Well, here I am again, once again in my favorite corner of my mom's big comfy blue couch typing on HER laptop while I wait for my sister to arrive and our hella girly sleepover to commence, I'm talking manis, pedis, facials, hair cuts, and probably a serious Netflix binge of shows involving David Tutera. In case you all are keeping track, my 27th birthday just passed and I've somehow reached the point in my life where all I really wanted was to relax with my family and maybe a little extra money to pay my credit card bill. I've been adulting so hard lately that it is STRESSING ME THE FUCK OUT. I actually called my dad this week to discuss the prospect of purchasing a home, but there is something about being in my moms house with my sister that makes me feel not-so-adult again. I swear if someone asked me right now what my favorite childhood memory was I'd be quick to answer "not paying bills" Can I get an AMEN?
My handsome bald boyfriend and I have a few go to movies we like to watch when there is nothing good on TV, basically always, which is why we are saying a swift ADIOS to Comcast this month.
Top 3:
1. I Love You, Man
2. Date Night
3. The Wolf of Wall Street
Go ahead and take a second to judge me and my relationship.
Okay let me get to my point, in 'Date Night' Kristen Wiig and her husband are splitting up because she is "drowning in a river of sameness." I always laughed at that before, but now, although I wouldn't say I'm drowning in said river, I am about chest deep. My life is getting super routine and I'm in search of a little reprieve.
I know you're wondering where the title of this post comes in....just wait, it's a good one (and if you're my brother you know the answer....even though you never responded to my text about it, tsk tsk).
"If you left if up to me
Every day would be a holiday from real
We'd waste our weeks beneath the sun
We'd fry our brains and say it's so much fun out here"
10 points if you can name the song and album before scrolling.
Lately Pandora has been giving me nothing but shit music that I forcefully thumbs down, but Thursday night when I was driving home from the gym it gave me this gem: Holiday From Real by Jack's Mannequin.
Sidebar: The realization that Everything in Transit is 10 years old is one I can't swallow at the moment.
Have you ever heard anything in your life that sounds more like me than that does?! I mean, these days I waste my weeks beneath the sun while wearing AT LEAST 25 SPF and choose to fry my brains without the heavy use of controlled substances (for the most part). But that's exactly what I'm looking for, a holiday from real (especially since I'm still deep in the midst of a 2 month post vacation depression and my savings account is shutting down any and all hopes of a spontaneous weekend getaway with previously mentioned handsome bald boyfriend.)
Don't get me wrong here, my life is great. I share a cutesy beach apartment with my loving boyfriend of 3 years (my Dad told me it had a "rich feel" to it, so there's that), I'd have to be forcibly removed my job because I love it so much, and all of my bills are getting paid (maybe not always on time but certainly within the grace period.) But there are still things I will never be a grown up about:
My cell phone: despite growing up in this age of technology, I just don't give a shit about it. I never remember to charge it until it's gives me that sad little 4% battery beep, which is EVERY SINGLE day of my life; and lets be real, that's assuming I have a working phone, which just isn't a consistency in my life.
My gas tank: it's NEVER full, I put just the right amount of gas in it to get my through to my next payday. I know it makes more sense to fill it all the way up...but I just don't care that much.
My entertainment choices: I really feel like I'm a smart, functioning member of society but apparently not smart enough to understand and/or enjoy award winning, important, influential movies. I'm always going to pick the stupid comedy, the Disney princess movie, or I'm just gonna watch every episode of The Office on Netflix. I'm still gonna re-read all the Harry Potter books, go see the last Hunger Games movie, and see Taylor Swift in concert...and I really don't care what anyone has to say about it.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Thursday, August 28, 2014
All signs point to...
First, let me just take a minute to pat myself on the back. It's been 2 years and 13 days since I've posted here and I managed to login with minimal bullshit and only 2 password attempts.
