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bootson[warning: this is SUPER LONG under the cuts]
Last night, as anyone who follows me on Twitter is well aware at this point, I was in Lancaster, PA to see Rooney with The Young Veins and Black Gold. By bff Katie (who only recognize Rooney and The Young Veins because I talk about them all the time) went with me and we learned a few things (so count this as the Cliff's Notes version):
1. We hate Pennsylvania...we blame it being above the Mason Dixon Line
2. The people in Lancaster are too into personal space when they're at shows.
3. Black Gold should be a big deal. They're fun/amazing/etc.
4. Ryan Ross seems way more pretentious than I ever realized. (Still cute, but not as much as Jon Walker, though)
5. Rooney's drummer is even more awesome than I already thought he was.
6. If you aren't into the music at a show, I judge you. Harshly. And talk shit. To your face.
First, I'm an idiot and forgot to charge my camera. Then proceeded to forget my camera charger so I couldn't even get it charged up any at Jenn's before the show. Then my phone was about to die right before Young Veins went on so I didn't get many pics of Young Veins or Rooney. Whatever, the memories are better anyway.
We drove to Jenn's because her parents were nice enough to let us crash there so we went an hour past Lancaster to get to COatesville. She lives in a new development so the GPS didn't have her road and we ended up getting lost. That was fun. Turns out, when we called and asked her for directions from downtown (aka the ghetto of) Coatesville, we were on the right street...but we were going in the wrong direction. For like half an hour. So. But we made it. Went and had bad sandwiches for dinner and ate a lot of candy before leaving an hour and a half before show time to make it less than an hour back to Lancaster. Luckily, we didn't get lost there...and if anyone needs directions around downtown Lancaster...I can probably get you where you need to go because I drove circles around it so many times looking for street parking so I wouldn't have to pay for the garage.
Black Gold
So we get there about half an hour after the doors open (fucking parking) and work our way up to about six people back from stage right. Local dude goes off fifteen or so minutes later and Black GOld comes on. I knew little more about them than "The lead singer was the touring keyboardist for Panic! at the Disco" going in. But they're AWESOME. Eric (lead vocals/keys) is hillarious and animated. The drummer is possibly one of my favorite drummers based solely on skill. They had this great little bit with him and the guitarist playing snare...it rocked. The songs are really fun and catchy. I'm a fan. You should look them up because they're fun and Eric's voice is great.
The Young Veins
Then The Young Veins come on. So immediately there are two sets of girls (one group in front of us and another somewhere around center stage/center crowd) who start screaming at Ryan becaue OMGRYANROSS!@#E!@!@W@!!!! Whatever. I'm convinced that guy is super pretentious. Probably because everytime someone yelled at him he gets this shiteating grin and cocky demeanor (as opposed to when people yelled at Jon Walker and he's all ducking his head and looking cute as hell). And he needs a hair cut. He's still adorable, though. Also, I can't reason out why Ryan wore a suit. I sort of expected it, but it's ridiculous. Also, Jon Walker is really skinny in person...like a lot more than I expected.
That's not the important stuff because when I say "I'm in it for the music," I mean it; the rest is just icing. They opened with "The Other Girl." They were REALLY good. Normally, bands sound way different live; they might still sound good but they usually aren't as good. When TYV said they wanted to sound live on the album, they managed it well. In fact, I think they sound better live. Ryan's voice is stronger. The keyboard is less...off. Nick on drums (which ever Nick that is, I can never remember which is which just that there are two Nicks and one's on drums while the other is on keys) was a little rough at first but he warmed up and was really on it during "Defiance". They covered "When You Walk Into The Room" and "Security." Ryan singing "Security" might just be one of my favorite things ever. They had this cute little banter before "Cape Town" where Ryan talks about being in Africa. It went a little somethign like this.
Ryan: I knew this girl for about 15 minutes and thought I was in love with her.
Jon: Well, about an hour.
Ryan: Luckily, Jon managed to convince me I wasn't in love and couldn't move to Africa.
Since "Cape Town" is Katie's favorite TYV song (I've forced the cd on her ever since I got it), it was her favorite part and we have a million little jokes about it.
For "Dangerous Blues," Ryan asked "Have any of you ever been in love? [random screams in the affirmative] If you haven't, I don't recommend it." Cliche, maybe...but I actually liked that little quip.
"Change" is WAY better live. They closed the show with that. All in all, I was really impressed (even though I went into it expecting to be lol). I'm still convinced Jon sings better than Ryan. Andy is adorable. I'd see them again (except maybe not in Pennsylvania haha).
