words_unravel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
words_unravel) wrote2008-03-12 08:15 pm
words_unravel) wrote2008-03-12 08:15 pm
Entry tags:
Concert Recap - Dropkick Murphys 03.08.08
What
St. Paddy's Day Tour
w/ Dropkick Murphys, Big D & The Kids Table, and Everybody Out
When
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Where
The House of Blues - Dallas, TX
how much sleep do i really need?
So, we'd (we = Melinda, Joey and myself) decided that we would head out to Dallas about 10am on Saturday. That would get us to the Big D around 2/230 with plenty of time to check into the hotel, chill out for a bit, and eat before the show.
Well, the CabPlague had me going to sleep around 8/830 for the past week, right? I figured that Friday night would pretty much be the same, but alas some things never change. As per pretty much every other exciting weekend out of town had me wandering around the apartment until about 11 before I even felt semi-tired. Which means that I didn't go to sleep until after midnight.
Guess who wakes up at 630? (for one, I forgot to turn off my weekday alarm and two, i was already awake :( This is actually not unusual at all for me, getting excited about something and getting as little rest as possible so that I can be at maximum wear-out capacity by the end of the trip. Ugh, peoples, just. Ugh.
ANYWAY. We actually head out closer to 1030/11 but still make pretty decent time to Dallas. We find the hotel without too much trouble. Joey turns on the TV, Melinda crashes, and I spend about half an hour fighting with the damn hotel wireless *grrrface* because I am An Addict. I know this, my friends know this, you dear reader (being of an LJ mind) should have figured that out eons ago.
So. Wireless is a go, Melinda gets a little rest, and we are all hungry now.
on the road again (or: can Shailaja remember how to get to the House of Blues without getting everyone helplessly lost?) + Stephen, the hot waiter.
Dear reader, just in case you weren't aware? I have the worst sense of direction of probably anyone on this planet, fr srs. I've worked really hard, though, on this particular disorder. With the number of trips I have planned in the next year, it's really a must to know where the fuck you're going.
The funny part is, while we were at the hotel I checked out how to get to the venue. And of course we go the opposite way from what I'd written down. (NOT MY FAULT.) Of course, it's not really that big a deal since we can get back on the highway we'd originally come down. I just wasn't sure if the Live Oak exit was on US-75 or if we had to get on US-35E first.
Turns out it is on US-75. >_> After a short discussion with a semi, we made the exit. Now I just had to remember where HOB was in relation to our exit.
AND I DID! I GOT US TO THE VENUE WITHOUT GETTING LOST.
I have to admit, it's (sadly) one of my more proud moments. After that (and paying for parking), we decided to just eat at the HOB. Which was an awesome idea, btw, since you basically get into the show before all the people waiting outside.
SO. DINNER. was kinda awesome. Our waiter, Stephen was fairly entertaining. Plus, we hadn't really eaten and I had BEER (mmmm), several actually. Melinda and I were feeling pretty good by this point. ( \o/ ) So yeah, Stephen. *cough* Joey had already run out to the car at one point, so Melinda and I couldn't persuade him to take our leftover cornbread to the car. OMG, THE CORNBREAD. The House of Blues has some seriously AWESOME cornbread, ya'll. ALSO, THE MAPLE SYRUP BUTTER STUFF IS DO DIE FOR. I had asked for a to-go container for the butter, too, but Stephen forgot. So I may have just put the whole thing, container and all, in the to-go box, but you can't pin it on me. >_> SERIOUSLY. BUTTER & CORNBREAD, mmmmmm.
just in time for the show (or: why the hell do you wear 4 inch heels to a DKM (or any) concert?) + Flirting with 15 year olds *headdesk*
I finished another beer while we waited inside. A few of us may have made fun of someone for wearing 4-inch heels in line ahead of us. I mean, I loved the boots, I did. But why wear them to an Irish punk concert? SERIOUSLY.
Anyway, we get into the room. This venue is about twice as large as the one where Cobra Starship played, but it's also got a second level with seats. All in all, a pretty damn cool little venue. Melinda and Joey went straight to merch while i wandered around for a bit. The barrier was already taken, but even after going back to get my own t-shirt, we were still second row.
Now, we're second row, right? Pretty much, front and center. And I'm between this teenager and another dude that's older, closer to my age. WHEREIN SHAI WILL PROBABLY GO TO HELL (not surprising) BUT FLIRTING IS FUN, RIGHT? Actually, the kid is pretty entertaining and also the waitress did the same *headdesk* I did when she flirted, too, ahahaha.
