st. louis: barcelona and relient k

day two! meesh and i slept in and took our sweet time getting ready and ventured down to loop in search of food. we settled on bread co and eventually made our way down to the pageant. we were planning on meeting up with my friends erin and megan who had saved us seats, but due to the balcony being closed, the 21+ section was screwy so we ended up having to stand the whole night to the far right. barcelona, the main reason i went to the show, played first and hot daaaamn were they excellent. i've seen them once before at the beginning at the summer, but this was a great experience seeing them on a big stage. from what i remember they played fall out of trees, it's about time, lesser things, come back when you can, the takers, and stars. it was a short set, but i guess that's what you get being the opener. i was so happy i could have left right then and there and felt like my thirty dollar ticket was worth it. but of course we stuck around.

lights was next. [instead of fucking COPELAND who dropped their st. louis date. copeland who will be BREAKING UP after their last tour this spring. FUCK.] she was decent electro-girl-pop... good for her genre but not my thing. i prefer real instruments. relient k was after that and i've got to be honest. they were pretty awesome. i've never been a fan of them. it's not that i don't like them. it's more like... they have six albums out and i don't have the time or energy to learn and love that much music. i do know a few songs though, and they played most of them - be my escape, high of seventy five, mood rings, and sadie hawkins dance. we ended standing with our two friends that we'd met at the mutemath show the night before, lake and ross, so we said goodbye to them and headed to buy merch. the barcelona boys were outside so we ended up talking to them. the conversation got lengthy and quite entertaining - i was wearing my we the living hoodie [yes i wore it the night before as you can see in my previous picture; i pack light, leave me alone.] and brian mentioned that they were "good friends" to which i replied "yeah, so i've heard." brian says "oh, so you know them?" to which i replied "oh, that's an understatement." he didn't seem to believe me so i tried to explain myself... but how do you sum up a story like that? the skepticism was brutal though. someday maybe he'll understand. like when they tour together...? [i put in a good word, not to worry my friends.] so we stayed and chatted with them for quite a while and brought them leftover halloween candy from the previous show. what a night. love bonding with band boys.

[these would be the hooligans called barcelona]

so that was that. quite the amazing weekend full of music. neither of us had to be back particularly early on sunday so went out for lunch, made the obligatory starbucks stop to see my favorite st. louis barista, and said our goodbyes. fun times, but exhausting nonetheless. i can't believe i've made it through this week thus far. cavashawn/state and madison/the heyday coming soon...

st. louis: mutemath and as tall as lions

so after an already exhausting thursday night, i somehow managed to make it through my friday with the sights of another show in the near future. i scrambled to finish my packing after class and was on my way to st. louis once again, by a little before three. i met michele at my house and it was absolutely lovely seeing her again - we realized it had been three months since we'd seen each other! way too long, i say. we scarfed down some chinese food that my dad brought home and were on our way to the pageant by five or so. doors weren't until seven, but ours were earlier since we has vip passes. to our surprise though, there wasn't even anyone in the regular line yet. but we went in and talked to levi, the "in charge of vip people" person. meesh introduced me to him since they'd me at previous shows, and we passed the time fairly quickly. we got our coveted spot right in front and waited for the show to start.

as tall as lions played first and apparently this was the first show in a few cities that the lead singer was even able to sing, due to sickness. so it was nice to hear a real set, not just instrumental. they were really great and i'm definitely planning on picking up their music. there was only one opener so mutemath was up next. man oh man were we stoked. they opened with the nerve and things only got better from there. i can't even describe how great of a live show they put on. i'll admit, i'm still not totally won over by the new album yet, and i haven't really listened to mutemath that much as of lately. but holy damn did they put on one hell of a show. i suggest that all of you see a mutemath show before you die. darren, the drummer, is set up near the front of the stage in which you get to see all of his crazy antics. this guy is a regular monkey. he runs around and bangs drumsticks on anything he can find. he throws mic stands around and at one point throws a drum into the crowd, leaps out himself, and eventually hoists himself up on the drum that the audience is holding. he then proceeded to jump from the drum back to the stage, which was probably a good six or seven foot jump. insane. utterly insane. they ended the show by destroying everything on stage. sweeeeeet.

