Nothing but Song

Feeling :  sore  Listening :  Malibu - Hole  Reading :  Stuff for school

If you are viewing this on LiveJournal, please note that you will not be able to view the pictures. I have blocked LJ from direct linking. To see them in all their sexy glory, come to Nothing but Song.

Sunday afternoon, I took my niece C and her friend N to see We the Kings, Metro Station, The Cab, and headliners Cobra Starship on the Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour at Jillian’s. N’s mother followed us there because we all thought that we needed her to get the ticket for N (she didn’t). I bought me and C’s tickets during the presale, so they were on will call at the venue. N’s mom bought them through Ticketmaster.

Our first adventure of the night was trying to find a free place to park. We got lost for almost 45 minutes, trying to find a place. The first place we found was trying to charge, the same as at Jillians, which is what I was trying to avoid. The last time we went to a show at Jillians - during our SWG date - I got charged an arm and a leg to get out of the garage, and this time I was gonna play it smart and park somewhere for free.

Epic fail, yo.

The parking garage elevators were broken, so we tried the stairs, but the stairs that led to the street were wired to alarm if opened. Just going down the stairwell got the girls scared about walking from the parking garage to Jillians (which was two streets away) and finally convinced me to just park at Jillians. I’m the kind of person who LOVES to get lost, so driving around downtown in circles was great fun for me. I had a full tank of gas and the doors didn’t open ’til six. Whatever.

Our next adventure was simply waiting in line. As I said, we got there at 3 o’clock, 3 hours before the venue opened. Why? Because that’s what we do. C and N kept leaving me in line to walk around. Anyways, arriving early was quite advantageous, because we got pictures and autographs from Ryland Blackington (guitar) and Alex Suarez (bass) from Cobra Starship. Suarez is such a sweetheart. He was the first one to wander out of the venue, so we hella ran to him and then waited patiently for him, and after he was done taking pictures and getting autographs with the fans in front of us, he goes, “Did you want to get a picture too?” And I’m all, “Yes, please, thank you!”

Nate didn’t seem keen on meeting fans, so nobody got pictures or autographs. Vicky-T and Gabe walked by on their way to sound check but didn’t stop. In fact, Tony Touch totally cockblocked. Gabe looked like he was going to sign stuff and take pictures, but… “No pictures!” he barked at the girl who was next to us in line (never got her name, quite young), who squeaked “Gabe!” and ran towards him. C got pictures with Alex Deleon of the Cab before the show. The guys from the Cab kept walking back and forth. Luckily they’re not too famous yet, so they’re still approachable before shows.

We got in and I bought a Cobra shirt and an adjustable Cobra ring (it’s fucking sick). The picture doesn’t do it justice!

The show began with We the Kings, and the pit became unbearable halfway through. Loads of crazy pushing and shoving. I hate pits for that reason, and I lost N and C really quickly. I started getting a major case of claustrophobia. So I had to fight my way out of the pit, and go to the smoking patio, just to get some air. Halfway through We the Kings, I snuck back to the edges of the pit to find the girls, but they found me instead.

Metro Station came on next, and after their set, we ducked back out of the pit to breathe and get some overpriced snacks. “Trace!” C squeals as he walks by (the artists hide on the second floor of Jillians ’cause the way Jillians is set up, it’s the only place they can have a green room) and gets a hug, only she felt a little molested, and we spent the rest of the night calling Trace a pedophile, rofl. Trace Cyrus is Miley Cyrus’ (Hannah Montana’s) older brother, BTW, haha.

I’m really glad I got to see the Cab before everybody else jumps on that bandwagon because those boys are extremely talented. And I’m not saying that just because they are from Vegas, and friends with Panic. They’re gonna be my next big thing to pimp out. Deleon has a really unique voice, unlike a lot of acts that I’ve seen. The only thing I will say is that when Cash wears his sunglasses, he looks like the Butcher from the Academy Is… and that’s a compliment ’cause I love me some Butcher! We were hoping Brendon Urie from Panic would show up and sing “I’ll Run” with the band, but no go. I got video of their cover of “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain, but it’s too big for YouTube so I have to readjust the size first. I promise to put it up as soon as I can. It was lovely.

In between the acts - whilst the roadies set up and tore down for each act (I lie, the openers were still pretty much their roadies) - they were playing hip hop music. So people in the pit were doing the Soulja Boy and singing “Stronger” by Kanye West. So I think everybody was there to have a good time, so except for the shit that was the pit, the vibes were good. The crowd that was there for SWG was awful. Killed the pre-show vibe. So I’m happy how awesome the crowd was, energy- and positivity-wise.

Cobra Starship was so much fun. They played a bit of everything from both the albums. Lots of energy and camaraderie between Ryland and Gabe in between songs. Gabe told us a little story about how Ryland got his nickname (Pleasure Ryland), because Ryland wore the shirt that inspired his nickname. When they were less famous, they had to provide their own clothes and Ryland chose that shirt. Also, some fans made a sign that asked if the band could perform “Awww Dip” but Gabe said that Victoria didn’t know the song and that it was recorded during the time between keytarists (The Great Elisa Debacle, as I like to call it, no disrespect). But Gabe asked Ryland to make the fan happy, and had him and Suarez play the riff from the song. I got video of Gabe doing “Hollaback Boy.” I didn’t take as many pictures or videos this time around.

During “Being from Jersey Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry” he encouraged Ryland to interrupt the song to wail on his guitar. Before he took on the acoustic guitar for the song, Gabe said something along the lines of, “Ryland is such a good guitarist, I feel like he’s wasting his talent being in this band!” haha. I screamed “IVY LEAGUE!” but I don’t think anyone heard me. A girl named Steffy sang Travis’ rap from “Bring It.”

C said that a lot of people there were probably posers since Cobra got on MTV and everything. And MTV = selling out, obviously. I’m a bit of a music elitist, so if I met a Cobra “fan” who only knows “The City is at War” but goes to the shows and buys merch, I’m gonna fight the urge to laugh in their face. But Cobra Starship is too amazing of a band not to share with the whole world. Some bands deserve to stay underground and be your dirty little secret. But the rest? I think you should share. I hung around after the show to see if I could get something more from the Cobras, and I got a set list!

I hung on the barrier after the show, and asked one of the roadies if he had one, and straight up told me, “No. You should’ve come right after the show.” I was the last one to walk away ’cause security was trying to hustle us away so they could finishing breaking down the stage. But I turned to look and the guy that I had just talked to threw the set list out into the crowd. There really weren’t too many people there so I ran forward like a cat, spun around this chick, and caught it in midair. “Good catch!” one of Jillians security guys said. “Thanks!” I said breathlessly. I was really tired after the show, so I’m glad I got it!

Afterwards, we were just hanging around and C got pictures with Alex Marshall of the Cab (who looks eerily like Blake Sennett from Rilo Kiley) and Trace (who felt her up again!).

Annndddd… they didn’t charge for parking. So I don’t know if I was gypped last time or what. I woke up achy and sore, and my throat on fire from screaming so loud. I really had a good time. And C said it was one of the best nights of her life.

?: “Have you ever met anyone from your favourite band(s)?”