Life is a Blur.

The last week has been a haze. That happens when I'm working followed by a lack of sleep. October 7, I was called back to work. My job is seasonal, and I am far enough up on the list that I am sometimes called back in for the "mini peaks" about this time of year. Still, I didn't expect to be called back until at least the 19th, and since I am usually called back on a Wednesday and not usually before a holiday, I thought it could be later. With that in mind I scheduled a few events for the next week. Things are not about to be simpler. It's amazing how that happens, and I have to say that some of it is my own doing. It's not all bad, and in fact, it should be a great week, but I will need a vacation from my little mini-vacation known as next week.

I've also watched Avalyn a few days this week, and she is finally starting to grow and respond a lot more. She's started to get big already.


On Tuesday, I am leaving bright and early for Las Vegas. My husband has graciously agreed to drive me there. I have a room overnight and a VIP ticket to see Mute Math. I have to say that I really love those guys: not just as musicians, incredible performers but also as nice people. They haven't toured in a while, and I really do miss them. They probably don't miss me nearly as much. ;)

Wednesday, the plan is to drive home and take our time. Hopefully I can be a little leisurely for one day. On Thursday morning, I fly to Denver. My sister lives in Denver, and Relient K will be in Denver on the 16th. How can I pass that up? My sister and her husband are planning to see Relient K's show as well. It should be fun. :) My mom was supposed to be there today, but not sure if it happened. I know she was concerned about snow, and it did snow in Denver this week. I will be in Denver until the 18th when I will fly home. It's not an overly long visit, but I think it will be a good one. :)

On the 19th, I will be seeing Eisley at In the Venue with Say Anything. Eisely hasn't toured in a bit, either, so I am definitely looking forward to it. I did say I would work half a day shift so I'd only have to take off 4 hrs. that day. So, it will be a long one, but I hope a good one, and I'm quite sure it will be worth it!

The 20th, I will be back to work for one day, and then off again on the 21st. On the 21st, I am supposed to work at the show for Fireflight and Remedy Drive with Abandon. I saw Remedy Drive at Creation Northwest and they were sooooooo good. But I will not be able to stay for the show, as I have tickets to see MAE and have had them for a while. I am trying to pull together "Project Touch" (see my last post) so it will most likely be a very long day. I will go back to work on the 22nd, and on Sunday the 25th, I will be working at Todd Agnew's concert. I love Todd and am looking forward to seeing him again.

Fortunately, I have some leave saved up. I am trying to be organized and have started packing and putting things together for upcoming events way in advance, which has made finding things to wear quite a challenge. LOL I just have to finish up on copying and emptying compact flash cards and packing my camera.

That is looking forward towards the future... looking back has been interesting as well.

On Saturday, I went to see Snow Patrol and Plain White T's. I arrived at 11 a.m. since the show was general admission. I met some VERY interesting people. Initially the venue was to be set up with the floor being standing, but a decision was made to
put in general admission chairs on the floor. This actually worked out well for me as we were so close to the barricades and were able to stand there without being squished ito obliviou! :) Kinda nice. Tom with PWT's was ill and almost cancelled his set entirely, but he came out and they played three acoustic songs, "1234"; "Sunlight" and "Hey Delilah." He sounded really good, especially thinking about him being sick. Afterwards, I was able to get their 3 song setlist. :) I really thought I should take Tom some Throat Coat Tea, and felt bad because I didn't listen to that "little" voice. Later I saw the drummer and mentioned it to him wasn't too sure he would have drank it. WE both thought he needed to take care of his voice.

Snow Patrol put on a good show and was a lot of fun. Gary forgot the words a few times, but it was kind of funny. The crowd seemed pretty lively, especially for a seating on the floor type of set up. Most of the time the vocals were really good, although a few times at the outset of a song, he would be off a little, usually a note or two. Afterwards I was pretty excited to get another set list. I let three girls take photos of it. Then I headed up to the merch table and bought a cd. I wanted to buy a PWT's tee that was cute, but didn't quite have enough, so I went to use the ATM. I think I left the set list there when I went. That is when I talked to the drummer for PWT's, and then bought the tee. I started to head out the door, and realized that I didn't have the set list anymore. It wasn't at the merch table and she hadn't seen it. I went back into the arena, and had someone look. I threw someone's drink out for them and I checked the trash. (So, I was desperate! LOL) But I know I had it upstairs and at the merch table, which I had later confirmed by two different people at different times. So the only conclusion I could come to is that when I had it at the merch table, someone took it. It was kind of a downer to an otherwise great day. But I'll get over it. Secretly, (or Not so secretly) I still want it back.