My 26 year old self is different in every way imaginable from the 23 year old Laura who started this blog 3 years ago; I couldn't help but think about it as I drove home from my Mom's house on this gorgeous sunshine state afternoon. The last time I posted here, I had packed up and moved into her spare bedroom on a whim, as a single girl looking for a fun summer at the beach (and you can bet your ass I found one). I had transferred at work and made a whole new set of friends to get into trouble with (while continuing to get into trouble with my firey red headed still best friend), and in-between long, hot days spent bikini clad on the beach, sneaking into hotel pools, and getting repeatedly kicked out of the beach bars , I sat in the cozy corner of the most comfortable couch ever made and typed post after post on my little Toshiba laptop. At some point, I lost track of time and forgot all about sweet baby Louder and just let it go. Fast forward 2 years later and I sit here on my 'not yet paid for' brown couch and type this post on my little shattered iPhone (life proof does not protect against throwing your phone against a wall people, I learned that the hard way last week), my beloved lap top has since died and gone to technology hell. I now share an apartment with my handsome boyfriend, our pitbull princess Zoë, and snuggly tuxedo kitty Piper. Today, when I drove home from shopping with my Mom in my new-(ish) grown up girl car, I couldn't even remember that girl I used to be; the girl with the purple hair, the girl whose wardrobe was made up of cut off jeans and band shirts, the girl who believed in and loved music more than everything else....and then I heard it.
My love of music has grown and evolved, or so I thought until I heard and LOVED Taylor Swift's new song 'Shake it Off'- I wanted to believe I was too old to love her.- I was wrong. Anyway, I was listening to one of the 100s of pandora stations I frequent and I heard 'All Signs Point to Lauderdale.' No matter how old I get, I will never not love that song., I love it so much I turned the volume all the way up and rolled the windows down (cue my boyfriend's eye roll since I never let him roll the windows down for fear of tangling my hair). My twitter has since dropped off the face of the planet but my headline was, and still is- if I could remember THAT password, a lyric from that song.
"No one can understand, I just can't be tied down, nothing comes between me and my plans."
I've always loved that, it means something different to me now than it did so many years ago but that whole song gives me the feels just like it always has. I have trouble with self expression sometimes and I've always turned to music and writing to help me sort out what's going on inside my head. For some time now, I've been frustrated with my current situation and being in a position if high authority I have to keep my best 'retail face' on at all times (it doesn't take a genius to figure out what a retail face is but I'll explain later anyway). It's easy to feel alone in frustration, even when I share my feelings with those closest to me, they sympathize but they don't fully understand; but some songs give hope, and a sense of comradarie in a feeling, and inspiration to make a change. So here's my first one, I've always loved writing this blog and I wish I knew the real reason I let it go; I can blame it on boredom, or lack of time, but the truth is I think it's going to take a lot more reflection to figure it out. So from here on out, what separates me from you (haha, get it?) is this keyboard.
My 26 year old self is different in every way imaginable from the 23 year old Laura who started this blog 3 years ago; I couldn't help but think about it as I drove home from my Mom's house on this gorgeous sunshine state afternoon. The last time I posted here, I had packed up and moved into her spare bedroom on a whim, as a single girl looking for a fun summer at the beach (and you can bet your ass I found one). I had transferred at work and made a whole new set of friends to get into trouble with (while continuing to get into trouble with my firey red headed still best friend), and in-between long, hot days spent bikini clad on the beach, sneaking into hotel pools, and getting repeatedly kicked out of the beach bars , I sat in the cozy corner of the most comfortable couch ever made and typed post after post on my little Toshiba laptop. At some point, I lost track of time and forgot all about sweet baby Louder and just let it go. Fast forward 2 years later and I sit here on my 'not yet paid for' brown couch and type this post on my little shattered iPhone (life proof does not protect against throwing your phone against a wall people, I learned that the hard way last week), my beloved lap top has since died and gone to technology hell. I now share an apartment with my handsome boyfriend, our pitbull princess Zoë, and snuggly tuxedo kitty Piper. Today, when I drove home from shopping with my Mom in my new-(ish) grown up girl car, I couldn't even remember that girl I used to be; the girl with the purple hair, the girl whose wardrobe was made up of cut off jeans and band shirts, the girl who believed in and loved music more than everything else....and then I heard it.
My love of music has grown and evolved, or so I thought until I heard and LOVED Taylor Swift's new song 'Shake it Off'- I wanted to believe I was too old to love her.- I was wrong. Anyway, I was listening to one of the 100s of pandora stations I frequent and I heard 'All Signs Point to Lauderdale.' No matter how old I get, I will never not love that song., I love it so much I turned the volume all the way up and rolled the windows down (cue my boyfriend's eye roll since I never let him roll the windows down for fear of tangling my hair). My twitter has since dropped off the face of the planet but my headline was, and still is- if I could remember THAT password, a lyric from that song.
"No one can understand, I just can't be tied down, nothing comes between me and my plans."
