Reflections and thoughts on people, places, and things; life, love, happiness, sadness, and despair; art, music, and literature; television, magazines, and the media; but probably a lot of music.
(This blog is the third of sixteen, all inspired by a word featured in the chorus of Good Charlotte's song "Movin' On". It's one of my favorite songs, and I think it's really meaningful, which is why I was inspired to write this series.)
"The Best Medicine"
Often people will say that laughter is the best medicine. What does that mean? Is it really "the best medicine"? How does laughing actually fix anything? Although I'm majoring in psychology, I haven't really studied laughter, so I have no scientific or research-based explanations or answers for any of these questions. But I do have my own thoughts and theories, based on something I think is at least somewhat representative of science- my own personal experiences.
Laughter is so powerful because it can really improve your mood. By laughing (and I mean genuine, true laughter- not mean snickering or laughing at someone else's expense), you're forced to smile. Finding something funny can make stress seem less powerful, anxiety less overpowering, and pain less unbearable.
I think laughing is important because it is something that is often social. When you laugh with other people, it creates a bond with them. Think of any "inside jokes" that you have with your friends- things that maybe weren't or aren't normally all that funny are suddenly hilarious, because of that moment when the two (or four or six or twenty-five) of you saw it together and found it funny. I think it's an example of shared experiences that can be really powerful. Inside jokes can really draw people together- even if you hadn't known each other all that well previously.
I don't know if laughter can really cure everything, but it can make things a lot better. Being able to laugh at yourself, or at something that happens to you, can make your day brighter. After I tore my right ACL (I had torn my left ACL three years earlier), I was devastated. It was not easy to get through, but being able to laugh at the unlikeliness of my situation made recovering a lot easier.
(This blog is the second of sixteen, all inspired by a word featured in the chorus of Good Charlotte's song "Movin' On". It's one of my favorite songs, and I think it's really meaningful, which is why I was inspired to write this series.)
"It Gets Better Than You Know"
Depression is scary. When you are depressed, the entire world seems black. Just going through the motions of life can be painful, and it seems like it will never get better. The future seems like a black hole: life will always be painful, and any wishes or dreams that you had aren't possible. Depression is hopelessness. What is so painful about depression is not the fact that you are hurting, it is that you are unable to feel that anything will ever get better.
That's why hope is so important. If you find hope, through whatever means,then you can get through some pretty rough times. Hope is that light at the end of the tunnel. It is knowing that things will get better; that some day, there will be less pain and that you will feel like yourself again. It is seeing the possibility of the future and what can happen.
I found that hope through music. There were lots of songs that stuck out to me, over others, in terms of how much I connected to them and how much they meant to me. I had a playlist on my iPod of these songs, which I burned to 2 CDs (my iPod at the time was pretty faulty, and the playlist was too long to fit on one CD). I would listen to music all the time- while waiting for the school bus in the morning, on the bus to school, during my free periods, on the bus or car ride home, while doing homework, and while falling asleep at night. I almost always fell asleep to the same two songs. Somehow, through music, I was able to realize that I was not alone, and a part of me- it was a pretty small part at first, but it was there!- knew, just knew, that things would get better. Through music, I was able to find hope.
There is one particular instance that sticks out in my mind. I was sitting at my computer, watching the music video for one of the two songs that I mentioned before, and I broke down. The video connected with something in me, and after watching it, I was able to recognize that I wasn't the only one who had dealt with what I was going through and that it was possible to feel better. I knew that as dark as life was and as much pain as I was in, things would, someday, get better.
(This blog will be the first of sixteen, all inspired by a word featured in the chorus of Good Charlotte's song "Movin' On". It's one of my favorite songs, and I think it's really meaningful, which is why I was inspired to write this series.)
"The Power of Love"
So I should probably be doing homework right now (I've got an exam and an annotated bibliography due tomorrow, not to mention a final project I should be working on), but it felt like the time to write this blog; it's been something I've thought about for awhile.