'

[me and darren, the drummer from mutemath]

'

we talked to as tall as lions for a while after the show and they were all hilarious. meesh got some pictures with them, including some rather strange shots of dan holding her hands trying to telepathically send her his birthday. (it didn't work.) we eventually made our way outside to wait for mutemath, and after waiting for what seemed like forever, and after delivering halloween candy to rob from as tall as lions, darren came out and then eventually greg. both of them recognized meesh and commented on the fact that her family had been at the past three shows, which i found to be hysterical. gotta love the swiharts. we got pictures with the two of them and made small talk. we eventually said goodbye to levi [probably around eight times that night] and told him we hoped to see him around next tour. he was so adorable, i just wanted to stuff him in my pocket and smuggle him home. two out of four band members were good enough for me, so we headed to steak n shake for dinner, then proceeded to stay up until five am watching youtube videos at home. go us. but it was great to catch up since we hadn't seen each other in forever and i don't regret it in the least. more to come about the rest of the weekend when i get the chance.

st. louis: ludo and ha ha tonka

oh ludo, my wonderful loves from st. louis, how i have missed thee. here's a quick run down since i'm (one) drowning in homework and (two) have more show reviews that i still need to get to.

i booked it home from class on thursday and was speeding my way to st. louis by around four. traffic was horrendous since it was raining cats and dogs, and it took me almost three hours to get down to the pageant. bleh. but it worked out regardless, because hardly anyone was in line. angie came home as well for the show, so we met up and got in line along with her brother tony and his friend alec. once inside, we opted for spots a little further back, just above the pit area. we had both room to move around, and a place to set our stuff. (stuff being a ton of free posters, cds, stickers and patches. hell yes.) without a face opened, which is a one man band with quite the witty lyrics. meese was next and i was pleasantly surprised. i'll definitely be picking up their music when i get around to it. and the last of the openers was ha ha tonka. i can't say that i'm a huge fan of their albums; it's a little too honky tonk for me. but those boys have some serious talent and put on one hell of a live show. they played hangman, which is a cappella with four part harmonies - gives me chills every time, and the oscillating fan song which is hilarious. ludo finally played and put on a stellar show. vocals are always spot on, convy is always hilarious, and they never disappoint. set list is as follows:

go-getter greg
hum along
elektra's complex
saturday night thunderbolt
topeka
girls on trampolines
horror of our love
broken bride
save our city
tonight's the night
the lamb and the dragon
morning in may
drunken lament
lake pontchartrain
goodwill hunting (with the star spangled banner in the middle)
love me dead

good times. broken bride was epic and brought back many memories of ninth grade; love it. i didn't stick around long to talk to anyone because i still had a two hour drive ahead of me, but i did get to say hey to jon who was promoting outside. i got back at an absolutely horrendous time of night, started some of my packing for the weekend, and crashed hard. more blogs to follow about friday and saturday when i find the time...

chicago: we the living || columbia: the working title

the trek to chicago started friday morning. i cleared out my guests, got my oil changed real quick, popped in to see my friend kiera who was home on fall break, and was headed north by around twelve thirty. the drive was relatively painless and i got to sam's house, freshened up, awaited stephanie's arrival and then we were off. destination, lake forest college to see we the living. i can't believe it's already been a month and a half since they were here in columbia. time really flies.