Rooney
So then HALF the crowd vanishes because TYV is going to be back selling merch and stuff with Black Gold. I would have but I also really like Rooney so I wasn't going to miss that for the chance to fight the crazies to get around Ryan and to Jon. So, Katie and I moved to the other side of the stage and I ended up one person away from the guitarist. Eventuallly, I was actually against the stage and the speakers (my ears are still ringing a little lol). I got to grab the lead singer and guitarist's hands. It was awesome.
Before they came on, though, some girl right by the stage was dehydrated or something and passed out. It was pretty freaky. Then she tried to stay there...WTF? She did eventually go sit down or cool off or whatever.
So anyway, I was a little worried Rooney would be playing more songs off their new album "Eureka" and since I haven't had the money to get it yet, I don't know those songs...but they played a lot of my favorites from their other albums. They opened with "Blueside" and ended up playing "Shakin'," "Sorry Sorry," "Daisy Duke," "If It Were Up To Me," "I Should've Been After You" and so many other good ones. The crowd was FINALLY into it. Most of the people around us were totally rocking out, especially for "Shakin'" and "Sorry Sorry." I was a little too excited about "I Should've Been After You" and "If It Were Up To Me," but those are two of my favorites, so it couldn't be helped. They covered "Runaway" which was especially awesome because Katie's dad's band does that song and I love hearing various takes on a song. I had to fight some kid in a red shirt and bad glasses to get to the stage when a couple girls moved but whatever, I made it.
Ned (Their drummer) is AMAZING. His voice? At least as good as Robert's(lead singer). Also, he was wearing hot pink converses....it was awesome. Brandon (bass) reminds me of Marshall from HIMYM for reasons I can't explain. TAYLOR (lead guitar)...oh. my. god. That guy....that guy is so phenomenal that I can't even put it into words. Seriously. You need to hear them. Go buy their stuff. Their sound used to be a little bit like TYV...sort of chill and peppy even with heavy subjects but they're a little bit more edgy now...a little bit of a harder rock sound than before but still really good. Also, the way they interact with the crowd is great. Some girl yelled that she loved Robert and he dedicated a song to her, after guessing her name as Elizabeth and Gladys then telling her "Toni? That's a cool name for a chick." He was all about talking to the balcony. I was pretty impressed. Plus, he actually came over to our corner of the stage instead of only playing to the center.
Random note: Their tech is awesome. No idea who the dude is, but he impresses me.
Post-show
So then everyone's all rushing to the back since Rooney's signing shit after and I was all set to buy Eureka or a TYV shirt or some shit and get something signed (even though I already have autographs from all of TYV) but we were really thirsty so we're getting water first and katie is tiny so she made her way up to the bar and while she's waiting, Ryan Ross comes over and when the bartender brought Katie her drink, Ryan (who is like a giant compared to her) leans all the way over her. It was pretty awesome. Then she's getting dirty looks from some chick trying to get a picture with Ryan because Katie was sort of in her way I guess but she was just trying to move and really doesn't give a fuck who Ryan is anyway lol. Then I got plowed into by Andy from TYV and was about to be all bitchy (as I am) until I saw who it was. He said he was sorry and like patted my shoulder on his way by. I was irrationally excited.
All in all, really fucking awesome night. The music was good and with the bands it was sort of like upbeat-chill-upbeat. I had fun. Even if my cheap ass bracelet turned my hand green and my ears are still ringing and my whole body aches for dancing around like a crazy person for like 4 hours.
A rant because, really, some people shouldn't be allowed to go to shows
So, I understand people don't go to shows to see all the bands, right? I mean, I had next to zero interest in Black Gold myself. Still, you can dance around a little. Get into the music, move around a little. I feel bad for the guys working hard up there and TRYING so much to get people into it (like Black Gold furing "Break Down") and nobody even cares.
Even that I could forgive. But WHEN YOU COME TO SEE A BAND IN PARTICULAR, would it KILL YOU TO FUCKING ACT EXCITED? Like, there were these girls in front of us that I KNEW were there only for TYV. It's all they were talking about, all I heard was "Ryan" and "Young Veins" and "fuckiing sexy" even before the band came on. And once they were actually up there? They're all looking bored or grouchy and standing super still. I'm liek "JON WALKER SEES YOU IF HE LOOKS DOWN, FUCKING SMILE." Maybe you don't have the album yet, maybe you do but don't know the words; either way, would it kill you bitches to sway a little bit? Maybe throw an arm in the air? Shift your fucking feet or bend your damn knees? THEY DID NONE OF THIS. They didn't even sing along so they PROBABLY didn't know the words. The girl RIGHT in front of me even had the Young Veins "Take a Vacation!" sunglasses...which you had to buy a fucking set of shit with the album to get. And they all looked BORED. Then, as soon as TYV went off, they all ran back to try to jump on Ryan Ross' cock or something.
