
Shit.

But, all I could think of was, "AFI! AFI! AFI is coming on next, and if I don't make it to see the, I'll never forgive myself. Come on, they've been your favorite band for 5 years Sarah, we are going to do this!"
But we were all dying, struggling just to stand up.
So, Ricky and Morgan helped cut the path of moshers like the red sea, and we escaped out of their to the bathroom. Morgan got me a cold paper towel, which helped a lot. But my God, it was crazy as hell. An experience, let me tell you.
I don't know, someone please tell me.
HOW DO PEOPLE DO THAT FOR FUN?!

Anyway, we roamed around the concert hall for a while. I got a shirt with Jade's face on it (ahhh!) and we found something quite interesting...

A side section to the concert. A little section RIGHT next to the stage, but barred off from the huge mosh pit and the center of the stage. Here...here's a picture....


Yes, it was done in Paint.


And yes, that is how close we were to them.



AFI got on, and we all hushed.
And there, clad all in white, came the band that we all worshipped, like sinners under a church roof, we clammored, banging our fists together, screaming untill our vocal chords ruptured.
Davey lifted the microphone and belted out a chorus.
And, Morgan, Ricky and I promptly died right there. Because there was no way it was an earthly experience.

And, they played my three favorite songs--Days of the Phoenix, God Called in Sick Today and Totalimmortal. <3 <3 <3

Where we were was secluded, we were all relaxed. No moshing. Just a group of fans with our mouths wide open in shock. Most of them were sitting down, having a cup of overpriced and possibly warm beer, shouting to the person next to them.

But in front, right in front of the bars holding us back from GLOMPING anyone on stage, in front of some huge boxes of musical equipment (in which I stole the sticker for...just becuase it said AFI '06 on it.) was Morgan, Ricky and I...along with another girl next to me, two girls next to Morgan and an older woman in the corner who seemed to be enjoying herself to the point of extasy.
I loved where we were. Although we could barely hear each other, we talked to the people next to us and they were extremley nice.

(OH! And Davey had BLACK LIGHT EYE SHADOW! Crazzzzzzy stuff right there. It glowed orange but it was pink in the light.)


Anyway...
When they began playing Days of the Phoenix I died a thousand times. BESTEST SONG EVER!
I leaned over the railing and Morgan and I were belting out the lyrics, to the point when I felt something in my throat snap, but I just kept screaming.
Anyway, during the chorus, Davey came over to our side and stood on the...bars, or something at the edge of the stage and leaned over. Now I can honestly saw that I have seen the whites of Davey's eyes.
So, I leaned over more, thrusting my arm out like crazy, screaming louder than I thought was possible. "I want to, I want to, I want to STAY!"
And Davey held out the microphone to us, pointed as us (and need I remind you, the only people in front were Morgan [[ricky was behind her]], me and another girl?) and made total eye contact.
It was the craziest thirty seconds of my life. Honestly. Right there, I was so close to the man that changed me forever. And without a doubt, we saw each other and he saw for a fleeting second how much his music means to me.

Some wild stuff.


And, with that, I don't think you need to know how much our feet hurt, how sweaty we were and how much our throats hurt. Or how we couldn't find our bus to get home, or how we didn't have a seat on said bus and had to lay on the floor, or how we got home tired and beaten our feet KILLING us.

All you need to know is that I have never felt those feelings before, ever. Now I know what a multiple orgasm feels like! Hahaha.



Jade has ducky feets.








Morgan is officially the coolest girl ever.
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