NOTE: I'm working on a better format for this section. If you have an idea, let me know!

8/25/07 Columbia MD

 

Ok, well, the day didn't start off great. Alarm didn't go off, stopped by a funeral going across the street that took forever and backed up traffic like crazy, atm wasn't working, got blocked in at the gas station by a gas truck making a delivery, traffic traffic traffic, and bad directions from mapquest. But we got to the bus station at exactly the same time as Brooke's bus so that part worked good. Found the hotel, had a hard time finding a place with food but got there at 6. Got in the m&g line, met bwb and mch (great to meet y'all girls!), storm rolls in so m&g was inside the hinder camp. I swear it was like camp cabins almost lol. Lots of people for the m&g. Went through and they signed my pic from Feb with them and one of the posters for hubby (ie me hehe, it was one of the jager ones) then back through the line for pics. (oh, Austin said no to answering about ffc on tape. I asked what they do think about it, and he said "it was just so long ago") I asked Blower and Mike if they could change places so I could be between Mike and Austin for my pic and they did. I look like such a fucking dork! And I made sure I thanked Blower for switching hehe. I forgot to show them my tat but just before they headed out (we hung back) I did show it to Cody and he loved it. Rev had already started playing while we were in line for autos and just as we were leaving to go to the seats, it let loose with the rain. So i didn't see enough of Rev to make a decision about them.

Buckcherry was awesome! We were closer than I thought we'd be but I haven't checked the pics on the comp yet so I don't know how they turned out. But Josh Todd....he knows how to move! The revolving song spot was whiskey in the morning. I think josh was a bit disappointed in the crowd response though. Not a lot of responding when he wanted people to sing or chant cocaine. And I am a terrible buckcherry fan, I can't even remember all the members names. (I know 4 of the 5....) But they all did a great job.

The crowd was most definitely a Papa Roach crowd. Everyone went nuts when they came on. Jacoby definitely feeds off the crowd and they put on a great show too. I actually knew more of their stuff than I realized. Jacoby was all over the crowd too. And the drummer kept throwing his sticks around lol. Up in the air, off stage, someone throwing them back. He was fun to watch when I couldn't see Jacoby

Hinder, sigh, like I said, Austin was drunk. You could tell when he came out with Papa Roach on broken home, he didn't realize his mic wasn't on and he had that wide-eyed glassy look and it was worse when they came out. I swear, I think he forgot the words to how long. He was in the crowd back behind me so I couldn't see, maybe he just didn't have the mic up, but I could hear some of what he was saying and it wasn't the right words. And his singing was off key bad at times. "in the middle of a breakdown" stands out in my mind majorly because of the way he said "breakdown". The rest of the guys were spot on though. Mark is adorable, he was interacting with the crowd the whole time. I started putting up the duck instead of horns and he saw me and pointed at me with a nod. (Glad he didn't hear what I said to mike about the duck at the m&g...which I forgot to put in, haha. I'll put that at the end....) I love Mike's hawk, but like I said, he was pissed at Austin. After room 21, he just disappeared. I was watching mark and looked over for him and he was gone. He'd already left the stage and the music wasn't quite done yet. And after get stoned, it was no where near done and he put the bass down and walked off to the back. Brooke said she saw him roll his eyes at Austin so I'm sure he was pissed about how drunk he was. I loved the new song, what I could understand of Austin's singing at least. The music sounded great though! Mark and Mike both getting a little bit of what I consider a "solo" where they are more to the front, especially Mark. And I don't really like the new words to tfy, but I'll get used to it I'm sure. I think it sounded a lot better  as "someone else" instead of "someone too." Austin was all over the place though. He even came out by me and I was in seats 3 rows back from the pit. During get stoned, he walked down the isle in front of mine.

Can't really think of much else to say. Oh yeah, the duck thing. I told mike I hope he really likes ducks. He said he loves them and can't get enough lol. I told him he has a lot coming hehe. Cody even said the more ducks the better. I told them I was tired of seeing it in every thread but then I was throwing up the duck during the show so *shrug*. Time and a place for everything. So I'll work on my pics now and if you  have questions, ask.

 

Editted to add: Found out a couple of days later, Austin wasn't drunk, he was sick. Cold meds can really mess ya up and I give props to Steener for doing as good as he did considering!

