Another Concert Post

Amanda, Alexis, and I have been waiting for this day since March and we were so glad that it finally got here!

Of course we were going mainly for AFI who started the show. But first we had to sit in this 2 hour and 10 minute line. Why? Well, even through we got there at 4:40 planning to walk in at 5:30, the band for 30 Seconds To Mars NEVER SHOWED UP for their meet and greet so that pushed back sound check which pushed back EVERYTHING else. 

We finally got to the VIP field section around 640 and AFI took the stage at somepoint. They were fantastic as always despite some technical issues with Davey's mic. Unfortunately for the fans of the band, the guys didn't get to do an elaborate set like we're used to but we will take the 8-9 songs that we were given. I know I have talked quite a bit about Hunter Hayes on here but AFI was my first real obsession. I came home one day from middle school and I turned on MTV. On my television was this guy: 

Singing about murder and holding a bunny in some video for some song called "Miss Murder."  I can't actually tell you how much I disliked this song and video the first time I heard it. Then I started coming home envy day and it was on. Eventually I caught myself singing along and then I looked it up and found other songs and that is how my obsession with AFI (Davey Havok in particular) began. That was also the start of my punk/alt stage. I learned EVERYTHING I could possible get my cursor on about this band and this man. They were my outlet. This is what I did to not worry about anything else and they could not be a better band to fall in love with. Yes Davey might look a little odd in that picture for a punk rock/alt/screams/emo frontman but he's also a staight edge, vegan, animal activist who doesn't have a bad side that I've been able to find. Nowadays Davey looks more like this:

Which fits him just as well as multitude of other looks has. He is a man of many haircuts.

Any way, their set was pretty sick. At one point Davey made it to our side of the stage and we were some of the only people in our section who were singing along to the now 15 year old song. Amanda and I both ended up pointing at Davey and you know what? He pointed back! I kind of freaked out for the rest of the song. 

However, that was nothing compared to what happened as the guys headed off stage. We were standing to the side where all of the bands were going to enter and exit so I knew to look for them. Strangely, we we the only ones (who seemed to be) paying attention to this side and I managed to catch all four of the band members getting in to a golf cart. I turned to my girls and said, "Golf Cart golf cart golf cart! Guys!" And then I started waving at the golf cart. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Adam Carson (the drummer) and Hunter Burgan (the bassist) noticed me (and Amanda and Alexis as I later learned) waving at them and waved back! My response was shrieking and jumping up and down which led to Jade Puget (guitar) looking at us and slowly waving. This resulted in even more screaming which caused Davey to pop his head around Jade to look at us as well. BEST MOMENT EVER!

Amanda decided she was done at that point and that nothing could get better so she sat down in that spot and didn't move from it until we left. However, we still had two more bands to get through. 

30STM  took the stage just as it was starting to get dark and their fans were intense. It felt like a religious experience. Jared Leto came out looking like a new age Jesus Christ and they all seemed to treat him like he was. Their set was very high energy but I'm going to credit that to what ever it was that Jared was on because he was insane. It was like watching Jim Morrison reincarnated. At one point he jumped over the gate (and literally on to Amanda) just to run through the crowd and then part them as though they were the Red Sea. He was a really good vocalist though and put on a good show despite the fact that I only knew 7 songs and he autisti-fied my favorite. Shortly after he asked for a show of hands if this was their first time seeing Thirty Seconds to Mars live and we made some noise. He then followed that with the sentence: "That is a lot of virginity to take. I'm tired already" /Facepalm

Linkin Park took the stage around 10:00 and even though I didn't know half of the songs that they played, Chester is a ferocious performer. I mean he's an animal on stage. I was not expecting his vocals to be as raw and as identical to the studio versions as they were. Holy hell. Shinoda was pretty sick as well and the pforman as whole was just so loud and bright and exciting and whoa. Alexis and I were moshed on and I almost decked one of them in the face but that didn't happen. 

Overall it was a kickass show to have been a part of. We were all pretty statisfied with how things went. Worth all the standing.

And here is an artistic picture of our feet.

Oh my goosshhhhhhh

IT'S CONCERT DAY

AHHHHHH ITS HERE!!! I GET TO SEE HUNTER IN 5 HOURS!!!

I will be road tripping with Amanda to get to Estero, Florida and then we're Hayesing it up for 7 hours. Pictures will follow later. I can't handle my life. 