The opening band, we learned later, was called Everybody Out and were pretty much so fresh from the boat that I only understood about every fourth word he said when he spoke between songs. Pretty standard punk, lots of fun. The lead singer spent a lot of time along the barrier, plus at one point he crawled over and wandered into the crowd for a while. Poor security dudes, lol. Also, his and the lead guitarist's pants were so tight they had boxer brief lines. LOL. Actually, I really like the lead singer's pants (no package jokes, okay?), they were pin-striped.
MOVING ALONG.
I'd forgotten how much I enjoy the fuck out of ska music. Seriously. Big D & the Kids Table was up next. Poor crowd, lol. They didn't really know how to react to this style of music. Big D is a pretty standard ska band - a little fun, a little political. Plus the lead singer played this really weird keyboard thingy that you blow into like a horn? IDEK, but it was neat. Also, HORNS. I LOVE HORNS. which is why I enjoy ska so much, punk with horns makes me :D :D
I think the drummer looked up once. For reals, he had hair past his shoulders and he spent the time with his head down pounding the fuck out of his kit. Mmmmm, me likee (my bias shows, yes?)
the main event (or: holy fuck, I'm going to die. for reals.)
The crowd is still doing pretty good at this point, not too pushy even with the main act coming on soon. The one little guy appeared out of nowhere, got a hand on the barrier and made a general nuisance of himself. I only wanted to punch him three times. Also, one guy that had to be 6'2", 250lbs had sidled himself up closer to the front. At this point, we were getting pretty close. I put my hands on the funny 15 year old's hips (mostly so I could keep a little space between us, ahahahaha, oh shai *shakes head* ). He kept moving one of my hands up to his chest, the twerp, to which i immediately moved it back to his hip and tried not to imagine what prison was like. *sigh* kids these days.
FINALLY, the boys come on. And all hell breaks loose. Okay, you know we'd started out pretty much in the middle? Well, general shuffle before the DKMs came on had us nearly over stage left (?) in front of the other microphone.
AHAHAHAHA, within the first 2 songs, I'd lost Melinda and Joey and was back in the middle. I also got someone dropped on my head because I was stupid and forgot to watch out for the pointing. *sigh*
By about the sixth song, I'd had at least half a frat house (a really stupid tall frat house, omg) beside me and then in front of me. I could barely breathe at this point and decided that I should probably get out of the pit. I'd been steadily pushed back anyway, so I just kind of let myself flow back. Jesus, though, while doing this, someone hit the floor. AND NOBODY WAS HELPING HIM UP. So, essentially? I pulled up a 300lb guy BY MYSELF. I shit you not. I don't know but it seems like pit etiquette has become a thing of the past (except at Aiden concerts, those pits pretty much rule).
So. I'm working backwards right? Not really through any real action on my part, mostly the pit just moving me back. When I step back into, well, nothing. I have a moment of 'huh' when bodies start flying.
AHAHAHA, I GOT BACKED RIGHT INTO THE MOST PIT, YO.
I seriously thought I was going to die. I like the pit, right? Jumping up and down, screaming back at the band. Throwing myself haphazardly at other people? NOT SO MUCH.
God, I hauled ass the rest of the way without too much damage until I reached the edge. Which is, of course, when someone really flew into me. And the girls at the edge shoved me back in (which, you know, not such a big deal, that's what you do on the outside) except that someone flew into me and I landed on my ass. It's really at this point where I was really 'FUCK, I"M GOING TO DIE.'
I pretty much climbed the the two girls in front of me to get out. I am perfectly serious, like clawed up their legs and arms and shoved my way past them. Ahaha, I'm sure I looked like a mad person to the people I went through to get to the back of the crowd. I was drenched, my hair was all over the place and I'm sure I was weaving, lol.
Out in the merch area, the girl serving beer/water/food took one look at me and dug out a water. I tipped her, lol, of course. My hands were shaking so bad at first, I couldn't get the damn thing open.
After consuming that water in about .5 seconds, I went back into the venue. I watched for a while from the right, had a pretty great view until the drunk dickweed decided that he wanted to mosh. >:( and then there was the couple that sidled up to my left who were so drunk they could barely stand up. Aaaaah, St. Paddy's celebrations, I love them!