The same during Rooney. While most people were into it (even a few people who I know were only there for TYV because they knew ALL the words to the songs), dancing around and jumping and singing what they could and screaming and acting excited like one typically does at a show, especially in a small venue...there were some people who literally jsut stood there, up sort of close to the stage, with scowls on their faces and refusing to even bob their heads.
I just don't get it. If you're only there because someone made you come (like Katie) can you at least get into the music (Katie totally did and I did for Black Gold)? If you came for a certain band can you at least familiarize yourself with the music? If you come seriously only to see Ryan Ross or Jon Walker or Robert or Ned from Rooney....I think you're taking up space and you're annoying. I'm all for seeing people you really like...that's fine. But these are bands. I only listened to TYV to see what Ryan and Jon were going to do but then I got into their music. If I hadn't liked their music, I wouldn't have bothered going even if it had been in fucking Hagerstown and not 2 hours from home. Those guys work hard and I'm disappointed that people who clearly only came to see a certain band only came for the chance to touch them and say they got a picture or take up space by the stage where someone who is at least into the music, if not the band, could be.
We pissed off a couple girls because I literally told this chick with a big nose "if you're just going to stand there and look bored, get out of my fucking way" after she glared at Katie for dancing and bumping into her. Girl swayed a little after that (this was the same girl with the sunglasses).
I guess what I'm saying is that I'm disappointed with the crowd. They show no enthusiasm unless they can get a semi-famous person's attention for a 2.5 seconds to snap a picture. These are fangirls, okay, they should be my kindred. But they let me down. And some of them weren't young enough for me to just roll my eyes and excuse it as them being babies.
Now that I've gotten all that out, I'm taking a nap. I'll be back later to answer comments from the past couple days and do the next (aka yesterday's heh) intallment of Attractive Celebrity Idol.
<3
Last night, as anyone who follows me on Twitter is well aware at this point, I was in Lancaster, PA to see Rooney with The Young Veins and Black Gold. By bff Katie (who only recognize Rooney and The Young Veins because I talk about them all the time) went with me and we learned a few things (so count this as the Cliff's Notes version):
1. We hate Pennsylvania...we blame it being above the Mason Dixon Line
2. The people in Lancaster are too into personal space when they're at shows.
3. Black Gold should be a big deal. They're fun/amazing/etc.
4. Ryan Ross seems way more pretentious than I ever realized. (Still cute, but not as much as Jon Walker, though)
5. Rooney's drummer is even more awesome than I already thought he was.
6. If you aren't into the music at a show, I judge you. Harshly. And talk shit. To your face.
First, I'm an idiot and forgot to charge my camera. Then proceeded to forget my camera charger so I couldn't even get it charged up any at Jenn's before the show. Then my phone was about to die right before Young Veins went on so I didn't get many pics of Young Veins or Rooney. Whatever, the memories are better anyway.
We drove to Jenn's because her parents were nice enough to let us crash there so we went an hour past Lancaster to get to COatesville. She lives in a new development so the GPS didn't have her road and we ended up getting lost. That was fun. Turns out, when we called and asked her for directions from downtown (aka the ghetto of) Coatesville, we were on the right street...but we were going in the wrong direction. For like half an hour. So. But we made it. Went and had bad sandwiches for dinner and ate a lot of candy before leaving an hour and a half before show time to make it less than an hour back to Lancaster. Luckily, we didn't get lost there...and if anyone needs directions around downtown Lancaster...I can probably get you where you need to go because I drove circles around it so many times looking for street parking so I wouldn't have to pay for the garage.
Black Gold
So we get there about half an hour after the doors open (fucking parking) and work our way up to about six people back from stage right. Local dude goes off fifteen or so minutes later and Black GOld comes on. I knew little more about them than "The lead singer was the touring keyboardist for Panic! at the Disco" going in. But they're AWESOME. Eric (lead vocals/keys) is hillarious and animated. The drummer is possibly one of my favorite drummers based solely on skill. They had this great little bit with him and the guitarist playing snare...it rocked. The songs are really fun and catchy. I'm a fan. You should look them up because they're fun and Eric's voice is great.
