st. louis: state & madison and the noise fm

this was it, the show(s) i'd been waiting for all summer long, the very reason a street team was created. and i couldn't have imagined it turning out any other way [except with maybe a few more people in attendace, but that's just the brakes].

nikki and stephanie came in town from chicago and we got to spend the day together, which was quite the fun time. we met at the galleria for state & madison's acoustic show and it seemed to go over pretty well. there were a couple new faces and those new faces seemed pretty excited about what they were hearing [but unfortunately didn't show up at the real show later...]. and there were of course the familiar faces - stacy and drew, tabitha was there, and alex and austin came in town a bit early to see the set too. i feel like things went pretty smoothly, besides the fact that things got started a little late. but i wouldn't expect anything esle when four guys have to collectively hit the road at six in the morning... so we hung around and talked for a while and eventually made our way to california pizza kitchen. thanks again stephanie, for the delicious free meal! your dad's the best.

so after going home to freshen up, and after getting cake and balloons for tony's birthday, we picked up and katie, swung by starbucks, and were on our way to the firebird. sketchy part of town, let me tell ya. and the venue was a bit hard to spot from the street [there are no markings on the front of the building, only on the back is there a sign that has their name on it] but the gps never fails, and we spotted band vans/trailers and figured we were in the right place. all the opening bands were pretty good which is always a plus. and state & madison played a good set as always. it seemed a little short, but i enjoyed hearing the new songs that they had time to play. the noise fm was up next and they sounded great as well. i personally think they sounded better at cicero's when i saw them last, but maybe that's just me. i'm so partial to cicero's. they did have a little trouble with some of their backing synth tracks, but all in all it was great. can't wait to see them again on friday! we hung around until everyone was packed up; nickolas informed me earlier that they were indeed staying at my house. so we gathered up the group, got some denny's and i think everyone crashed pretty hard around three or so. but not after the tour of the basement of course. the bear was a hit, as always.

the guys + sonja left around noon, andrea and veronica around one thirty, and nikki and steph sometime around two. all in all, very good times. i love chicago folk, and i love that my group of friends there keeps growing and growing. i just wish things would start growing more here in st. louis; fanbases specifically. i work so hard to promote these bands and their shows, and it seems like hard work isn't creating much progress and it's frustrating. i mean, the core group who always shows up - it's great don't get me wrong, you've got to start somewhere and i know that. i appreciate them and i realize how lucky it is to even have that support in the first place. but when i personally know every single fan at the show, it's makes me sad. why aren't we drawing more new people? how is is that i can go to so many shows, stand outside so many venues with fliers, hand out SIX HUNDRED of them at warped tour, and not draw a single new person? i know it's not my personal responsibility alone, but i like doing this kind of work and when i'm the only one promoting the show, it kind of is my responsibility. if i didn't enjoy doing so much for bands that i love and support, i wouldn't have started in the first place. sometimes the music just has to speak for itself, i know that. but i do a lot, and a lot is in vain. and it's annoying. [deep breath, end rant]

oh, and just when i said no more roadtrips before school... haha. did you really expect me to keep my word? definitely going to peoria tomorrow. i know, i know... you don't have to tell me. i have a serious problem. but i kinda like it. gotta get it all out before school starts up again.