we eventually found where we were supposed to be after spotting the band van, and creepily stared through the student union window until matt took notice and let us in. hugs were all received and we settled into nice comfy couches and enjoyed a really great show. it was a different atmosphere for a show, that's for sure, but i liked it. nobody was yelling or screaming; there was no pushing or shoving. we were all merely curled up on our respective couches and listening to great music. the set list itself was more laid back than i'm used to - more heights of the heaven-like. not to say that i don't like a good rock show, but relaxing shows are always nice. the taylor swift song was of course played again, and i knew it was coming the minute jp mentioned his girly friend he made in nashville this summer, haha. they also covered the district sleeps alone tonight, which i haven't heard literally in a YEAR, so that was a nice bit of nostalgia. and lastly, they came back and covered fake plastic trees for part of the encore. the sound was probably the best i'd heard in a while, as were the lights. i think we the living FINALLY has their light show figured out. no blinding strobes, no seizure inducing flashes, no dots to be seen for hours post-show; these were tastefully choreographed to the music and it looked really awesome. overall, it was probably one of my favorite we the livings shows. that was only number eight so i don't have a ton of comparisons, but i really enjoyed myself. we hung around for quite a while afterwards, got a chance to talk to everyone and ate amazing cupcakes that sam had made. ben and i discussed awkward pickleman stories, matt accused me of being on drugs, and jp explained his ultimate fan-boy moment to me and i feel we had some pretty good bonding time over mikky ekko. ha. overall, great time. oh, and nora was there too and we chatted for a bit as well. love love love that girl. and she may very well have me convinced that nashville is the place to be on december seventeenth. i'm working on it, but it's in the process of being made possible.

next day, saturday. sam, her sister caitlin, steph and i went to see where the wild things are at a cute little place called muvico, and got buffalo wild wings for dinner afterwards. delish. we creeped around wal-mart for a while, came home and watched dazed and confused, and then went to a house party to see devon kay and the solutions. interesting night... let me tell you. wayyyy to many drunk hipsters crammed into a tiny apartment, and way too many bands playing, but it was fun i guess. by the time devon played though, him and his band were so trashed they could barely even stand up, much less tune their guitars. it was entertaining to say the least. they were good though and i'd definitely like to see them again in a real show setting. it was super late by the time we got home, so i pretty much crashed the minute we got there. i was on the road by eleven thirty the next morning, and got home at about a quarter after six. long ass drive, let me tell you. all i wanted to do was lay down on my bed and do nothing. but what's the first thing i see when i turn on my laptop? the working title was playing in thirty minutes at a venue downtown. and what band have i been really into the past few weeks, and what band did matt and i discuss at their show for a good while? yeah, the fucking working title. so i huffed and i puffed, and changed clothes and went to see them play. it's all about the benjamin's and we are voices were playing as well, and some other bands i don't remember. i was exhausted. but it was a great show. came home, didn't do any of the homework that needed to be done, and passed the fuck out. what a weekend. now i just have to make it until thursday and the cycle repeats... ludo on thursday, mutemath on friday, and barcelona and relient k on saturday, all in st. louis. wheee.

st. louis: gardening, not architecture

hello thursday night! so great to see you, knowing that you're the beginning of my weekend.

i survived my french midterm and the workshop of my non-fiction piece today, and that was just the beginning of a good day. i scrambled to pack, and hit the road towards st. louis by five or so. i meandered my way through ghetto town, got really lost, but eventually found the venue (of course i'm ditching school for a show, duh.) a little late. this journey was for a little band called gardening, not architecture, the musical project of sarah saturday. name sounds familiar, you say? why yes, yes it might. she's done it all. behind the scenes shenanigans at warped tour, establishing the 'earn it yourself' website, a key contributor over at buzznet, her bands... all kinds of stuff. she's also jp roney's sister, you know, that one guy from we the living whom you faithful readers hear about fairly often. oh, and she has a bouncing souls song named after her, but that's besides the point. so anyways. i'd never met her, but we've been internet acquaintances for a while so it was great to put finally a face to a name tonight. and she's the sweetest person ever! the show went well and i tried to overcome my awkwardness, being at yet another show alone. sarah introduced me to her tour manager and some friends though, so we made friendly chatter.

and now, as i sit here at home, my real home, i'm awaiting the arrival of said sarah saturday and touring friends who are planning on sleeping here. and tomorrow morning i'm off to chicago to see the other roney sibling's band. what a weekend, and it hasn't even started yet. good thing i was still doing homework up until an hour ago to keep me rooted in real life...

