angrynerd_rock

So around 9 AM on the morning of July 2nd, the four of us (Kevin, Lauren, Nancy, and myself) departed from the suburb of Plano on our journey to the relatively unknown Kansas City, Missouri. Our 8 1/2 our car ride included much music, the sign alphabet game, the picnic game, the celebrity name/alphabet game, a stop at the World's Largest McDonald's (which didnt seem all that big to us), and missing one of our turns, going like half an hour out of our way.

So we made it to Kansas City at like 5:30, and it was rather surprising because they had exciting bridges and landscaping for their highways. As we got into the city, we saw some cool architecture and such. Overall, we were very impressed with the City. So we got there, parked, Nancy and I ran into Dollar General to get her flip-flops, she changed, then we went and waited in line whilest Kevin and Luaren got food. We ate Chinese and talked to the people around us, a couple from Portland, some from Austin and San Antonino, and some chicks from I don't remember where.

We finally made it in, and went to get a spot in the pit, then Nancy and I went to get stuff from the merch stand. I got 2 shirts, 1 limited edition poster, and the Red Letter Day EP cuz I didn't have it. Nancy just got a shirt. We waited a while longer, and I took notice of the fanciness of the Uptown Theater. It was really cool.

The first band to open was Veda. They were fucking awesome. I was so blown away by the lead singer. She could reaaally sing and was cute too. They reminded me a little of like a darker Eisley of sorts. Kevin, Nancy, and maybe Lauren met her at some point, though I don't know when because of the craziness I got sucked into, which I will discuss later. They got her autograph as well as the Veda cd...very good...

Next came Lucero. I personally liked them. To me, they seemed to bring music back to "classic" rock and roll. I mean it just seemed so pure, not like the corrupted "rock" they play on the radio. It was weird though cuz I swore I had heard one or two of their songs before. After they finished their set, the insanity began...

The crowd almost immediately began to rush the stage, crushing just about everyone. This back and forth shoving match between the front of the pit and the back continued for 30 minutes or so until the Get Up Kids finally took to the stage.Then all hell broke loose. I lost Nancy almost immediately in the crowd. For the first few songs, it was pure insanity. I got pushed, shoved, jostled...I almost lost my glasses a handful of times, almost broke them a few times, almost passed out a few times from exhaustion/dehydration cuz the bottles of water they passed back didnt make it back to me. Finally if calmed down a little, especially after the request of Pryor to calm down a little. Oh man though, the show was fucking incredible. They closed the first set with "Walking On A Wire" (probably my favorite GUK song ever)...I don't think I've sung along so loud in my life. I forgot to mention something. So I rolled up my poster I got and put it in my back pocket since there was no re-admittance. Well...needless to say it was flattened by the end of the first song, but its okay cuz I have one of the posters. Okay, back to the concert...So they came back and did not one, but two encores. "Out of Reach" was so awesome in the true sense of the word. The only things I think could have made the concert better were if I had found Nancy when they played "I'll Catch You" becuse its her favorite song, and its also just one of those songs thats better with someone and I wish I had crowd surfed for one of the songs...

I feel bad though because Nancy got beat up in the pit, including a black eye and some injury (maybe broken or dislocated) to her pinky. i really hope she's okay (she's sure to write about it later).

So we decided to come back right after the show instead of spending money on a hotel room. Took us like 20 min or so to find the highway again. So Kevin and Lauren decided to get Red Bull and Amp to stay awake...holy shit...they were so wired, it was insanity. For example, when they stopped for gas in Oklahoma, they checked the hood of the car because they thought they hit an old lady in a bathrobe (which they had been paranoid of for fear of her killing them with a chainsaw cuz thats what happens in those low-rate horror movies). I slept most of the way back because I was just that drained from everything.

Overall, probably one of the best experiences of my life. Thank you Get Up Kids for all you have done for me. (btw - pictures will be up at some point)

So I got one of these LiveJournal sites. I dunno how much I'll write in it since I have a Xanga site and I live a boring life. That's all for now because my internet is fixing to cut off since TAMS is dumb.