I've always loved that, it means something different to me now than it did so many years ago but that whole song gives me the feels just like it always has. I have trouble with self expression sometimes and I've always turned to music and writing to help me sort out what's going on inside my head. For some time now, I've been frustrated with my current situation and being in a position if high authority I have to keep my best 'retail face' on at all times (it doesn't take a genius to figure out what a retail face is but I'll explain later anyway). It's easy to feel alone in frustration, even when I share my feelings with those closest to me, they sympathize but they don't fully understand; but some songs give hope, and a sense of comradarie in a feeling, and inspiration to make a change. So here's my first one, I've always loved writing this blog and I wish I knew the real reason I let it go; I can blame it on boredom, or lack of time, but the truth is I think it's going to take a lot more reflection to figure it out. So from here on out, what separates me from you (haha, get it?) is this keyboard.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Hey honey, you could be my drug...
Before I even start in on the awesomeness that was the night I went to see Walk The Moon and Neon Trees at my favorite venue with the coolest guy I've met in a long time, I just think you should all know what major points you earn in my book for taking me to a concert, any concert (I can only think of one band I wouldn't even go see for free, to avoid ruffling some feathers I won't mention them here but they are ABSOLUTELY NOT hip to my heart, and I DO NOT want to be the only girl they love all their lives- can anyone guess who?)
I'm making the decision right now to spare you all the details of me gushing over this nearly perfect night and focus just on the concert, but I'm smiling to myself as I type because I had such a great time. A few weeks back, after I had called out of work for accidentally being way too hungover to handle my life the next day, I went for an evening stroll on the beach (God, I love living here) with my mom. We walked by Freebird Live because I wanted to check out who was playing. Sidenote: One time, before I lived here, my mom was down in Jax beach and snapped a picture of the marquee at Freebird just because she missed me, 3 days later I drove down for less than 24 hours to see The Maine with my lovely cousin, complete with a raging spider bite on my leg that rendered me useless for the next 3 days. I digress, but that is the reason I insisted on walking by, I'm normally on top of my concert dates, but not always. So, back to the story. Upon seeing the sign I said to my mom "OH! Neon Trees is playing?! I should go to that!" As always, she laughed and started to recount the day I made her drive me to Freebird to stalk Craig Owens, D.R.U.G.S, and Sparks the Rescue because I couldn't afford to go the show (I'm a crazy fangirl for Craig Owens). Needless to say I was stoked when someone with an extra ticket asked me to go, and I began cramming like one might for a huge final exam to try and learn as many songs as I possibly could in 3 days. I failed, but I had a great time anyway.
Every time I go to a show, girls always want to fight me because I insist on pushing through the crowd to get a good spot close up, in the middle, where I can see everything. At Freebird, this is less of a problem, because it's a pretty small venue and assuming you don't get stuck standing behind one of the tall brick pillars (which I obviously do not allow to happen) its easy to see. This particular show, we found ourselves surrounded with a super nice group of people with paint on their faces that I chatted with in between bands (that is, when they weren't all making out with eachother). So many people were rocking the face paint thing, that I was forced to ask one of them about it (I told you, my studying didn't quite pay off). If I had waited 5 more minutes, I would have seen that all the members of Walk The Moon had their faces painted too in homage to their Anna Sun music video. I can only confidently say I knew 3 songs that they played, but I appreciate live music at it's finest, they were awesome and now their songs constantly fill the walls of my house (fun fact: Tightrope, my favorite song, is also on an HP commercial).
I've seen a ton of bands play, Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees is one of kind. He ran on stage with his platinum blonde hair, shades, and a polka dotted shirt that reminded me of something my gorgeous and classy best friend might wear, if I ever saw her wear polka dots (I was glad when swapped it for a classic white v-neck and leather jacket because frankly it was distracting me). Overall, their set was upbeat and energetic, had a super fun vibe complete with lots of neon purple lighting, they closed out the show with my favorite song Everybody Talks and I was jamming hard.
Awesome beer, awesome tunes, awesome company! Check out some pics and vids....