st. louis: manchester orchestra and brand new

i'm sitting here staring at my cursor blink, blink, blink. because i have no idea how to start a blog about one of the most monumental days of my life. but alas, i guess i'll just dive in. as we all know by now, i'm fucking insane. so when i found out a week or so ago that brand new was scheduled to play a rare acoustic set at vintage vinyl before the pageant show, i knew i had to be there. so i called vintage vinyl monday night to see if they had any wristbands left. to my utter surprise, they did. so what did this fucking lunatic do, you ask? she drove to fucking st. louis. right then and there. bam. two hours there. and i got one of the last five wristbands. two hours back. called it a night. WIN.

next day, tuesday. skipped my last class of the day and booked it back to st. louis. again. because as mentioned before, i'm insane. i got to vintage vinyl around three thirty and was definitely one of the last people to get there. i was pretty far back in the crowd, but considering it was only a crowd of maybe two hundred, i still had a bad ass spot to see mother fucking BRAND NEW. they were late of course, and didn't start til close to four thirty, but whatever. i was just trying to hold back tears of joy. they played a small set, including bought a bride, bed, okay i believe you but my tommy gun don't, jesus christ, and at the bottom. there were lots of false starts, playing of wrong chords, and forgetting of lyrics, which i found to be hysterical. then they declared they would be signing in the front of the store, which worked out in my favor since i was standing so far back. so i merely turned around and didn't have to wait long at all. i handed over my cd with shaking hands and proceeded to get it signed by everyone. fan girl moment to the max!

*cool side note*
the couple standing in front of me were making small talk with jesse while waiting, and they mentioned how bummed they were that they didn't get tickets in time to see the show at the pageant later. and what did jesse do? he said that was a shame, got their names, and straight put them on the guest list. and i can totally vouch for the fact that jesse lacey is a man of his word. i saw the couple at the show a few hours later. so all the bad press out there about him being a dick, totally false. he was completely down to earth.

but to continue...
i decided it would be faster to merely walk down to the pageant instead of drive and try and re-park my car. so i made my way down there and got in line, which was surprisingly short. doors opened about forty-five minutes later, we went in and proceeded to wait for another hour. in that hour, i made friends with the group standing next to me. three of the five of them were named jordan, and i ended up befriending all of them on facebook. talk about professional creeper skills. gotta love meeting people at shows! sybris, a chicago native band was up first and i was pleasantly surprised. they were pretty good for being an opening act. they reminded me of a darker and harder company of thieves. manchester orchestra was next and oooooh myyyy gawwwwddd were they spectacular. and... i've gotta be honest, they kinda stole the show. music-wise; vocally and instrumentally, i must say that they were far superior to brand new. i haven't been a long-time fan, but their two records have indeed been on heavy rotation the past few months and i can easily say that i know both records by heart. i was a little disappointed though, it felt like they played such a short set - it was only around forty minutes. they played pride, shake it out, now that you're home, my friends marcus, i've got friends, everything to nothing, the river, and lastly a mixture that jumped back and forth from colly strings to the only one. totally epic. totally bad ass. they left me craving way more than i was given, which means i am anxiously awaiting their next tour.

and finally brand new. after standing for what felt like ages, and enduring the freezing cold air-conditioning aching back and feet, and severe hunger and thirst, brand new came out and quenched it all. they played for a good hour and a half. the set included you won't know as the opener. everyone immediately FREAKED OUT and pushed with all their might to get closer. so i quickly took off my shoes [i was an idiot and wore my flats] and put them in my bag and pushed up with everyone else. i ended up getting to about the second row, pretty sweet. lots of elbows and hands and arms in my face and other places that i didn't so much like, and lots of full grown men crying on my shoulder. it was quite the experience, let me tell you. next was degausser, okay i believe you but my tommy gun don't, sic transit gloria and jaws theme swimming. they then decided to introduce themselves. "we're brand new". no shit you guys. it's not like the crowd is singing louder than jesse or anything. for real though, there were times when it was annoying because you couldn't even hear them singing or playing because the crowd was so loud. next was the no seatbelt song and after that jesse telling us "i don't think i have enough air in my lungs for this, but what the hell" and proceeded to scare the shit out of everyone with vices. next was gasoline, in a jar, you stole, luca, sowing season, archers, jesus christ, bought a bride, sink, at the bottom, and finally play crack the sky, which was acoustic with andy hull from manchester. there was surprisingly no encore, which people seemed to be pretty upset about. but i was dying at the point so i didn't really care. i put my shoes on, found my friends joanna and kory, and shuffled my way all the way back to where my car was.

