A Wild, Crazy, Wonderful Week

This has been one of the busiest, craziest weeks ever - and it was a mostly self-induced sort of insanity. LOL

Wednesday, I had a ticket to see This Providence in Sandy. It had been more than a hear since I had seen them, and last time I promised Sean that I would cook dinner for the band the next time they came. I couldn't recall if anyone else was involved in the conversation or not, so I sent a message to ask if it was still on (since Sean left the band) and they said to bring food. LOL So, Lauralee and I set about to do just that. We fixed pot roast, salad, drop biscuits, brownies and fast fudge and made enough for a small army. Oh, and I brought grapes from my yard, too. We got there and set up inside at a round table, and the food was big hit (Phew!) We really didn't know how the timing would come together, but it all came together quite well. We did have to move the food outside for a short bit just before the show, but it went very well. Dan was in a fun mood, and the show was absolutely the best! :) I usually try to photograph without flash, but it was so dark I used flash, and felt kinda bad because I probably blinded everyone. I need an attachable flash that doesn't send out that horrible strobe and so it can be bounced anyway. This Providence went off tour and headlined at Solid Ground, and the openers were all pretty good. The main opener, Everybody Else, was pretty amazing as well. After the show, I took Lauralee home, and headed out myself. I got home quite late, and still had to unload the car and put things away. But it was all worth it!





The next day, I had a ticket to see This Providence on the Why So Serious tour in Pocatello, ID. I got to the venue about an hour before the ticket time, and there were guys putting up signs for a venue change. So I found the new venue, the Booth Barn, parked and looked for the entrance. Someone said they thought it was around the side, but the bands were unloading. I was bold and went back there, visited with This Providence, and a few others, and took some pics while I waited. Then the show started, and I didn't realize it, so I headed around as quickly as I could and got as close as I could to the stage. A few people did let me in front to take pics, which I thought was really nice. The first band to play was Mury. I had seen them twice before and they were pretty good. Hey Monday was next, and I really liked them quite a lot. Most of the people I talked with after the show loved them as well. Then A Rocket to the Moon played. I really loved their set. I felt kind of badly as I heard about their trailer being ripped off of about $5,000 (cash/posessions) including some camera equipment and lenses. So, you should check them out and support them if you can.
Then This Providence played and were, once again, awesome. :) The power cut out during a number of the sets, and it also happened during This Providence's set. Shane (who does merch) came up on stage and pretended to be a rock star. It was great! LOL Finally things got to working again, and they finished their set. Then set up started for The Cab. I was pretty sure I'd like them, and they were quite good. Trying to photograph the lead singer was a lot like trying to take a photo of a bullet. LOL They have a good stage presence.




I was able to get a copy of the set list for three of the bands, including This Providence, and I decided to get TP to autograph their set list. Then I visited for quite a long while before heading home. I think I arrived home around 2:25 a.m.

For concert no. 3, I had a ticket to see The Rocket Summer and Phantom Planet the next day. Normally I go around 1-2 on weekday concerts at In the Venue, and am often the first one there, but usually for TRS, there is a big group that shows up around 10. So, my original plan was to go at 10 a.m. I was just to exhausted, so I waited. I acutually got to the venue around 1 p.m. and was the first one there. It's funny, I had prayed about timing and resigned myself to possible staying in the back (don't think I'd survive the middle) and I should always remember that God works out the timing regardless of what I want. Things will be as they should be. It was a pretty amazing show, and I ended up on the barricade, dead center. I knew I was going to get killed. LOL Once again, the opening bands were good. Phantom Planet was absolutely incredible. I didn't see how Bryce could top that, but he set about to do his best. In fact, it was probably the best I'd seen Bryce. He was engaged with the audience, he sounded great, played a very good set (new and old.) At one point he left the stage, went into the middle of the crowd and sang two acoustic songs. At another point in the show, Bryce used the looping machine, or whatever the tech term is for that thing, and played drums, then keyboards, then guitar in a loop and sang. It really sounded good. Another highlight was my friend Lauralee telling Bryce that it was her birthday, and him telling her happy birthday from the stage. We set about to get her a set list, and someone was nice enough to give it to her.

Afterwards we bought merch, had photos taken with Bobby of The Morning Light (first opening band) and then went outside. I was walking back towards the bus as Bryce usually comes out after the show, and sometimes Phantom Planet plays an acoustic set afterwards. On the way out, I heard Bobby talking about God, and said something back and we ended up in this huge discussion for about 1/2 hour. Then I went back to where the buses were, and waited. Bryce finally came out and I waited until almost last, had photos taken with Bryce (our tradition) and talked for quite a long while. Then I said my goodbyes and headed for home.





The next morning I was leaving for Phoenix (Saturday) via Kanab, UT, and didn't even wake up until 11 a.m. We left around 4 p.m. Today we left Kanab and took our time getting to our final destination. I am now at my daughter's on my hubby's laptop.

Like I said, a long crazy, wonderful week. I wouldn't change much about it. I am grateful.

God is good. :)

Peace out,
Melanie