I'm making the decision right now to spare you all the details of me gushing over this nearly perfect night and focus just on the concert, but I'm smiling to myself as I type because I had such a great time. A few weeks back, after I had called out of work for accidentally being way too hungover to handle my life the next day, I went for an evening stroll on the beach (God, I love living here) with my mom. We walked by Freebird Live because I wanted to check out who was playing. Sidenote: One time, before I lived here, my mom was down in Jax beach and snapped a picture of the marquee at Freebird just because she missed me, 3 days later I drove down for less than 24 hours to see The Maine with my lovely cousin, complete with a raging spider bite on my leg that rendered me useless for the next 3 days. I digress, but that is the reason I insisted on walking by, I'm normally on top of my concert dates, but not always. So, back to the story. Upon seeing the sign I said to my mom "OH! Neon Trees is playing?! I should go to that!" As always, she laughed and started to recount the day I made her drive me to Freebird to stalk Craig Owens, D.R.U.G.S, and Sparks the Rescue because I couldn't afford to go the show (I'm a crazy fangirl for Craig Owens). Needless to say I was stoked when someone with an extra ticket asked me to go, and I began cramming like one might for a huge final exam to try and learn as many songs as I possibly could in 3 days. I failed, but I had a great time anyway.
Every time I go to a show, girls always want to fight me because I insist on pushing through the crowd to get a good spot close up, in the middle, where I can see everything. At Freebird, this is less of a problem, because it's a pretty small venue and assuming you don't get stuck standing behind one of the tall brick pillars (which I obviously do not allow to happen) its easy to see. This particular show, we found ourselves surrounded with a super nice group of people with paint on their faces that I chatted with in between bands (that is, when they weren't all making out with eachother). So many people were rocking the face paint thing, that I was forced to ask one of them about it (I told you, my studying didn't quite pay off). If I had waited 5 more minutes, I would have seen that all the members of Walk The Moon had their faces painted too in homage to their Anna Sun music video. I can only confidently say I knew 3 songs that they played, but I appreciate live music at it's finest, they were awesome and now their songs constantly fill the walls of my house (fun fact: Tightrope, my favorite song, is also on an HP commercial).
I've seen a ton of bands play, Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees is one of kind. He ran on stage with his platinum blonde hair, shades, and a polka dotted shirt that reminded me of something my gorgeous and classy best friend might wear, if I ever saw her wear polka dots (I was glad when swapped it for a classic white v-neck and leather jacket because frankly it was distracting me). Overall, their set was upbeat and energetic, had a super fun vibe complete with lots of neon purple lighting, they closed out the show with my favorite song Everybody Talks and I was jamming hard.
Awesome beer, awesome tunes, awesome company! Check out some pics and vids....
Walk The Moon- Tightrope
Walk The Moon- Anna Sun
Walk The Moon- Quesadilla
Tyler Glenn- Neon Trees
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Obsessed.
Boys Like Girls- Be Your Everything
I love this song so much, and don't even get me started on the outrageous sexiness that is Martin Johnson.
Sparks The Rescue- Disaster
Sparks doing their DIY thing, can't wait for their new EP later this month!
Yellowcard- Always Summer
LOVE this song, LOVE this band, LOVE LOVE LOVE their new album
Yellowcard- Here I Am Alive (ft. Tay Jardine of We Are The In Crowd)
...like I said.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
A Little Less Rock, A Little More Indie
I've been on a bit of an indie kick lately, here's another playlist, LOUDER 2 on Spotify (if you don't have Spotify yet, get your shit together.)