The drive home was very long due to construction and freeway closures, but I made it.
I uploaded pics and fell asleep at the desk. I ate dinner, and uploaded more pics, and again fell asleep at my desk. I got wise and went to bed. This morning I got up early and made it to church being actually on time.



That will be my next blog... See ya soon - very soon indeed.

If you read this, bless you!! :)

Sherwood and Rockband Live

I got the call back to work on October 6. They wanted me to come back on Oct. 15. I had concert tickets for October 15 for Sherwood and Oct. 16 (and plans for the 17th, but they decided that was pushing my luck a bit) so I am headed for work in a couple of hours. Pray for me, I'm not really well at the moment, but I will muddle through.

October 15, I headed down to Salt Lake City to see Sherwood (w/The Pink Spiders, The Summer Set, The Reign of Kindo and John Allred.) I didn't recall who was opening, so I was happy to hear that The Reign of Kindo and John Allred would be playing. I left late, which probably didn't matter, and arrived a little after 4:30 p.m. I was still the first ticketed concert-goer there. I parked right in front. :) I had a little bit of a delay getting there since I was thinking it was closer to the freeway, and by the time I cut across 4 lanes of traffic to get on the same side of the road as the venue, I would have been past it, or so I thought. As it turned out, I double checked my address and I was not going nearly far enough. Yes, sometimes I'm a total dork. Lauralee arrived not long before doors opened and we chatted in line until time to go in. At any rate, to make a long story a little shorter, John Allred was great, as always.



After the show, John and I talked and I had a photo taken as I missed that opportunity at the Yellowcard show. The Reign of Kindo was a little different, and I loved their set. Afterwards I went and bought their ep. The Summer Set was really a lot of fun, and I enjoyed them immensely. I also bought a cd from them and played it in the car yesterday. The Pink Spiders were pretty good as well, although where I was standing the vocals were a bit tough to make out. I did think it was an odd combo with Sherwood, but they weren't too bad at all. :) Finally Sherwood played and I just absolutely loved every minute of it!!! I took as many pics as I could, but was having a tough time getting a good focus, my continual problem. I still haven't checked pics out much yet, though. Contrary to popular belief, I did put the camera down enough to sing, jump up and down and clap. It's hard not to with Sherwood's music.


After the show I talked to David a little. I said I'd like to hear "The Other Side" and then realized when he gave me a puzzled look, that it had a different title (which I always forget), but I was going totally blank. So I went to the cd table and cheated (the title is Alive, actually.) I saw Mikey at the merch table and mentioned this to him (and razzed him a little for fun) and he made the comment that it was a good reason to name songs after a lyric in the song. LOL We talked a little. Oh, and I had a set list, so I had Joe and David sign it. Then it took a while to get everyone to autograph the set. I hung around for a bit and went back to where the bus was with friends. I was going to get a pic with Sherwood, but we couldn't get everyone together at the same time. Finally, Dan had to leave while we were trying to find Nate, so I have a fuzzy pic of me with Sherwood minus Dan. Next time... LOL Then I headed for the E-Center, while they finished up and headed for an after party.

I had a ticket for Rockband Live (The Cab, Plain White T's, Dashboard Confessional and Panic at the Disco) for the next day at the E-Center, so I just decided I'd spend the night in the lot - and I did. I was a little broke, and I wasn't sure I wanted to use credit (the check deposited, I could have gone to the hotel.) So, I was being cheap. LOL I also thought people might line up early (really unpredictable here.) I seriously thought about the hotels within walking distance, about 2 a.m., but I don't sleep that well in hotels either, so I stayed with the cheaper route. (Next day I saw one of the hotels that you couldn't see the sign for was an Extended Stay, and I would have probably gone if I had known.) Anyway, I woke up about 6:15 a.m. and tried to doze a little until around 7 a.m. when I ate breakfast and got out of the car to look around. At about 8:30 a.m. three people arrived. I found the bathroom in the venue that wasn't locked down yet, and was able to change clothes around 9 a.m. At about 10:30-11 a.m. another gal arrived to wait with us in line. In one of those "it's a small world" moments, she was at the after party with Sherwood. She hadn't even heard them before. She told me who she talked to and I told her their names. LOL Then I went down to my car and got my Zune so she could hear what they sounded like. She liked them, so that was cool. :) At 12:30 another gal from Ogden (you can tell I was remembering names well yesterday) who was a huge Dashboard fan showed up with her brother. So now there were 7 of us. We played the "millionaire" style music game she had with her for an hour or so, and I took a potty break at the local Cracker Barrel. While I was there I ordered a side of their fried okra. It was amazing! And so the day went. A few more people started to show between 3:30-4 p.m. At around 4:30 one of the Rockband gals handed out wristbands for a meet and greet (although it was more of a greet & leave) for all 4 bands. I snagged one and searched for something to be autographed. I ended up with a Plain White T's cd and a piece of binder paper. LOL At about 4:50 we all went into the E-Center and got instructions. I didn't get much in the way of photos there, but I have two autographed posters (Dashboard, Plain White T's) and a piece of binder paper with autographs from Panic at the Disco and The Cab.