Ran into Joey a little further back, he said Melinda'd gotten out about song two which, actually, I'm pretty proud she made it through the openers and that long into the main band. I got another water and went back to hang with Joey.
I am a bad DKM fan, I admit it. I don't know enough of their songs even though I completely adore their music. But they played Fields of Athenry which is my absolute favorite, so I made myself pretty hoarse at that. Spent a little while out on the merch steps with Melinda, trying to get my body to settle down towards the end of the concert.
and that was that (or: trying not to fall asleep in the car waiting for Joey)
Melinda and I made our way to the car to wait for Joey. After we got him, we made our way back to the hotel. Where I spent another half an hour getting the wireless to work AGAIN. Joey took a shower, I played on teh intarwebs (like the Addict I am) and finally climbed into the shower myself. I hit the hay around 2am and slept fairly well considering it was a hotel bed.
I woke up around 8 (which with the time change meant I'd slept about 5 hours, ugh) and couldn't go back to sleep. SO, GUESS WHAT I DID? Yep, internet. After a while, Joey and Melinda got up and we took off.
Okay, we gorged ourselves at IHOP first and then started home. We also stopped at some podunk Dairy Queen which was run by teenagers, lol. Oh, how I miss small towns (NOT) because I couldn't use my debit card since I don't know my pin >_>.
When we got home, Melinda basically made us go eat sushi...although that's never a hardship. And then we got back to Melinda's house and I WENT HOME where I did absolutely nothing but, wait for it, play on the computer.
so what did we learn here?
&hearts Shailaja successfully maneuvered downtown Dallas
&hearts Apparently they make frat boys in XXL
&hearts Shailaja can spend ridiculous amounts of $$ in a very short time
&hearts Flirting with teenagers is bad, hmmm. (sorry, lame South Park joke *sigh* )
FINAL TALLY:
tickets: $32
gas: $27
food: $77
parking: $10
merch: $15
Irish Punk Death Pit: priceless
St. Paddy's Day Tour
w/ Dropkick Murphys, Big D & The Kids Table, and Everybody Out
When
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Where
The House of Blues - Dallas, TX
how much sleep do i really need?
So, we'd (we = Melinda, Joey and myself) decided that we would head out to Dallas about 10am on Saturday. That would get us to the Big D around 2/230 with plenty of time to check into the hotel, chill out for a bit, and eat before the show.
Well, the CabPlague had me going to sleep around 8/830 for the past week, right? I figured that Friday night would pretty much be the same, but alas some things never change. As per pretty much every other exciting weekend out of town had me wandering around the apartment until about 11 before I even felt semi-tired. Which means that I didn't go to sleep until after midnight.
Guess who wakes up at 630? (for one, I forgot to turn off my weekday alarm and two, i was already awake :( This is actually not unusual at all for me, getting excited about something and getting as little rest as possible so that I can be at maximum wear-out capacity by the end of the trip. Ugh, peoples, just. Ugh.
ANYWAY. We actually head out closer to 1030/11 but still make pretty decent time to Dallas. We find the hotel without too much trouble. Joey turns on the TV, Melinda crashes, and I spend about half an hour fighting with the damn hotel wireless *grrrface* because I am An Addict. I know this, my friends know this, you dear reader (being of an LJ mind) should have figured that out eons ago.
So. Wireless is a go, Melinda gets a little rest, and we are all hungry now.
on the road again (or: can Shailaja remember how to get to the House of Blues without getting everyone helplessly lost?) + Stephen, the hot waiter.
Dear reader, just in case you weren't aware? I have the worst sense of direction of probably anyone on this planet, fr srs. I've worked really hard, though, on this particular disorder. With the number of trips I have planned in the next year, it's really a must to know where the fuck you're going.
The funny part is, while we were at the hotel I checked out how to get to the venue. And of course we go the opposite way from what I'd written down. (NOT MY FAULT.) Of course, it's not really that big a deal since we can get back on the highway we'd originally come down. I just wasn't sure if the Live Oak exit was on US-75 or if we had to get on US-35E first.
Turns out it is on US-75. >_> After a short discussion with a semi, we made the exit. Now I just had to remember where HOB was in relation to our exit.
AND I DID! I GOT US TO THE VENUE WITHOUT GETTING LOST.