I believe in love; more specifically, I believe in the power of love to triumph over hate, over pain, and over adversity. Love doesn't just include romantic love; it doesn't just include love for your family or love for your friends. Love involves a love for other human beings. It means a respect for the life of others, even if you don't know them and especially if you do. It means accepting others and it means acknowledging them. It means helping others and sometimes putting them before yourself.
We live in a world filled with hate. I don't believe that's a very good way to live at all. When we engage in hateful acts- and that includes bullying, racism, antisemitism, sexism, ageism, and war, among others- we only further the hate. Hate gets us nowhere; it only perpetuates the cycle of hate that we have going on. We can't progress as a society if our attitude is hateful.
But if we have love, then we can get a lot farther. Love is pretty powerful. If we have love, we can get pretty far. Love can help us see past our differences, and overcome things that we thought we couldn't. Individually, we can only get so far; but if we gather together, with love, then we can get ever farther.
Last week I had the privilege of not only seeing Jamie Tworkowski (founder of the non-profit To Write Love On Her Arms, which is an organization that I believe in very strongly) speak at the NACA (National Association of Campus Activities) 2011 National Conference.
To hear Jamie speak was amazing. There were a few other lecturers before him. The program had the list of speakers, and when I first saw that Jamie would be speaking I was in awe and unbelievably excited; I'd wanted to see him speak for a long time. I got to the theater a few minutes early and was able to sit in the front row, right in the center.
Finally, the MC introduced him, and after a video about To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA), Jamie came on stage. I can't even express in words how moving his speech was to me. Jamie spoke words of pain- he told the story of Renee Yohe, the inspiration for TWLOHA, and her story is very painful at times- but he also spoke words of hope- that Renee got help, and that TWLOHA exists to show people that they are not alone and that their story is important.
Depression, addiction, suicide, self-injury, anxiety, and eating disorders are all real; the illness may be mental, but the fact that it's inside your head doesn't make it any less real (as I write this, I'm reminded of the end of the "King's Cross" chapter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). But while pain is real, it's also true that hope is real, and that help is out there.
After Jamie left the stage, the girl sitting behind me starting saying to the person next to her that, essentially, poor people don't get depressed (they "don't have time", because they're "too busy looking for a job"), and depression is something that only happens to rich people (since they "have time to sit around and be depressed"). This made me angry pretty quickly, because it's completely and 100% wrong. So I turned around and told her that to say that any group of people- poor people, rich people, black, white, Indian, Asian, Jewish, Christian, or any specific minority or majority group- is not affected by depression is complete bullshit. Depression affects everyone, and it comes down to a chemical imbalance in your brain; while there are other factors that affect depression, nobody chooses to be depressed.
Not long after that, while waiting in line for lunch (the line was really long) with my group, a few of us were discussing how much we had liked hearing Jamie speak and that we'd love to bring him to campus (we all spread out and sat it different parts of the theater)- when I saw him standing right there, taking pictures with a few other girls. I debated for a few minutes whether I wanted to go up to him (I knew I'd be able to meet him at the marketplace later), but eventually decided that I really wanted to, so I did. There wasn't much time to talk, but I told him that I had the shirt from the Jarrod Gorbel tour, though I wasn't wearing it that day (he thought that was pretty cool, since not a lot of people had that shirt yet- it's still pretty new). He also recognized my shirt as Angels & Airwaves. I was shaking a little bit (not visibly), out of pure excitement and happiness- TWLOHA is such an important organization to me and I really can't even explain in words how much it meant to actually meet Jamie- and after I got a quick picture with him (which is now my Facebook profile picture), he had to go.
Later in the day, the rest of my group went to dinner, but I decided to stay and go to the marketplace. I was near the front of the line, and ended up being the first person to talk to Jamie! This time, I was really shaking, because I had so much to say (I'd written down what I wanted to say on a piece of paper). I could've just said I liked his speech, but I had a lot more that I could say so I decided to just say it, since I knew I wouldn't regret it. I could feel my voice shaking as I told him that I thought what TWLOHA is doing is really cool, and then I realized I was about to cry- I told him this, and he said that crying is okay.