We were promised our spot back in line, so I took my things to my car and got back in line. I was first in line, but when the doors opened the gal couldn't get the scanner to work (always, my line, always!) but I finally made it to the barricade
just left of center.

The show was really good. The Cab makes amazing use of the stage. I said before when I saw them on the Sept. 18th and I'll say it again -- photographing Alex is like trying to photograph a bullet. LOL But the sound was great, and so was their stage presentation.



Plain White T's played next and did a great set. Tom announced that Hey Delilah was first played in Salt Lake City, which was a bit of trivia I didn't know. The last song was "Hate is a Strong Word" (not sure if that's the proper title.)



Then it was time for Dashboard to set up. Between sets, Rockband had four group winners on stage (2 after Plain White T's and 2 after Dashboard) which was interesting. So we watched a couple of groups play Rockband and then it was time for Dashboard. I have to say, I liked Dashboard's set best. The sound was very good and very polished, and the vocals were outstanding and he made good use of the stage. The one song I really wanted to hear was Stolen, which they did play. It seemed a lot faster than the recorded version, though. I tried to get a set list for Dashboard, (the only band I saw with what appeared to be a set list), but the stage was just too far away, and the Rockbands and emcee were onstage, so it was near impossible to get anyone's attention. :(





Two more Rockband groups played (the last wasn't great, but they were fun) and it was time for Panic.

Panic's set was also very good, and energetic. It was a fairly long set, so the really big Panic fans had to be happy with that!! The stage set up was pretty incredible. They had two big round white daises with "Panic" emblazoned on one and "At the Disco" on the other. The drummer was atop the Panic dais, and the keyboardist was atop the other one. IT was quite the set up. :) One of the songs they performed was Northern Exposure and I thought it was actually quite pretty. (It's also the name of their fan club.)







Most of the night, I was next to a couple of young ladies and their mom. One of them had plans to marry three of the lead singers. ;) She ended up with a guitar pick and a bit of an acknowledgment from the stage, and I'm sure someone just made her whole year! It was sweet.

Anyway, the show did come to an end, as all shows must, and I went upstairs to the merch table. I ended up purchasing The Cab's cd, and also Dashboard's last cd. As I was getting ready to head downstairs and out the door, someone commented on my tee from The Myriad. As it turns out, she was one of the gals from the first Rockband band. She and I really liked a lot of the same music, as it turns out. We chatted, and then I headed outside. I took one look at the traffic and decided to kill some time. I walked around the building just to see if The Cab was around. I didn't expect to see anyone else. A couple of the guys did walk by quickly, but that was about it. A number of people were waiting for either Dashboard or Panic at the Disco. I ended up talking to someone for a really long time. Then Zach (Panic's bodyguard) came up and didn't seem really happy. He wasn't in the best of moods, so we talked about that. Then I finally introduced myself to him and he to me. He gathered everyone from both sides of the bus entrance and told them that the contract with Rockband didn't allow band members to hang out. Also, he said that they would be pulling out in about 40-50 minutes. There was some conversation, and he said that he probably wouldn't even tell Panic we were there because they were nice and might come out, and then Ryan would end up sick and it would be a domino effect. LOL He was kinda funny. I was going to leave, but I was chatting and ended up not leaving quite yet. Then Tom of Plain White T's was standing near us with a crowd, so I walked over just to see who it was, and then I realized who it was and it was friends (I remembered they said Plain White T's had family) so I felt kinda dumb and intrusive. Tom waved at me, I turned to walk away, and the security guy said not to stand in the middle of the street, which I thought was an odd thing to say. I think he just didn't want me bugging Tom, but I was already leaving because I didn't want to bug him, either. Anyway, I was going to leave then, and I was talked out of it. Finally, I did say, I am freezing and I need to leave, so I started back to my car. I should have left the first time so I didn't look like an idiot, and I wouldn't be so sick today. C'est la vie. LOL Live and learn... maybe.

I don't really like waiting by buses unless there is a specific reason (like wanting to get something to someone or seeing if Jon Foreman was going to do an acoustic set or something) even though sometimes I end up there. I never intended to wait strangely enough. It was supposed to be a walk by. LOL At least there was no traffic when I left.

I was a tad concerned about getting back out, but I ended up finding the exit for 215 right away and headed for home. IT was a long night, and even though I ended up sick again, it was mostly fun.

Peace out,
Melanie