My day in the office was tedious and uninspiring. This was only compounded by an email from our new co-op, who said she hoped to be "as good as your last long-term intern." I'm not sure how I should take that, but I tend to assume the worst, so... After work, I called home and learned that John and Marlene, probably my paternal grandparents' two closest friends, both passed away a few days ago -- rest in peace. After playing a little Fire Emblem, I headed over to the House of Blues to catch H2O, Alkaline Trio and New Found Glory. The walk over was horrifically cold and I left somewhat late, but I think I arrived right on time. I secured a spot in a center/forward area on the floor, and after about fifteen minutes of milling around, H2O opened the act. They were a pretty standard positive-vibe, don't-be-a-douche punk band that really didn't catch my attention, but I have to give them props for sticking together for 20+ years. Next up was Alkaline Trio, the only real reason for my presence, and they were amazing as expected. Their clean vocals, clever and dark lyrics, and general listenability (as far as punk goes) won me over a couple of years ago, and I've wanted to see them since. Their set was excellent and included some of my favorite songs: "Another Innocent Girl", "Take Lots With Alcohol", and "This Could Be Love" for the second to last jam. I moshed during a few of the noisier songs, though I was apprehensive due to a couple of guys in the pit that were really swinging for the fences. Near the end of the set, a pink guitar pick with the Alkaline Trio symbol on it actually fell into my hand; the guy next to me said, "Well, that's awesome." After they left the stage, there was a surge to the front and though I've really never listened to New Found Glory (blasphemy), I decided to just go with it and ended up in what you could call the second row. There were a lot of Trio fans present, but it seemed as if NFG was the main attraction tonight. My attempt to get up to the very front was foiled by some girl claiming to be a cancer patient (L O L) and her extremely pushy friend. Eventually, after I refused to move from immediately next to them, we did go through a strange sort of catharsis:
Her: "It's okay that you're mad that you couldn't get to the front. [to friend] He's mad."
Me: [poker face] "Yup, I'm mad. So mad. You have no idea how mad I am."
Her: ... "You know, I'm sure you're not a douchebag."
Me: "Thanks. We're all nice people here. Right?"
Her: "Yeah man, we're all here for the music. We all love New Found Glory."
Her: "Yeah man, we're all here for the music. We all love New Found Glory."
She then proceeded to tell me this might be the last show she could attend, which was ridiculous but I let it alone because there was no reason to fight about it. We then went through a bizarre round of insisting that the other take the spot in front; I "won" after refusing to move forward. New Found Glory was fun, though not incredible; I guess they go back pretty far for many fans. Note from the future: At the show, they were bragging about how many original members were left in the band, but they just booted out the guy who writes most of the lyrics, so... After one too many punches to the head and neck/sweaty dudes jumped on me/crowd surfers landed on me, I beat a path off the floor and took a breather in the back. This also allowed me to be first out the door when the show ended, which was nice after being crushed in the crowd for three hours. Spoils for the evening: the lucky pick, a cool Trio shirt with a skeleton on it, a frigid water bottle that I grabbed from a busted crate on the ground near one of the touring vans, and hearing loss. The walk back to Tremont Street was just as cold, if mysteriously shorter.
Quotes of the day: "Moron. I just excoriated her in my appeal." - Mark
"...but i did it professionally." - Mark
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