That relaxed me a little, and I felt okay when the tears started coming (it was a lot more sudden than I had thought!). I told Jamie that I connected with TWLOHA, but that it frustrated me so much when people were ignorant of these issues- like the girl sitting behind me in the showcase. He said that often, those people don't understand because they've never experienced a mental illness, but sometimes it ends up happening to them too. I told him that before I had experienced any sort of mental illness, I never really understood what it meant, but that now I did, and that's why I care so much.
When I was done saying what I had to say, I asked Jamie for a hug (he's nearly a foot taller than me, by the way). He said that hugs were easy, and smiled as he gave me one. To meet someone that is such a hero to me- and to actually be able to say more than just a few words- was amazing. He was really listening, too, and I could hear caring in his voice and saw concern in his face. Jamie Tworkowski was one of the nicest people I've ever met- it was refreshing to meet someone like that. After meeting Jamie, I got a free (!) TWLOHA shirt from the booth ("Ring the Bells"- check it out in their store here), which is pretty cool in its own right.
There were other cool parts of the NACA conference- like meeting B.J. Novak (the Office), meeting two guys from The Onion, meeting Hanson (which I did right after I talked to Jamie), seeing (and getting to meet!) so many awesome bands and comedians, getting to hang out with people from the programming board, not going to school, getting to explore St. Louis a little bit, learning about how to program events, getting tons of free stuff, and improving on my leadership skills- but for me, seeing and meeting Jamie Tworkowski was the highlight. I thought about just being social, and going to dinner with my group, but I knew that I would regret it if I didn't get to actually talk to Jamie, and I'm glad I chose the way I did.
Tonight I had the privilege of seeing Jarrod Gorbel (formerly of The Honorary Title) at the Grog Shop. It was perhaps the smallest show I've ever been to (there can't have been more than 50 people), and it was also the first "acoustic" show I've ever been to. But there was something really special about it. The show was presented by To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA), which is how I heard about it, and why I wanted to go.
There were two local bands that opened first. The first one didn't announce what they were called (so I have no idea what their name is), but did say their first names. There were three of them- a drummer, one on lead vocals and guitar, and another on bass and backing vocals. They were the only artist of the night that had a drummer, but they were still more on the "chill" side than the bands I usually see- not a bad thing. Up next was another local band, "American War"- one lead singer with another on backup; the instruments were an acoustic guitar, an electric bass, and an electric guitar that occasionally got interchanged with a banjo. I didn't know any of their songs and I wasn't sure if they would be any good, but they were.
The "official" opener was Mansions- an acoustic duo. I didn't know any of their music either, but they were really good. Even though the songs were new to me, I felt like I could relate to them at all, and the fact that they were acoustic made them feel comforting and familiar (despite having never heard them before). After Mansions went on, I went over to meet their lead singer, and had him sign a TWLOHA info card that I'd picked up.
Earlier, I'd read through the info book that TWLOHA had at their merch stand, and talked a little bit with Chad Moses, who was there representing the organization. I told him how I'd been to the TWLOHA stand at Warped Tour but hadn't gotten the chance to really read through the information. I'd read a lot of it before on their website, but it was still nice to see it printed out.
Before Jarrod went on, Chad went on stage to speak. I couldn't wait to hear what he had to say; while I might've gone to see Jarrod otherwise, this was a large portion of my motivation to go.
Chad spoke words of love and of hope. One of the things that he said that spoke the most to me was his suggestion to share with friends how we got here, what brought us here- whether it was some horrible icy roads, or a bumpy emotional road. He spoke of people and community; what I got out of his words was that there is hope for people struggling with depression, addiction, suicide, or self-injury, and that help is out there- but that you can't get through it alone.
I went up to Chad after the show, and told him what I felt- that a lot of people don't want to talk about these type of issues, but that we really need to talk about them, and that's why I think TWLOHA is so important.