1. Tightrope- Walk The Moon (just saw them play last night, post coming soon duhhhh)
2. Maybe I'm Sorry- Three Legged Fox (how about a hint of reggae?)
3. Say I'm Wrong- Ballyhoo!
4. All Alone- Fun.
5. Tongue Tied- Grouplove
6. Fluorescent Adolescent- Arctic Monkeys
7. Down By The Water- The Decemberists
8. Stars- Fun.
9. Don't Tell Me What To Do- Air Traffic Controller
10. Fidelity- Regina Spektor
11. Naked Kids- Grouplove
12. Someday- The Strokes
13. Naive- The Kooks
14. Foot of the Bed- Air Traffic Controller (I dare you to not smile when you hear this song)
15. Little Talks- Of Monsters and Men
16. The Underdog- Spoon
17. Cough Syrup- Young The Giant
18. Hey Mama- Mat Kearney
19. Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)- Foster The People
20. Lonely Boy- The Black Keys
21. Skeleton Key- Margot & The Nuclear So and So's
1. Tightrope- Walk The Moon (just saw them play last night, post coming soon duhhhh)
2. Maybe I'm Sorry- Three Legged Fox (how about a hint of reggae?)
3. Say I'm Wrong- Ballyhoo!
4. All Alone- Fun.
5. Tongue Tied- Grouplove
6. Fluorescent Adolescent- Arctic Monkeys
7. Down By The Water- The Decemberists
8. Stars- Fun.
9. Don't Tell Me What To Do- Air Traffic Controller
10. Fidelity- Regina Spektor
11. Naked Kids- Grouplove
12. Someday- The Strokes
13. Naive- The Kooks
14. Foot of the Bed- Air Traffic Controller (I dare you to not smile when you hear this song)
15. Little Talks- Of Monsters and Men
16. The Underdog- Spoon
17. Cough Syrup- Young The Giant
18. Hey Mama- Mat Kearney
19. Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)- Foster The People
20. Lonely Boy- The Black Keys
21. Skeleton Key- Margot & The Nuclear So and So's
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Warped
Friends of mine will tell you that the one place I am truly in my element is when I'm watching a band play. For many years my love of pop punk/alternative/rock music culminates in what can only be described as the "best/worst" day ever- Vans Warped Tour. This year, that firey red headed best friend I always mention was my date to her very first Warped Tour, and unfortunetly for her, getting there was slightly more dramatic than usual. Imagine this:
It's Thursday morning, Warped is Friday. You are repeatedly calling everyone you know looking for a place in Orlando to stay tonight so you don't have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn, drive 2 hours, spend all day in the raging Florida sun, only to have to drive those same 2 hours again that night. And of course, no body is answering. Then you check your bank account, and that is a sad story in and of itself. Everyone you ask for help is telling you that you obviously shouldn't be going to this concert because you can't afford it and things clearly are not working in your favor. Your response to everyone is "I don't care, I'm going. I'll sleep in my car." Long story short we found a friend that let us crash at his place and scored a big comfy hotel bed the following night, so it all worked out, but not without me bursting into tears a few times in a raging 24 year old temper tantrum worthy of some kind of trashy reality tv show; I threw another one when we were stuck in traffic trying to get to the fairgrounds when it took us an hour to drive the last mile and park, and then again when I discovered not only did we miss Tonight Alive and Four Year Strong but All Time Low and Mayday Parade were playing at conflicting times (if you know me, you know this was my WORST CASE SCENARIO).
But Alas, we made it to the fairgrounds and enjoyed what I can say with complete confidence, the best day of my life. As we walked in we caught the tail end of Polar Bear Club's set and wandered around trying to get our bearings and prepare ourselves for the day ahead. We watched Lostprohpets play a few songs before heading over to the Kevin Says stage to catch I Call Fives, where I shamelessly flirted with one of their merch guys, who liked me because I already owned their brand new full length, and convinced my best friend to buy it- so worth it. We got an excellent spot for New Found Glory even though I had to suffer through the ramblings of the most obnoxious shirtless guy in white sunglasses about how much he hated The Ghost Inside (playing the other main stage), I swear I almost punched him. As soon as NFG came out on stage in their matching basketball uniforms the crowd went nuts, it was perfect. After that, we skeddadled over to the Monster Energy stage to catch Sleeping With Sirens. Sidebar- Kellin Quinn is such a little guy, but I swear my face turns into that cute little emoji with hearts for eyes when I look at him. His lyrics are so intense and watching him sing them with such passion nearly brought tears to my eyes, most definately one of the high points of the day. After that we ran back over to jam with Taking Back Sunday, not the first time I've seen them but they were amazing as usual, and even had a special guest from A Day To Remember for a couple of songs.
It's inevtiable that at every Warped Tour, 2 bands I want to see will play at conflicting times and I'll be forced into making a choice I don't want to make. As I said before, my WORST CASE SCENARIO was that Mayday Parade (my favorite band) and All Time Low (one of my favorites, and one of two bands on the tour I have never seen before) would play at conflicting times. Fitting with drama the previous day had provided me, Mayday was set to play at 5:30 on the Monster Energy stage and All Time Low was playing at 5:40 on the Kia Rio stage. We decided to watch Mayday play 3 songs and then bolt across the fairgrounds to catch All Time Low, as it turned out I couldn't even enjoy Mayday because I was so concerned about being far away when All Time Low was playing, and when I faintly heard the opening tune of Damned if I Do Ya, I gave my best friend a look and we bolted away from the Monster Energy stage and pushed our way through the crowd for All Time Low. I shoved my way to the middle and got stuck behind maybe the tallest, biggest guy ever....figures right? I stretched and squirmed for 2 songs before I found my way in front of him, surely stepping on his toes and jumping all over him while screaming the words to Heroes, Time Bomb, Weightless, and Jasey Rae (I've said it before and I'll say it again, my all time FAVORITE song by them). I teared up as they played The Reckless and The Brave as other girls threw their bra's and Jack hung them on his mic stand (I didn't see this happen for any other band all day, girls love All Time Low) and had the biggest smile on my face after hearing Dear Maria, Count Me In. I'd drive 1000 miles right this very moment to see them play again (I smiling to myself right now, fangirl much)? I know by the way I felt after that set I had made the right choice but that didn't stop the tears streaming down my face the past 2 days at every Mayday Parade song.