The Young Veins
Then The Young Veins come on. So immediately there are two sets of girls (one group in front of us and another somewhere around center stage/center crowd) who start screaming at Ryan becaue OMGRYANROSS!@#E!@!@W@!!!! Whatever. I'm convinced that guy is super pretentious. Probably because everytime someone yelled at him he gets this shiteating grin and cocky demeanor (as opposed to when people yelled at Jon Walker and he's all ducking his head and looking cute as hell). And he needs a hair cut. He's still adorable, though. Also, I can't reason out why Ryan wore a suit. I sort of expected it, but it's ridiculous. Also, Jon Walker is really skinny in person...like a lot more than I expected.
That's not the important stuff because when I say "I'm in it for the music," I mean it; the rest is just icing. They opened with "The Other Girl." They were REALLY good. Normally, bands sound way different live; they might still sound good but they usually aren't as good. When TYV said they wanted to sound live on the album, they managed it well. In fact, I think they sound better live. Ryan's voice is stronger. The keyboard is less...off. Nick on drums (which ever Nick that is, I can never remember which is which just that there are two Nicks and one's on drums while the other is on keys) was a little rough at first but he warmed up and was really on it during "Defiance". They covered "When You Walk Into The Room" and "Security." Ryan singing "Security" might just be one of my favorite things ever. They had this cute little banter before "Cape Town" where Ryan talks about being in Africa. It went a little somethign like this.
Ryan: I knew this girl for about 15 minutes and thought I was in love with her.
Jon: Well, about an hour.
Ryan: Luckily, Jon managed to convince me I wasn't in love and couldn't move to Africa.
Since "Cape Town" is Katie's favorite TYV song (I've forced the cd on her ever since I got it), it was her favorite part and we have a million little jokes about it.
For "Dangerous Blues," Ryan asked "Have any of you ever been in love? [random screams in the affirmative] If you haven't, I don't recommend it." Cliche, maybe...but I actually liked that little quip.
"Change" is WAY better live. They closed the show with that. All in all, I was really impressed (even though I went into it expecting to be lol). I'm still convinced Jon sings better than Ryan. Andy is adorable. I'd see them again (except maybe not in Pennsylvania haha).
Rooney
So then HALF the crowd vanishes because TYV is going to be back selling merch and stuff with Black Gold. I would have but I also really like Rooney so I wasn't going to miss that for the chance to fight the crazies to get around Ryan and to Jon. So, Katie and I moved to the other side of the stage and I ended up one person away from the guitarist. Eventuallly, I was actually against the stage and the speakers (my ears are still ringing a little lol). I got to grab the lead singer and guitarist's hands. It was awesome.
Before they came on, though, some girl right by the stage was dehydrated or something and passed out. It was pretty freaky. Then she tried to stay there...WTF? She did eventually go sit down or cool off or whatever.
So anyway, I was a little worried Rooney would be playing more songs off their new album "Eureka" and since I haven't had the money to get it yet, I don't know those songs...but they played a lot of my favorites from their other albums. They opened with "Blueside" and ended up playing "Shakin'," "Sorry Sorry," "Daisy Duke," "If It Were Up To Me," "I Should've Been After You" and so many other good ones. The crowd was FINALLY into it. Most of the people around us were totally rocking out, especially for "Shakin'" and "Sorry Sorry." I was a little too excited about "I Should've Been After You" and "If It Were Up To Me," but those are two of my favorites, so it couldn't be helped. They covered "Runaway" which was especially awesome because Katie's dad's band does that song and I love hearing various takes on a song. I had to fight some kid in a red shirt and bad glasses to get to the stage when a couple girls moved but whatever, I made it.
Ned (Their drummer) is AMAZING. His voice? At least as good as Robert's(lead singer). Also, he was wearing hot pink converses....it was awesome. Brandon (bass) reminds me of Marshall from HIMYM for reasons I can't explain. TAYLOR (lead guitar)...oh. my. god. That guy....that guy is so phenomenal that I can't even put it into words. Seriously. You need to hear them. Go buy their stuff. Their sound used to be a little bit like TYV...sort of chill and peppy even with heavy subjects but they're a little bit more edgy now...a little bit of a harder rock sound than before but still really good. Also, the way they interact with the crowd is great. Some girl yelled that she loved Robert and he dedicated a song to her, after guessing her name as Elizabeth and Gladys then telling her "Toni? That's a cool name for a chick." He was all about talking to the balcony. I was pretty impressed. Plus, he actually came over to our corner of the stage instead of only playing to the center.