Finally Jarrod went on. When he played the first notes on his guitar, I was suddenly aware of the fact that this was by far the smallest, most intimate show I had ever been to, and it felt like the show was a private performance. I didn't know anyone at the show- as often happens when I go to concerts- but we all had something in common, and that was that we were there for the music- as Chad said, "Jarrod's music spoke to us." Maybe it spoke to us in different ways, maybe we all related to it differently- but there was something about it that meant something to every person there. I didn't know every song that he played, but the several that I did know- my favorites were "Each Breath", "Ten Years Older", and "I'll Do Better"- were amazing. There's something about acoustic music that's so intimate and yet so meaningful; music doesn't need to be fast and loud to get to the heart.
After the show was over, I met Jarrod by the merch stand and had him sign the tshirts. I told him that I'd found out about the tour through To Write Love on Her Arms and that I was so glad I could go. When I asked if I could get a picture with him, he said yes and smiled as a girl that was standing there took the picture. Jarrod was so nice- after taking the picture, he asked to see it; it didn't come out well, so he suggested moving over to a spot with better lighting. We faced another way and eventually got a good picture, but what really struck me was how okay he was with taking a few minutes to make sure the picture turned out well. I really appreciate it when musicians take the time to take pictures with fans; fans are the reason artists are where they are (the record label may do the marketing, but it's the fans who buy the albums and merch and go to shows).
I'd been pretty busy this week; classes (exams, papers, quizzes), work, meetings, and events for my sorority have kept me busy. I was pretty stressed out, and felt like I was studying all the time. The show was exactly what I needed- a break, a time to get away from everything and to hear some music. It was more than just a show, though: I'm used to going to high-energy shows, filled with jumping around and (often) moshing, where pulling out an acoustic guitar generally signals the lighters and swaying. These shows are special and important because of the sheer high-voltage energy. So a show that was almost completely acoustic was different for me, but it was still an amazing experience (and, quite frankly, relaxing). It wasn't the same as, for example, going to the House of Blues to see a sold-out 30 Seconds to Mars show, but it was special in its own way. The size of the show, and the fact that it was acoustic, made it extremely intimate.
I didn't come home with my ears ringing from the loud music, with a bruise from the mosh pit (there wasn't one), or with my throat sore from screaming. I did come home with a heart full of music and a head full of songs, and that is what was truly special about the evening.
Okay, I normally don't use my blog to vent, but this time... I couldn't resist. I will not be using the name of the restaurant, or the town it was in (because it was a very small town).
So today I went out to brunch with my family. My parents, siblings, and I live about an hour and a half away from where my aunt, uncle, and cousins live, so it was a long drive for brunch. I had an Eggo waffle before we left, but by the time we got there for our 12:30pm reservation I was definitely hungry.
We got seated quickly, but it took awhile for us to get menus. Argh. First the waitress came around and asked for our drink orders; I ordered orange juice (which was supposedly fresh-squeezed). That came a few minutes later, and it was bitter. I don't mean "it wasn't sugary sweet", I mean it tasted like there was either grapefruit juice or something mixed into it, or the oranges or juice had gone bad. Gross. My brother and I tried to explain the situation to our waitress and another woman who I think was the "bartender" or something, and they didn't seem to understand it for whatever reason. Eventually we ended up getting some good orange juice, but it definitely wasn't fresh-squeezed, it was Tropicana or something (which is fine by me, really).
So we got to ordering our food. I ordered pancakes, with nothing in them (they offered both fruit and bacon pancakes), and asked for some maple syrup and butter on the side. First, the food was taking awhile to get to our table, so they sent us some cheese and bread. That was okay, since I wanted my pancakes, but I mean I like cheese so that was fine.
Eventually our food came. I spread some butter on one of the pancakes, and poured the syrup on it. The pancakes were room temperature, and the syrup was cold, which combined to make the pancakes cold. So I explained very nicely to the waiter that the pancakes were cold and asked if she could please heat them up and could I please get some syrup that was warm too. She said okay, and took my plate back to the kitchen. We spoke with another waiter, who might've been the host or something, I don't really know, and he said that heated-up pancakes aren't good, so they'd just make a new batch.