I'm tempted to say that I don't listen to We The Kings too much but as we ran over and watched their set which was actually really awesome, I surprised myself by knowing the words to every song they played, and surprised myself even more by wanting to be all over Travis Clark and that mane of red hair, boy has some serious stage presence, just saying. At this point in the day, it's 7:00, we've been in the sun for 8 hours, clothes soaked in our own (and a million other peoples) sweat, 8 bottles of water and 1 PBR deep, with raging bra tanlines that are still infuriating me now- and fading fast. We dragged over to watch We Are The In Crowd on the Tilly's stage and were kind of shocked at the number of manly tattooed men in the crowd, I love WATIC and have a legit girl crush on the beautiful and Talented Tay Jardine (I even have her haircut) and I was feeling their set but feeling a little rough at the same time. I caught a peak of Alex Gaskarth backstage and got all hot and bothered and immediately fired up at the prospect of him coming out to sing Kiss Me Again, I compeletly lost my shit when he did. It was perfect.
As we walked slowly back over to the main stages to watch Yellowcard, we considered skipping out on Breathe Carolina because of how exhausted we were. Looking back on it now, I would be a miserable disaster if we had. Watching Yellowcard sing Always Summer, With You Around, and Ocean Avenue was pretty amazing even though Ryan was chewing a piece of gum in between words in the most annoying and obnoxious way (the littlest things bother me, I mean honestly, who cares right)? Fun Fact- Yellowcard was actually the first concert my mom let me go to by myself right after Ocean Avenue came out, she dropped me and my friends off at Hard Rock Live and we just thought we were hot shit (I still kind of think that though, ha). Every Band we watched talked about how they were being fined for cursing on stage that day so in the middle of their set, Ryan implored everyone to yell their favorite curse word on the count of 3- have you ever heard thousands of people yell the word "FUCK" 3 times? I have, and it was awesome. As soon as Yellowcard finished, I heard the familiar electronic tune of a Breathe Carolina song and ran over (with everyone else) to the other main stage and just broke out dancing. I've watched a lot of bands play over my 24 years of life, and I can say without a doubt that those 30 minutes Breathe Carolina played were the best I have ever seen. Even though it was 8:30, the sun was set and everyone was exhausted, the excitement in the air was more palpable than it had been all day long. I don't even know how to describe it because there is no way I would be able to do it the justice it deserves, but I cried with the biggest smile on my face when it was over- euphoric and so bummed at the same time.
I'm deep in the midst of a hollowing post concert depression right now, check out the pics while I go cry myself to sleep because I can't go to Warped every day.
It's Thursday morning, Warped is Friday. You are repeatedly calling everyone you know looking for a place in Orlando to stay tonight so you don't have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn, drive 2 hours, spend all day in the raging Florida sun, only to have to drive those same 2 hours again that night. And of course, no body is answering. Then you check your bank account, and that is a sad story in and of itself. Everyone you ask for help is telling you that you obviously shouldn't be going to this concert because you can't afford it and things clearly are not working in your favor. Your response to everyone is "I don't care, I'm going. I'll sleep in my car." Long story short we found a friend that let us crash at his place and scored a big comfy hotel bed the following night, so it all worked out, but not without me bursting into tears a few times in a raging 24 year old temper tantrum worthy of some kind of trashy reality tv show; I threw another one when we were stuck in traffic trying to get to the fairgrounds when it took us an hour to drive the last mile and park, and then again when I discovered not only did we miss Tonight Alive and Four Year Strong but All Time Low and Mayday Parade were playing at conflicting times (if you know me, you know this was my WORST CASE SCENARIO).