Amanda and I arrived at Germain Arena around 2:30pm which meant that I had time to put on makeup and change into my concert outfit.  Afterwards, I stood in line for 45 minutes and made friends with two mother/daughter pairs. I know one of the girls' names was Miranda but the other one I can't remember for the life of me which makes me sad. I will have to find her on Instagram.

Anyway, the meet and greet finally came and it was fantastic. Hunter walked in as calm and nice as ever, sang a few notes of "Hey Soul Sister" by Train for a few girls who were playing Heads Up, and then he gave a quick run down of why they were starting late. Apparently they arrived to the venue late by their standards so set up, sound check, and Hunter's other meet and greets were starting later than  scheduled. When he finished his apology/explaination/thanking everyone for their help and patience he kind of laughed at himself, gave a brief expanation of how Coffee House works (you ask questions, he answers, and then you get one small thing signed and a picture with him) and then he kind of stood there waiting for someone to ask a question.

Im normally really, really shy and I like to wait for the group but I decided in that moment to raise my hand and start Q and A session. He appreciated this and actually thanked me/encouraged a round of applause from the rest of the people for me deciding to go first. Then he asked me my name and if we had ever met before which I told him we had. Essentially this is what happened:

Him: "Oh sweet, where?"

Me: "In Savannah"

Him: "Savannah. Savannah..."

Random person: "Georgia! The Crazy Tour!"

Him: "OH!! Awesome! You were on the Crazy tour! When? Before or after the show?"

Me: "Actually it was in one of these!"

Him (with this amazingly goofy smile on his face as he raised his arms and gestured around the room): "We've upgraded right?"

Me: "Yeah, this is awesome. Very Swanky"

The entire CHE applauded/ complimented the use of the word swanky.

Him" Thank you so much! What was your question?"

Me:"I just wanted to ask about covering 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" because I don't think I have ever been more in love with your voice ever than on that song, especially on the high notes"

The expressions on his face were some of the most spectacular I have ever seen him make. He was apparently blown away by that compliment and probably said several derivatives of the 'Thank You' like 6 times. before answering.

Him: "Thank you so much. Wow. That's so funny that you say that because I was actually losing my voice when I went in to recorded. Can I tell you a funny story?"

me and everyone else:" OF COURSE"

Him: " *laughing* Well, like I said, I was losing my voice. We had two days booked in the studio but we really only had one day to record. I knew I was losing my voice so I called in Sam to sing with me as well but I went in and I figured that Paul would hear me and after one time be like 'Okay you're done come in' but we ended up doing three takes, all without the chorus because I KNEW that I couldn't sing that part. I had no flasetto. They ended up staking all three of the takes on top of each other but they were still missing the chorus. I actually ended up recording it on a kitchen chair at my apartment in my closet. *laughter*  It was weeks later, two days before everything was due for the record and I was at my apartment in Nashville and I finally had my voice back so I went to record it. My apartment is very loud. Its got wood floors and high ceilings so everything is loud. The only place I could record was in my closet surrounded by my ridiculous amount of jackets. SO, I grabbed a chair and set up the mic and everything, recorded the track, and emailed it to Paul who put it in to the final version which is what you guys hear."

Me: "Well its fantastic and beautiful. You did an amazing job."

Him:" Thank you, really. That's so awesome to hear. I've been wanting to put it into the show I'm just not sure if everyone knows it yet. I'm going to have to put in at somepoint I'm sure. Thank you again. I feel like I just scared everyone for asking questions now *laughter* 'Oh lord, he takes 20 minutes to answer each question. Better not ask him anything else' it's okay I promise!"

I was floored and amazed and I don't even know. That's one of my favorite songs so its just so amazing to hear more information behind it.

Other people got to ask questions and he was pretty long winded with each one. Then he told us that because we were the last show on the tour that we would be getting some new stuff and that "friends wil be visiting."

 Then it was picture time. I was in the middle so my time with him one on one was even more rushed because they were running late. I hugged him and told him it was good to see him again. He asked me  my name one more time and apologized for forgetting it. Then I had him sign my bag which is pictured below and then we got to take a picture. Afterwards, I hugged him and told him he was a beautiful human which is something I say to a ton of people and I don't mean it in a physical sense. I mean it as more of a commentary on how someone is performing as a human being. Hunter is a fantastic one. He also obviously has no idea what I'm talking about when I say that and he responded with "Aww no, you're beautiful" and that is when I died. 