Okay. Whatever. I didn't need a whole new batch of pancakes, but that's fine. Eventually they bring me back the "new pancakes", I take a look and see that they've taken the same pancakes and rearranged them and put them on a different plate- I can tell because I'd taken a bite out of one of them. No big deal, whatever. So I pour some more syrup on and cut a bite out of the pancake, guess what there's a piece of something pink/white/red and greasy, a.k.a. bacon, in it. I haven't eaten red meat (by which I include pork) since May 2005 (over 5 and a half years) and I've been completely vegetarian since October 2006 (over 4 years). I didn't eat it, thankfully, but needless to say the presence of the bacon disturbed me.
We explained the situation to the waitress, who apologized and said they'd bring me some new pancakes. My brother and older cousin, not wanting the bacon pancakes to go to waste, ended up eating them anyway. They've both already finished their food- my brother had corned beef hash and I think my cousin has the same thing- and most other people are about half finished.
So eventually they sent me another stack of pancakes. There were four this time, not three. I knew I probably wouldn't eat four whole pancakes, but whatever. I put some butter and syrup (which, thankfully, was warm) on the pancake, and took a bite. Yum. These were good pancakes. But I took another bite and then saw that the middle of the pancakes were COMPLETELY uncooked... like totally liquid. I am not kidding. It was unbelievable. I'm pretty hungry by this point, considering it's about 2 o'clock. We talk to the waitress, I tell her that I'm sorry to keep sending the stuff back but I don't want to eat a raw pancake. She said they'd send out some more pancakes. I thanked her, but I was pretty frustrated. Everyone else had pretty much finished their food by that point.
The manager eventually came over to me and apologized and asked if I maybe wanted something else to eat. I appreciated that, since by that point who KNOWS what else they could mess up about the pancakes... ugh... I told her that I'd like the french toast, please, and thanked her. A few minutes later (by this point every other person at the table was done eating; it was like 2:30 or something ridiculous) THE CHEF finally brought out my french toast. The french toast had some berry jam on it, I didn't really want that but was sick and tired of dealing with everything so I just scraped it off.
Yeah, that pretty much SUCKED. It's a pretty nice restaurant. I've never been there before, but my aunt and parents have, and they've all had good experiences there. No one else had any problems with their food. I was kinda pissed that I got the short end of the stick.
My aunt and uncle spoke with the manager, and she said they were completely mortified by what happened... frankly, they should be, because I know some things are out of there control (the bacon thing is almost understandable, and it's happened to me before) but really is it that hard to (1) properly cook pancakes (my 12-year-old sister can do it) and (2) send things out on time? It was a pretty small place, but I guess either they were really busy or were understaffed (my grandma's boyfriend kept going on about how the chef must've left, or something, because of how slow it was), because it took FOREVER for me to get my pancakes and then the french toast.
At the beginning of this, I was deciding between ordering the pancakes and the french toast, but ended up going with the pancakes... of course now I'm kicking myself for not having ordered the french toast.
No, really. Your life will be changed FOREVER when you listen to Brokencyde. You will never look at music the same way again.
("Freaxxx" by Brokencyde)
I stumbled upon Brokencyde a few weeks ago (I'd heard of them before but had never taken the time to listen to one of their songs... and now that I have, my life will never be the same again...) on Your Scene Sucks (look at "crunkcore poser") and decided to take a listen.
Brokencyde is described as "crunkcore", but really that's just code for shitty dance-pop music about going to clubs and getting drunk and "sexy"... with screamo vocals. Yes, really. It's like someone took the world's most awful electronica/club song and basically added some screaming. The best way I can describe it is if you had some screamo band covering Ke$ha. It's actually pretty entertaining, if nothing else for the fact that I never thought music could get this, well... weird (I was going to say "bad", but I hate dismissing entire genres on principle).