I have to admit, it's (sadly) one of my more proud moments. After that (and paying for parking), we decided to just eat at the HOB. Which was an awesome idea, btw, since you basically get into the show before all the people waiting outside.
SO. DINNER. was kinda awesome. Our waiter, Stephen was fairly entertaining. Plus, we hadn't really eaten and I had BEER (mmmm), several actually. Melinda and I were feeling pretty good by this point. ( \o/ ) So yeah, Stephen. *cough* Joey had already run out to the car at one point, so Melinda and I couldn't persuade him to take our leftover cornbread to the car. OMG, THE CORNBREAD. The House of Blues has some seriously AWESOME cornbread, ya'll. ALSO, THE MAPLE SYRUP BUTTER STUFF IS DO DIE FOR. I had asked for a to-go container for the butter, too, but Stephen forgot. So I may have just put the whole thing, container and all, in the to-go box, but you can't pin it on me. >_> SERIOUSLY. BUTTER & CORNBREAD, mmmmmm.
just in time for the show (or: why the hell do you wear 4 inch heels to a DKM (or any) concert?) + Flirting with 15 year olds *headdesk*
I finished another beer while we waited inside. A few of us may have made fun of someone for wearing 4-inch heels in line ahead of us. I mean, I loved the boots, I did. But why wear them to an Irish punk concert? SERIOUSLY.
Anyway, we get into the room. This venue is about twice as large as the one where Cobra Starship played, but it's also got a second level with seats. All in all, a pretty damn cool little venue. Melinda and Joey went straight to merch while i wandered around for a bit. The barrier was already taken, but even after going back to get my own t-shirt, we were still second row.
Now, we're second row, right? Pretty much, front and center. And I'm between this teenager and another dude that's older, closer to my age. WHEREIN SHAI WILL PROBABLY GO TO HELL (not surprising) BUT FLIRTING IS FUN, RIGHT? Actually, the kid is pretty entertaining and also the waitress did the same *headdesk* I did when she flirted, too, ahahaha.
The opening band, we learned later, was called Everybody Out and were pretty much so fresh from the boat that I only understood about every fourth word he said when he spoke between songs. Pretty standard punk, lots of fun. The lead singer spent a lot of time along the barrier, plus at one point he crawled over and wandered into the crowd for a while. Poor security dudes, lol. Also, his and the lead guitarist's pants were so tight they had boxer brief lines. LOL. Actually, I really like the lead singer's pants (no package jokes, okay?), they were pin-striped.
MOVING ALONG.
I'd forgotten how much I enjoy the fuck out of ska music. Seriously. Big D & the Kids Table was up next. Poor crowd, lol. They didn't really know how to react to this style of music. Big D is a pretty standard ska band - a little fun, a little political. Plus the lead singer played this really weird keyboard thingy that you blow into like a horn? IDEK, but it was neat. Also, HORNS. I LOVE HORNS. which is why I enjoy ska so much, punk with horns makes me :D :D
I think the drummer looked up once. For reals, he had hair past his shoulders and he spent the time with his head down pounding the fuck out of his kit. Mmmmm, me likee (my bias shows, yes?)
the main event (or: holy fuck, I'm going to die. for reals.)
The crowd is still doing pretty good at this point, not too pushy even with the main act coming on soon. The one little guy appeared out of nowhere, got a hand on the barrier and made a general nuisance of himself. I only wanted to punch him three times. Also, one guy that had to be 6'2", 250lbs had sidled himself up closer to the front. At this point, we were getting pretty close. I put my hands on the funny 15 year old's hips (mostly so I could keep a little space between us, ahahahaha, oh shai *shakes head* ). He kept moving one of my hands up to his chest, the twerp, to which i immediately moved it back to his hip and tried not to imagine what prison was like. *sigh* kids these days.
FINALLY, the boys come on. And all hell breaks loose. Okay, you know we'd started out pretty much in the middle? Well, general shuffle before the DKMs came on had us nearly over stage left (?) in front of the other microphone.
AHAHAHAHA, within the first 2 songs, I'd lost Melinda and Joey and was back in the middle. I also got someone dropped on my head because I was stupid and forgot to watch out for the pointing. *sigh*
By about the sixth song, I'd had at least half a frat house (a really stupid tall frat house, omg) beside me and then in front of me. I could barely breathe at this point and decided that I should probably get out of the pit. I'd been steadily pushed back anyway, so I just kind of let myself flow back. Jesus, though, while doing this, someone hit the floor. AND NOBODY WAS HELPING HIM UP. So, essentially? I pulled up a 300lb guy BY MYSELF. I shit you not. I don't know but it seems like pit etiquette has become a thing of the past (except at Aiden concerts, those pits pretty much rule).