But Alas, we made it to the fairgrounds and enjoyed what I can say with complete confidence, the best day of my life. As we walked in we caught the tail end of Polar Bear Club's set and wandered around trying to get our bearings and prepare ourselves for the day ahead. We watched Lostprohpets play a few songs before heading over to the Kevin Says stage to catch I Call Fives, where I shamelessly flirted with one of their merch guys, who liked me because I already owned their brand new full length, and convinced my best friend to buy it- so worth it. We got an excellent spot for New Found Glory even though I had to suffer through the ramblings of the most obnoxious shirtless guy in white sunglasses about how much he hated The Ghost Inside (playing the other main stage), I swear I almost punched him. As soon as NFG came out on stage in their matching basketball uniforms the crowd went nuts, it was perfect. After that, we skeddadled over to the Monster Energy stage to catch Sleeping With Sirens. Sidebar- Kellin Quinn is such a little guy, but I swear my face turns into that cute little emoji with hearts for eyes when I look at him. His lyrics are so intense and watching him sing them with such passion nearly brought tears to my eyes, most definately one of the high points of the day. After that we ran back over to jam with Taking Back Sunday, not the first time I've seen them but they were amazing as usual, and even had a special guest from A Day To Remember for a couple of songs.
It's inevtiable that at every Warped Tour, 2 bands I want to see will play at conflicting times and I'll be forced into making a choice I don't want to make. As I said before, my WORST CASE SCENARIO was that Mayday Parade (my favorite band) and All Time Low (one of my favorites, and one of two bands on the tour I have never seen before) would play at conflicting times. Fitting with drama the previous day had provided me, Mayday was set to play at 5:30 on the Monster Energy stage and All Time Low was playing at 5:40 on the Kia Rio stage. We decided to watch Mayday play 3 songs and then bolt across the fairgrounds to catch All Time Low, as it turned out I couldn't even enjoy Mayday because I was so concerned about being far away when All Time Low was playing, and when I faintly heard the opening tune of Damned if I Do Ya, I gave my best friend a look and we bolted away from the Monster Energy stage and pushed our way through the crowd for All Time Low. I shoved my way to the middle and got stuck behind maybe the tallest, biggest guy ever....figures right? I stretched and squirmed for 2 songs before I found my way in front of him, surely stepping on his toes and jumping all over him while screaming the words to Heroes, Time Bomb, Weightless, and Jasey Rae (I've said it before and I'll say it again, my all time FAVORITE song by them). I teared up as they played The Reckless and The Brave as other girls threw their bra's and Jack hung them on his mic stand (I didn't see this happen for any other band all day, girls love All Time Low) and had the biggest smile on my face after hearing Dear Maria, Count Me In. I'd drive 1000 miles right this very moment to see them play again (I smiling to myself right now, fangirl much)? I know by the way I felt after that set I had made the right choice but that didn't stop the tears streaming down my face the past 2 days at every Mayday Parade song.
I'm tempted to say that I don't listen to We The Kings too much but as we ran over and watched their set which was actually really awesome, I surprised myself by knowing the words to every song they played, and surprised myself even more by wanting to be all over Travis Clark and that mane of red hair, boy has some serious stage presence, just saying. At this point in the day, it's 7:00, we've been in the sun for 8 hours, clothes soaked in our own (and a million other peoples) sweat, 8 bottles of water and 1 PBR deep, with raging bra tanlines that are still infuriating me now- and fading fast. We dragged over to watch We Are The In Crowd on the Tilly's stage and were kind of shocked at the number of manly tattooed men in the crowd, I love WATIC and have a legit girl crush on the beautiful and Talented Tay Jardine (I even have her haircut) and I was feeling their set but feeling a little rough at the same time. I caught a peak of Alex Gaskarth backstage and got all hot and bothered and immediately fired up at the prospect of him coming out to sing Kiss Me Again, I compeletly lost my shit when he did. It was perfect.
As we walked slowly back over to the main stages to watch Yellowcard, we considered skipping out on Breathe Carolina because of how exhausted we were. Looking back on it now, I would be a miserable disaster if we had. Watching Yellowcard sing Always Summer, With You Around, and Ocean Avenue was pretty amazing even though Ryan was chewing a piece of gum in between words in the most annoying and obnoxious way (the littlest things bother me, I mean honestly, who cares right)? Fun Fact- Yellowcard was actually the first concert my mom let me go to by myself right after Ocean Avenue came out, she dropped me and my friends off at Hard Rock Live and we just thought we were hot shit (I still kind of think that though, ha). Every Band we watched talked about how they were being fined for cursing on stage that day so in the middle of their set, Ryan implored everyone to yell their favorite curse word on the count of 3- have you ever heard thousands of people yell the word "FUCK" 3 times? I have, and it was awesome. As soon as Yellowcard finished, I heard the familiar electronic tune of a Breathe Carolina song and ran over (with everyone else) to the other main stage and just broke out dancing. I've watched a lot of bands play over my 24 years of life, and I can say without a doubt that those 30 minutes Breathe Carolina played were the best I have ever seen. Even though it was 8:30, the sun was set and everyone was exhausted, the excitement in the air was more palpable than it had been all day long. I don't even know how to describe it because there is no way I would be able to do it the justice it deserves, but I cried with the biggest smile on my face when it was over- euphoric and so bummed at the same time.