Apparently the name "Brokencyde" comes from the fact that they are (get this) "broken inside"... or their music is about being "broken inside" or something (don't you just love how wikipedia has information on everything?). They're from Albuquerque, and the band consists of Se7en, a.k.a. David Gallegos, on unclean/rap vocals; Mikl, a.k.a. Michael Shea, on clean vocals; Phat J, a.k.a. Julian McClellan, on keyboards, synthesizers, guitars, bass guitar, programing (which I didn't realize counted as an instrument?), and death-growls (which are apparently distinct from unclean vocals); and Antz, a.k.a. Anthony Trujillo, on programming, beats, backing vocals, and fog machine and lights in performances (which I also didn't realize counted as an instrument).
I am not really sure what the purpose of the nicknames ("Se7en"? really?) is. I'm also not really sure what the purpose of having a band member designated as the one to do lights and fog. I have no clue at all what the point of screaming to obscene club/party/dance/pop songs it, but maybe the point of Brokencyde is that you're not supposed to get it, because it doesn't make sense.
I've been to a lot of concerts: a few really small concerts (a few hundred people or less), a lot of medium-sized concerts, and a handful of big concerts (arena-type shows with several thousand people). They're all enjoyable, but there's something special about a concert that's really small, for a few reasons:
1. You can get really close to the band. Often, these really small venues have no barrier or security preventing you from getting right up in front of the stage, which tends to be lower to the ground than stages at bigger venues. At the Grog Shop in Cleveland, the stage is barely two feet off the ground, with nothing blocking it. At the Heirloom Arts Theatre in Danbury, CT, the stage is about four feet off the ground, again with no barrier- when I was there, singers would get down on the front of the stage and audience members would actually sing into the microphone.
2. Even if you're all the way in the back, you can still see everything that's happening on stage. When I saw New Found Glory at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, I was in the back for some of the opening bands (almost outside- the show was in August, and the back doors were open, and people were standing on the back porch), but because of the size of the venue even if you were outside, you could still see everything.
3. Because of the size, and small number of people there (400 versus 4,000 versus 40,000... that's a difference of a factor of 10 or 100!), small shows are more intimate than bigger shows. Band members can actually see the individual people in the crowd (and the people in the crowd can see them), and the shows are more personal. When there are 20,000 people in an arena, a singer can talk to the audience, but when there are 200 people in a tiny venue, a singer can actually talk to an individual, and it feels more personal. When I was at the CT Holiday Throwdown, a guitarist in one of the bands came up to me and said he'd seen me having fun in the crowd. The number of people you're sharing the experience with is smaller, so it's more special.
4. Tickets for small shows are usually cheaper than at bigger shows. I don't think I've ever paid more than $20 for a really small show. On the other hand, I've paid $30 to $50 for tickets at the House of Blues and ~$90 for tickets to a concert at an arena. Of course, if I wanted to see someone like U2 at an arena, it'd be in the hundreds.
5. It's way easier to meet band members. When I saw Hey Monday and Cartel at the Grog Shop in Cleveland, Jordan Witzigreuter (a.k.a. The Ready Set) literally walked by me and my friend three or four times on his way to go backstage. After the show, we met one of the members of Cartel when he was standing by the bar. I met tons of the musicians that played at the CT Holiday Throwdown. I met one of the members of New Found Glory when he was standing outside the Stone Pony (since the tour bus was right there- no special lot with extra security or anything).
This past Saturday, I drove up to Danbury, Connecticut, for the "CT Holiday Throwdown"- a concert featuring several New England (mostly Connecticut/Massachusetts/New York) bands, mostly unsigned. The bands were primarily in the pop-punk vein; I'm friends with the singer in one of the bands that played, and so I got a Facebook invite to the show. I checked out the bands that I wasn't familiar with on Myspace, I decided that the concert would be worth the 2 hour drive up to Danbury. After all, I'm on break, so what else would I do?
After filling up my car and putting the address in my car's GPS, I took off. I had Good Charlotte's new album Cardiology on repeat (LOVE that album- go listen if you haven't already), and already knew the first half of the route (I've driven up to Westchester, NY, to visit friends- same route pretty much). The GPS tried to take me through Manhattan, but luckily I'd thought ahead and new that I didn't have to (seriously, driving through the city on the Saturday before Christmas? Um, no thanks).