So. I'm working backwards right? Not really through any real action on my part, mostly the pit just moving me back. When I step back into, well, nothing. I have a moment of 'huh' when bodies start flying.
AHAHAHA, I GOT BACKED RIGHT INTO THE MOST PIT, YO.
I seriously thought I was going to die. I like the pit, right? Jumping up and down, screaming back at the band. Throwing myself haphazardly at other people? NOT SO MUCH.
God, I hauled ass the rest of the way without too much damage until I reached the edge. Which is, of course, when someone really flew into me. And the girls at the edge shoved me back in (which, you know, not such a big deal, that's what you do on the outside) except that someone flew into me and I landed on my ass. It's really at this point where I was really 'FUCK, I"M GOING TO DIE.'
I pretty much climbed the the two girls in front of me to get out. I am perfectly serious, like clawed up their legs and arms and shoved my way past them. Ahaha, I'm sure I looked like a mad person to the people I went through to get to the back of the crowd. I was drenched, my hair was all over the place and I'm sure I was weaving, lol.
Out in the merch area, the girl serving beer/water/food took one look at me and dug out a water. I tipped her, lol, of course. My hands were shaking so bad at first, I couldn't get the damn thing open.
After consuming that water in about .5 seconds, I went back into the venue. I watched for a while from the right, had a pretty great view until the drunk dickweed decided that he wanted to mosh. >:( and then there was the couple that sidled up to my left who were so drunk they could barely stand up. Aaaaah, St. Paddy's celebrations, I love them!
Ran into Joey a little further back, he said Melinda'd gotten out about song two which, actually, I'm pretty proud she made it through the openers and that long into the main band. I got another water and went back to hang with Joey.
I am a bad DKM fan, I admit it. I don't know enough of their songs even though I completely adore their music. But they played Fields of Athenry which is my absolute favorite, so I made myself pretty hoarse at that. Spent a little while out on the merch steps with Melinda, trying to get my body to settle down towards the end of the concert.
and that was that (or: trying not to fall asleep in the car waiting for Joey)
Melinda and I made our way to the car to wait for Joey. After we got him, we made our way back to the hotel. Where I spent another half an hour getting the wireless to work AGAIN. Joey took a shower, I played on teh intarwebs (like the Addict I am) and finally climbed into the shower myself. I hit the hay around 2am and slept fairly well considering it was a hotel bed.
I woke up around 8 (which with the time change meant I'd slept about 5 hours, ugh) and couldn't go back to sleep. SO, GUESS WHAT I DID? Yep, internet. After a while, Joey and Melinda got up and we took off.
Okay, we gorged ourselves at IHOP first and then started home. We also stopped at some podunk Dairy Queen which was run by teenagers, lol. Oh, how I miss small towns (NOT) because I couldn't use my debit card since I don't know my pin >_>.
When we got home, Melinda basically made us go eat sushi...although that's never a hardship. And then we got back to Melinda's house and I WENT HOME where I did absolutely nothing but, wait for it, play on the computer.
so what did we learn here?
&hearts Shailaja successfully maneuvered downtown Dallas
&hearts Apparently they make frat boys in XXL
&hearts Shailaja can spend ridiculous amounts of $$ in a very short time
&hearts Flirting with teenagers is bad, hmmm. (sorry, lame South Park joke *sigh* )
FINAL TALLY:
tickets: $32
gas: $27
food: $77
parking: $10
merch: $15
Irish Punk Death Pit: priceless
no subject
also, let me introduce you to the crap that is stored in my brain. that instrument the ska guy was playing is called a Melodica, made somewhat popular (depending on your interpretation of popularity) by the 80s band The Hooters.
no subject
god, i saw flogging molly last march and OMG. i was a total wreck after that show, drenched to the bone. i have never been that nasty. EVER. it was seriously awesome.
no subject
you seriously read this whole thing? wow. i think ilu. :D :D
no subject
I read the whole thing! I'm interested in peoples lives and stuff okay? having no life of my own to speak of
no subject
Wait wait, The Pogues with or without Shane McGowen? (Yeah I know I misspelled his last name -_- *fail*)