Random note: Their tech is awesome. No idea who the dude is, but he impresses me.
Post-show
So then everyone's all rushing to the back since Rooney's signing shit after and I was all set to buy Eureka or a TYV shirt or some shit and get something signed (even though I already have autographs from all of TYV) but we were really thirsty so we're getting water first and katie is tiny so she made her way up to the bar and while she's waiting, Ryan Ross comes over and when the bartender brought Katie her drink, Ryan (who is like a giant compared to her) leans all the way over her. It was pretty awesome. Then she's getting dirty looks from some chick trying to get a picture with Ryan because Katie was sort of in her way I guess but she was just trying to move and really doesn't give a fuck who Ryan is anyway lol. Then I got plowed into by Andy from TYV and was about to be all bitchy (as I am) until I saw who it was. He said he was sorry and like patted my shoulder on his way by. I was irrationally excited.
All in all, really fucking awesome night. The music was good and with the bands it was sort of like upbeat-chill-upbeat. I had fun. Even if my cheap ass bracelet turned my hand green and my ears are still ringing and my whole body aches for dancing around like a crazy person for like 4 hours.
A rant because, really, some people shouldn't be allowed to go to shows
So, I understand people don't go to shows to see all the bands, right? I mean, I had next to zero interest in Black Gold myself. Still, you can dance around a little. Get into the music, move around a little. I feel bad for the guys working hard up there and TRYING so much to get people into it (like Black Gold furing "Break Down") and nobody even cares.
Even that I could forgive. But WHEN YOU COME TO SEE A BAND IN PARTICULAR, would it KILL YOU TO FUCKING ACT EXCITED? Like, there were these girls in front of us that I KNEW were there only for TYV. It's all they were talking about, all I heard was "Ryan" and "Young Veins" and "fuckiing sexy" even before the band came on. And once they were actually up there? They're all looking bored or grouchy and standing super still. I'm liek "JON WALKER SEES YOU IF HE LOOKS DOWN, FUCKING SMILE." Maybe you don't have the album yet, maybe you do but don't know the words; either way, would it kill you bitches to sway a little bit? Maybe throw an arm in the air? Shift your fucking feet or bend your damn knees? THEY DID NONE OF THIS. They didn't even sing along so they PROBABLY didn't know the words. The girl RIGHT in front of me even had the Young Veins "Take a Vacation!" sunglasses...which you had to buy a fucking set of shit with the album to get. And they all looked BORED. Then, as soon as TYV went off, they all ran back to try to jump on Ryan Ross' cock or something.
The same during Rooney. While most people were into it (even a few people who I know were only there for TYV because they knew ALL the words to the songs), dancing around and jumping and singing what they could and screaming and acting excited like one typically does at a show, especially in a small venue...there were some people who literally jsut stood there, up sort of close to the stage, with scowls on their faces and refusing to even bob their heads.
I just don't get it. If you're only there because someone made you come (like Katie) can you at least get into the music (Katie totally did and I did for Black Gold)? If you came for a certain band can you at least familiarize yourself with the music? If you come seriously only to see Ryan Ross or Jon Walker or Robert or Ned from Rooney....I think you're taking up space and you're annoying. I'm all for seeing people you really like...that's fine. But these are bands. I only listened to TYV to see what Ryan and Jon were going to do but then I got into their music. If I hadn't liked their music, I wouldn't have bothered going even if it had been in fucking Hagerstown and not 2 hours from home. Those guys work hard and I'm disappointed that people who clearly only came to see a certain band only came for the chance to touch them and say they got a picture or take up space by the stage where someone who is at least into the music, if not the band, could be.
We pissed off a couple girls because I literally told this chick with a big nose "if you're just going to stand there and look bored, get out of my fucking way" after she glared at Katie for dancing and bumping into her. Girl swayed a little after that (this was the same girl with the sunglasses).
I guess what I'm saying is that I'm disappointed with the crowd. They show no enthusiasm unless they can get a semi-famous person's attention for a 2.5 seconds to snap a picture. These are fangirls, okay, they should be my kindred. But they let me down. And some of them weren't young enough for me to just roll my eyes and excuse it as them being babies.
Now that I've gotten all that out, I'm taking a nap. I'll be back later to answer comments from the past couple days and do the next (aka yesterday's heh) intallment of Attractive Celebrity Idol.
<3
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