I'm deep in the midst of a hollowing post concert depression right now, check out the pics while I go cry myself to sleep because I can't go to Warped every day.
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| Sleeping With Sirens |
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| Taking Back Sunday |
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| We The Kings |
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| I Call Fives |
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| Mayday Parade |
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| New Found Glory |
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| All Time Low |
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| A Warped sunset with Yellowcard |
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| We Are The In Crowd |
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| Breathe Carolina |
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| My outfit, ticket, and best friend |
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| Tay Jardine and Alex Gaskarth singing Kiss Me Again |
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| Yellowcard |
Rockin' Playlist #1
Making rad playlists on the regular is one of my favorite things, so how about I post them here so you can all enjoy? Here are 30 songs I CAN'T STOP JAMMING TO this week.
1. Blackout- Breathe Carolina
2. The Reckless and The Brave-All Time Low
3. If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn- Sleeping With Sirens
4. Hit and Run- Breathe Carolina
5. Ocean Avenue- Yelloward
6. Miles Away- Memphis May Fire ft. Kellin Quinn
7. Edge of Heaven- Breathe Carolina
8. Two Sides of Every Story- I Call Fives
9. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows- Brand New
10. Last Night (Vegas)- Breathe Carolina
11. Under a Paper Moon- All Time Low
12. She Takes Me High- We The Kings
13. R U Mine- Arctic Monkeys
14. Alive in the Lights- Memphis May Fire
15. With You Around- Yellowcard
16. Say You Like Me- We The Kings
17. Only One- Yellowcard
18. If You Can't Hang- Sleeping With Sirens
19. Backup Plan- I Call Fives
20. Tally it Up, Settle the Score- Sleeping With Sirens
21. So Damn Clever- Plain White T's
22. Time Bomb- All Time Low
23. Breaking- Anberlin
24. Do It Now, Remember It Later- Sleeping With Sirens
25. Last Train Home- Lostprophets
26. Up All Night- Blink 182
27. Two Days or a Lifetime of Failure- I Call Fives
28. Heroes- All Time Low
29. Liar (it takes one to know one)- Taking Back Sunday
30. Hearts All Gone- Blink 182
yeah yeah yeah, I know some of these songs are mad old, but that doesn't make them less awesome. If have Spotify (which you obv should) you can listen to this playlist there, search LOUDER 1.
1. Blackout- Breathe Carolina
2. The Reckless and The Brave-All Time Low
3. If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn- Sleeping With Sirens
4. Hit and Run- Breathe Carolina
5. Ocean Avenue- Yelloward
6. Miles Away- Memphis May Fire ft. Kellin Quinn
7. Edge of Heaven- Breathe Carolina
8. Two Sides of Every Story- I Call Fives
9. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows- Brand New
10. Last Night (Vegas)- Breathe Carolina
11. Under a Paper Moon- All Time Low
12. She Takes Me High- We The Kings
13. R U Mine- Arctic Monkeys
14. Alive in the Lights- Memphis May Fire
15. With You Around- Yellowcard
16. Say You Like Me- We The Kings
17. Only One- Yellowcard
18. If You Can't Hang- Sleeping With Sirens
19. Backup Plan- I Call Fives
20. Tally it Up, Settle the Score- Sleeping With Sirens
21. So Damn Clever- Plain White T's
22. Time Bomb- All Time Low
23. Breaking- Anberlin
24. Do It Now, Remember It Later- Sleeping With Sirens
25. Last Train Home- Lostprophets
26. Up All Night- Blink 182
27. Two Days or a Lifetime of Failure- I Call Fives
28. Heroes- All Time Low
29. Liar (it takes one to know one)- Taking Back Sunday
30. Hearts All Gone- Blink 182
yeah yeah yeah, I know some of these songs are mad old, but that doesn't make them less awesome. If have Spotify (which you obv should) you can listen to this playlist there, search LOUDER 1.
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