I got to Danbury a few minutes before doors opened for the show, so I bought an energy drink at a convenience store on the corner. It was pretty cold out, but doors opened at 4:30pm, as promised (it was pretty nice to not have to wait outside for too long). Once inside, I stood around awkwardly for awhile. There were some band members there; for the most part, they were either selling merch or setting up equipment. I knew I'd end up buying a CD (or four), but decided to wait until I'd actually heard the bands to buy their CDs. I saw my friend and he thanked me for coming.
Up first was Brookline Drive. My first thought was that their lead singer, Ben, reminded me of someone I went to high school with. Ben said that this was only BLD's 6th show, and I was impressed- for a relatively new band, they were pretty good, and very together. They were definitely natural performers. They had a fair amount of energy on stage, which was awesome. Three of the members of BLD- and then a fourth- came up to me trying to sell me their CD; I bought it, since I'd liked their set, and I like buying CDs directly from bands, because I know they're getting at least some of the money (of course some of it will be covering the costs of recording and pressing the album, but with an unsigned band, there's not the middle man of a record label). Favorite song: "Aprylle Fools"
Next was Two O'Clock Courage. TOCC weren't my favorite of the night, but they were pretty good nonetheless. I ended up buying their CD (I was on the fence, but it was pretty inexpensive- $3- so I went for it). The album artwork was pretty simple, but I liked it- the cover of the case (a slimline plastic case) was mostly purple, except for a heart-shaped area that was completely see-through. Their songs reminded me of the type that would've been the soundtrack to my high school years (for the record, high school sucked for me). Favorite song: "See You at the Aftermath"
White Rose was third. I've listened to WR before, and love them- definitely one of the reasons I decided to come to the show. They're pretty classic pop-punk (pretty much influenced by the same stuff I listened to when growing up) but young enough that they don't sound like they're stuck in 2002 (not that that's a bad thing). Lead singer Will got really into his performance, really interacting with the crowd in true pop-punk fashion. They covered "Everywhere" (originally by Michelle Brance) which was a pleasant surprise. WR was selling CDs for only $2- with 10 songs on it, I'd say that's a pretty good deal, so naturally I bought one). Favorite song: "Friends"
After White Rose was Follow Your Hero. While I honestly can't recall any of their specific songs, they were pretty good. Three out of their five members dressed in plaid, FYH looked to be a little older (only a few years, but even that can make a difference) than some of the other bands. While they were still energetic, they seemed comfortable and sure of themselves on stage.
Love via Dance Machine went on next. Out of all the bands that went on, I think LVDM probably had the most energetic stage performance. Seriously, these guys jumped around like crazy- they would win the "I Drank Way Too Much Coffee" award if their was one, or maybe the "Invisible Trampoline" award. Lead singer 's hair was completely messed up- my guess was he spent hours fussing with it so it was perfectly messed up. I wasn't familiar with most of their songs, but they had such an AWESOME performance that I had a blast during their set anyway. I would've bought a CD from them, but they weren't selling CDs. They also covered "Teenage Dirtbag", which totally made my night. Favorite song: "All is Fair in Love and Dance"
Weatherstar was one of my favorites of the night. Featuring Cameron Walker on vocals and guitar and Billy Toti on the snare drum, they were definitely the smallest band, but (as they were, after all, one of the "headliners" of the show) they were easily one of the best. Cameron didn't bounce around like an Energizer Bunny, but even though he played the whole show on acoustic guitar, he was very into it. Acoustic music can either be slow, boring, and depressing (i.e. Dashboard Confessional; not that this is a bad thing, it's just a different sort of music); or it can be fun and energetic (on the even further extreme end of the spectrum is Show me the Skyline- arguable whether they count as acoustic, but they're basically dance). Weatherstar was definitely the latter. I bought their CD, and it's probably my favorite of the four that I bought, with simple but sweet melodies and poetic lyrics. Favorite song: "Postcards"
With the Punches played after Weatherstar. They weren't my favorite, but their performance reminded me of New Found Glory (definitely a good thing). The vocals were nowhere near loud enough when WTP was on, but their songs were pretty good nonetheless. While they weren't quite as bouncy as LVDM, they had a certain energy on stage that made the crowd (or at least a few people in the crowd, who I was pretty sure were friends of the band) start to mosh.
