Here We Go, Hold On Tight, and Don't Let Go.

My throat still hurts from an amazing show we saw Monday night at The Fillmore in Charlotte. Charlotte is just a little over an hour and a half away for us, so it's not bad at all. We had the honor of getting to see Thrice & Brand New - Two very "sentimental" bands to both Justin and me!

Let me explain something first. Justin LOVES Thrice. His ultimate. Number one. Favorite band/slash/artist. I knew he loved them a lot but the first time I actually found out they were his "favorite band", was at one of my bridal/lingerie showers - My sisters had organized a massive "do-you-know-your-husband-to-be game" and I got that one wrong. I knew he loved them, I just didn't realize they were his Ultimate. I can totally see why - Thrice is amazing. Justin and I are obsessed with music. We would die if we could never listen to music or find new things. We are constantly dumbfounded by how riduculous of a weight we place on MUSIC when others could simply care less. It blows our minds! AH! Anyways...



Back when Justin and I first started dating (Fall 2003), we listened to a TON of Brand New. We have loved them since. So you can imagine what happened when I found tickets for Brand New performing with Thrice. The world exploded. I didn't know whether to tell him, surprise him, or scream it from a mountain top, but it came out of my mouth in the fastest run-on-sentance before I could think twice... "Baby, guess what?! THRICEANDBRANDNEWWW!!!"

One of Justin's brothers came down from VA to visit and go to the show too! We had a great weekend, and waited impatiently for Monday to come. We headed up early to Charlotte, assuming we would wait in line for the doors to open. Waiting felt like an eternity. We made it in, and posted ourselves nice and close to the stage. We didn't know the opener, and as it began to get more crowded, elbows began to dig and the opening band still had a while before coming out. Augh. We decided to get out until Thrice came on - and for that, we had a plan.


[Ready To Rock OUT!]

Of course at any rock show, the plan is to get to the front. Well, when you have Justin's bro, Levi, who is a brick wall and can make things happen, we had no worries. Finally, the gag-me opener finishes, Thrice sets up and begins. And so does our mission. We start from the side and cut in to the front in one, swift motion. It all happened so fast. I think I made some girl mad, because her solution was to try to steal my bag. WHAT!? She starts yanking on my purse as I am moving in the opposite direction toward our glorious finish line. Are you kidding me right now? I turn to her and try to yell over the music, asking her to stop. At first, I actually thought I was just caught on someone or something. I think she was trying to steal it maybe? It is a pretty cute bag. The purse she had on her shoulder was TINY and had Looney Tunes on it or something. When I told her to stop, she just looks at me and goes, "Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Uh." Umm? Wow. Dear girl with an insufficient bag, We're at a show. If you're mad you're in the back, maybe you should be moving to the front too. And go buy a new bag.


[Dustin Kensrue, Thrice]

We made some good distance, aside from the girl and the bag debacle. Mind you, elbows are flailing and everyone is soaked in sweat, pushing and shoving. Little did I know, we were only moving closer to The Pit. I forgot to mention one, very tiny detail. I wore flip flops. In my defense - I knew people would spill beer, and I knew I would be hot. I didn't wanna ruin any of my shoes and I figured flips would be the most comfortable anyway. Besides, I wasn't planning on chillin' in the Pit. Trying to enjoy the amazing show and not suffocate, I'm holding onto Levi in front and Justin is deflecting people around and behind me. It seriously reminded me of the time I saw Chevelle with my sister, Vanessa, a few years ago. At one point during that show, she and I were comepletely horizontal, looking up into the "eye of the devil" as I like to refer to this Pit business. How do people enjoy moshing?! I think it feels like a huge buffet of death! I want to listen to bands and watch and just feel it! Not fear that my kidneys will be punctured or that my poor, exposed feet will be trampled into stumps by the end of the night. By the 4th song, it happened. In the midst of moshing and praying for survival, some dude creams my innocent foot and my flip flop completely BUSTS. I am crying out, hoping no one stomps on my bare foot. I'm trying not to panic. I have to get out. I plow my way out of the mosh pit, out of the crowd and I am dragging my flip as my mom calls it, "a wounded animal behind me" (haha!). I make it to the side, where I can examine the damage and I couldn't believe it - It didn't rip or break, but just popped out! I was able to pop it back it and I was no longer flipless! Good grief.

I felt kind of bad for Justin. I feel like I let him down. His FAVORITE band, and he's watching from further back, because I'm a wimp who can't take a mosh beating. I know he wasn't exactly enjoying the beating either. We both really wanted to be close, front and center... It just wasn't going to happen, unless we wanted to lose a limb. Levi was still in the Pit. We saw him even make his way out and I met him on the "sidelines" and he holds up a flip flop and smiles! He yells, "I found it!" Bless his heart!! I told him I still had mine, and I even fixed it, and still looking at me, he whips the newly discovered, flip flop back into the crowd! Ohh, what a night.

Brand New was incredible. The whole night was incredible. We missed having another one of Justin's brothers there - Jason, who is a HUGE fan of Thrice and Brand New, as well. We knew he felt pretty bad he couldn't be there.


[Garrett Tierney & Jesse Lacey, Brand New]

I said my throat is killing me still, but I call it my souvenir from an amazing show. Can't wait to see them again.



LISTEN to THRICE
LISTEN to BRAND NEW

xo


[Photo of Headphones - weheartit.com]
[Lyrics: Thrice - Song For Milly Michaelson]