The concert was fantastic. He was on stage for about 2 and half hours which is a little less than what he promised (inside joke for the CHE where he said that he was thinking it was going to be closer to three hours and then  said "Watch, now we are going to be on stage for 2 hours and 59 minutes and all of you are going to be mad. You're all going to be like 'That little punk! He said three hours and he lied! Him and his 22 year old self with the ego. Gosh!' " IT WAS SO ADORABLE) but it is okay. He changed the set list, cutting out "Cry With You" and "A Thing About You" for sure. I know there were more but I would have to do some cross referencing which i don't have time for at the moment. He added about 9 songs as well which we were all very pleased with.

I had a pit ticket so I was ridiculously close to the stage so video and pictures will eventually be posted somewhere. My favorite part of the night though was Hunter looking me dead in the eyes for a section of 'Wanted' and that right there is a really good feeling.

K

Very Unhappy Hayniac

I'll be honest and tell you that this is a straight out whiney, full of complaints post. If you're planning on judging me for it you should really re-evaluate your priorities in life because I promise  you that you have 10 million things you could be spending your time on other than reading this and judging me for my petty little problems. 

Anyway, today I realized that my seats for the concert on Saturday aren't where I thought they were. The type of ticket I bought is a meet and greet ticket. The last time I had one of those my seat was the second row from the stage. I am officially spoiled when it comes to Hunter Hayes concerts. Well I was doing research last night and I discovered that while my ticket says "Floor 1, Row 1" it means that its approximately 45 feet away from the back of the standing room only pit section. This bothers me and I feel that I am justified in being bothered considering the amount of money that ticket cost (it was a graduation present). I did some further research today and I discovered that the pit section was only 55 dollars. That's around 20% of what my ticket costs. That makes me really, really agitated regardless of the fact that I understand why my ticket costs the amount that it does. I am having coffee with the artist, I honestly understand. I just don't understand why it wasn't explicitly stated in any of the literature I was given about the concert (I read it all, twice) that the meet and greet tickets had reserved seating behind the pit. When I first looked at these tickets, pit wasn't even listed. I would have noticed it three months ago, trust me. Arrrgghhhhhhh. I just dislike it. They pay not even half of what I did and they get some of best views in the house? Uhm how about no? 

I remedied this situation by finding a pit ticket on Stub Hub and deciding "you know what, I

That's where I want to sit, what is another 60?" and I bought the damn thing. So there. And before anyone sits there and tells me I'm spoiled or selfish or what have you, I earned that money. It was a present to myself. These were not options I had regularly growing up and every concert I went to prior to age 14 was a gift. Yes, I understand that some people never have the option to go to a concert at all. Yes, I understand that some people will never have the option to meet their idol at all let alone a second time. I told you it was a complain post.

In other news, my sister and her husband celebrate their 8th wedding anniversary today which is awesome. They've been through way too much in their 13 year relationship so its exciting that they were able to celebrate today even it was with just dinner. I forgot and had made plans with Catherine but then my sister told me this morning and I had to move Catherine time to tomorrow. I got to rock my pajamas and play with small kids all day. Woo!

This Is Happening

 "Gonna wish I had a storm warning! I'm gonna wish I had a sign" -Storm Warning Hunter Hayes

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHKSRJFDIEHDIJRNLFI !!!!! I JUST GOT MY COFFEE HOUSE EXPERIENCE PACKAGE EARLY WHICH MEANS THAT I AM ALL SET TO MEET HUNTER HAYES ON MAY 31ST OH MY GOOSSSHHHHHH!!!!!

On another note, Brandi and I decide today to start choreographing our dance for a talent show we are participating in on campus!!! If you recognize the picture above then you can assume that the song is a Britney Spears song that Glee covers. We are really excited to present "Me Against the Music" next Saturday and hopefully raise a ton of money for charity!

In even further news, I was diagnosed with acute bronchitis and "allergies" so they gave me some nasal spray and told me to rest. Instead I danced and screamed. Go me. 

College Country Concert

Yes I know this says Danielle Bradbury... It was all my phone would let me upload at the time

After a productive day going to class and promoting my sorority, I was surprised with Brad Paisley tickets!! AHHHHHH!!!!  Currently a group of sisters and I are waiting for him to go onstage while people dance in the aisles and do other fun things.  And while I blog. No excuses! I will not miss a day!

Occurrences like this one remind me how lucky I actually am. Especially when I don't feel all that lucky. I need to stop taking so many things for granted and I know that.  It's another thing to work on.

UPDATE:

Bad picture but TADA! BRAD PAISLEY