The show finished with Phone Calls from Home. It wasn't announced that they were going to be at the show until about a week before; previously, I'd been unsure if the trip was worth it, but once I heard PCFH would be there, I knew I had to go to this show. PCFH began their set with a cover of Akon's "Don't Matter"- a bit of a surprise, but I always like hearing bands cover songs of artists of different genres (like WR's cover of "Everywhere" and LVDM's cover of "Teenage Dirtbag"). PCFH certainly didn't disappoint. Favorite song: "Coming Back to the World"
I love bands that look like they're having the time of their life on stage (I've seen Simple Plan four times, and each and every time they look like they're having a blast, which is part of the reason I love seeing them). I love going to concerts and seeing that energy. When a band interacts with a crowd- like some of the singers at this show, who crouched down at the front of the stage, and had fans singing into the mic with them- it really brings the energy up, and makes it more fun. That's why I love being in the front or in the mosh pit when I go to concerts (there weren't really enough people for a "real" pit but there were some people who tried). Despite the fact that these bands were all either unsigned or on independent labels, the CT Holiday Throwdown was, overall an amazing pop-punk show, with great performances from all.
One thing I love about being home is that I have access to a car, and having access to a car means that I can essentially go anywhere, anytime. At school, I don't have a car, which means I'm restricted to going places that are either in walking distance or easily accessed by public transportation.
Having a car means that I can go to concerts, and not have to worry about which bus or train I'm going to take back (because not all public transportation in Cleveland is 24/7). I love that; sure, it's fine to get out of the venue early and right as the show is ending, but personally I kinda like lingering, meeting other fans and talking to bands.
I've driven to a fair few places in the tri-state area to go to concerts. Most recently, I drove to Danbury, Connecticut for the "CT Holiday Throwdown" (more about that in a separate post)- an almost 2 hour drive. I've driven out to Long Island (Nassau Coliseum) and to various venues up and down New Jersey (PNC Bank Arts Center, The Stone Pony, Starland Ballroom), not to mention driving up to Westchester to meet a friend, where we'd then be driven up to Poughkeepsie to go to a concert.
Driving, to me, is freedom. I love having that freedom. I love being able to decide that I want to go up to Connecticut, out to Long Island, or down to Asbury Park, and just being able to go. While public transportation does go to most of these places, it takes longer, isn't direct (I'd have to switch trains at least twice- not including a subway in Manhattan- if I wanted to get up to Connecticut), and you have to plan a little more. It's a trade-off, of course; public transportation is cheaper in many cases, better for the environment, and there are some places where it just doesn't make sense to drive (if I was going to a show in Manhattan, there's no way I'd drive- parking and tolls are astronomically expensive, plus because of traffic it would take just as long as a train, if not longer).
I considered not going to the concert in Connecticut- after all, 2 hours is a bit of a trek (but it's not the farthest I've driven for a concert; I drove over 3 hours to see Blink-182 in Hershey Park with my best friend). But I do like driving; it's nice to have some solitary time just listening to music and singing along. When I'm driving to the concert, I'll often listen to one of the bands that I'm going to see; when I'm driving home, I'll listen to them again, this time singing alone extra obnoxiously to the songs they played at the show. Or I'll listen to the CD of one of the opening bands that I just bought.
I've also realized that while there have been times when I regretted not going to a concert (for example I kinda wish I had gone to a concert down in Vineland, when I had been spending a week at the shore), there's never been a time when I've regretted making the drive out to a concert. I've yet to be disappointed, but maybe that's just me- after all, I basically live for live music.