so overall, i can't lie. manchester orchestra was, musically at least, my favorite band of the night. but i'm so sentimental when it comes to brand new, and their music as a whole means so much to me. it's to the point where i don't even care how awful or great they sound, i'll love them unconditionally, regardless. so that was tuesday. what a day. seriously, what a fucking day. i could go on for ages, but this blog is already a mile long. i commend you if you've gotten this far. i really don't care if you have or not though, this is mainly so i can remember the epic night when i'm old and senile.

st. louis: see the world and my lady four

weekday shows, especially beginning-of-the-week shows aren't my favorite thing during the school year, but this one was definitely worth it. see the world is a new band, but by no means new people to me. [if copeland and barcelona had a love child, it would be see the world.] jeremy, lead singer, played bass for a while with we the living, and sam, well i guess you can say that we've been facebook friends for a while and share lots of mutual friends. ha.

so i left columbia a little before four on tuesday and decided to head down to the loop to get some bread co for dinner. i called jeremy to see what they were up to and it turns out they were at said bread co. so i pulled up a few minutes later and we had ourselves a lovely little dinner date and caught up since it's been a YEAR since i'd seen him last. i finally got to meet sam too, which was nice. cute kid, super sweet, and so ridiculously tall! so we headed over to the venue after a while and they got set up and introduced me to the guys in my lady four. we proceeded to sit and wait for doors to open. the first band was pretty interesting; they used live auto-tune which was a bit of a turn off [since tony's brainwashed me], but besides the weird vocals they didn't seem too shabby. [i looked them up later and noticed they'll be back in st. louis soon playing an acoustic set - i'm really curious to see how they'd sound sans distortion.] random chick-drummer band was up next, but sam, jeremy and i hung out in the bar for a while since it was FREEZING cold in the venue area. see the world was up next though, so we headed back in, and i really enjoyed their set. i'm pretty sure they played their ep in it's entirety plus one new song, which i really liked. it's just the two of them so it was interesting hearing just keys and guitar with so much in the backing tracks; i can't wait to hear them live with the full band.

my lady four was up next. i hadn't heard of them before the "see the world tour" hype, but i'd checked out their music online a couple weeks ago and it sounded good. they proved themselves in a live setting too - i really liked what i heard. i don't like comparing bands to each other, plus it's hard to do... but they reminded me a bit of fall out boy. pretty traditional pop-ish rock, but maybe a little bit harder. a few songs were reminiscent of my brief love affair with emery too. so that was that. there was one last band but we were all too antsy and cold to sit through it so we jeremy and i hung around outside while the guys loaded up the trailer. they decided it would be best to drive to columbia, as i had offered them a place to stay, and jeremy rode with me on the drive back. i feel like i say this about every band i blog about, but it still amazes me. i've only seen this guy twice before in my life, but it feels like we've been friends for ages. we had ourselves some good converation for a good two hours, and thoroughly enjoyed cake and ice cream for dinner at two in the morning when we got back to my place. who knows when everyone else got there, i was a goner. they left around nine-thirty the next morning to head back to minneapolis, and there you have it. my lovely tuesday night adventure. jeremy said they hoped to be back near the midwest soon come springtime, so i hope he's telling the truth. i can't say that i like full-year spans between seeing my friends and bands.