 

The Norva, Norfolk VA

2/14/07

 

ok, for starters, got up yesterday, checked the tv and net. weather did not look good. richmond news showed trees down all along the interstate, 4 wreaks in 20 miles, very very bad. so we weren't going. i went back to bed and cried. then brooke called about noon and woke me up. i checked up on things, talked with hubby, things were good to go. then he checked the net, changed his mind and i said "well, i'm going." he said "bye" so about 2pm i finally had gas, food and had gone back home for the camera lol. no problems at all on the drive down. saw where all the trees had fallen but all were cut back away from the road and no wreaks at all. we had to be at the norva by 6:15 for the m&g, going in at 6:30. well, i picked brooke up at like 6. (so sorry stacey that we didn't make it for dinner!) we pulled into a parking spot at 6:20, ran through the mall and across the street and i still had to pick up  my tickets!! after a couple min running back and forth trying to get it figured out, brooke remembered she had an extra ticket. after slapping myself in the head with a big "DUH!" (thanks so much to my bro for my tickets! he got me into the meet and greet!!) we both got in for the m&g. 10 us of total (and it was great meeting you terra and brit!) we talked to the guys, they signed our posters. asked austin about steener and the reason for the nickname is the reason i always say it wrong lol. told mark they looked good on conan and not as nervous as they were for craig. he said he wasn't nervous for either, he was drunk for both lol. told blower about having to wait for his b-day for his gift, told cody he'd have to wait till then too. talked to mike a bit about somethign special that i gotta send to someone. asked if they would come out after the show for their gifts and take pics and mike said they had to hit the road right after for flordia for a radio show (guess the fansite was right). i said damnit. kyle said you can take pics now. told him he is a great guy lol. tooks pics and gave the guys their v-day gifts. went back downstairs and brooke pushed our way to the front center. tried to find stacey, turned out she was over on mike and blowers side and there was no way she could get to us. so bsc comes out and they kicked ass!! they really do a great show. like already said, two drunks making out and humping right beside me. got a little beer on my back that we had actually passed to him cause neither of us drinks beer. big mistake lol. the guy could barely stand up! and two of the girls with them...oy, they were really into the show i'd say. one of them you could see the edge of her nipples her shirt was so low. but bsc kept my attention. that girl got a drumstick but missed the pick that was thrown to her. i saw it and put my foot over it  :) so i got a bsc pick.  don't know who threw it but i got it lol. between bsc and f11, the drunks decided they wanted more room and started pushing and shoving and everyone was pushing back. poor me, i couldn't move lol. oh how i wished hubby was there at that point! i so wanted to hit him but i'm just not like that. but the security guy came over and i made sure i told him what they were up to and they took the 2 worse ones away and the others were very nice after that. f11 came on, not impressed at all. 2 really nice girls behind us liked them though. i had heard 1 song before, and not the one most people talk about either. but one they said is on their new album. the bass player didn't move out of one spot the whole time. and the whole point of a singer not playing while singing is so he can move and this guy didn't move much at all.  they got a few yells but not much. so we are getting ready for hinder, brooke has my camera cause she takes good pics and we wind up switching around a bit. i wound up being 3 people back instead of 2 but at least i was facing the stage at this point lol. the guys come out and just rock!! the whole show they were awesome. austin knows how to work a crowd! they didn't play shoulda though. i realized that when i was falling asleep last night. they moved running in the rain up earlier in the show too. and my camera didn't save that video clip when it died  :'( mark is great on the keys though. brooke got some great pics before the battery died. i had forgotten that it had been used since i had charged it. but i still got some great pics to post later. i did get a little clip of bliss on my cell phone and some other pics there too but they suck. and the clip of bliss is too big to send so i have to go buy a cable to get it off.  i swear, i have never been one to get into the yelling, screaming and throwing hands up and all, but i was so totally into these guys. they make sure to make eye contact with as many people as they can, well except mike who seems to play mostly with his eyes closed lol. but he gets so into his playing too. i loved hearing all of thing for you. i had only watched the first part of that first clip posted. brooke actually called you harms on my phone so thank her not me.  :D i called the peoples i had numbers for, pinkie and lexi though. sorry you didn't get to talk to blower lexi. but at least i did catch john fred for you  oh yeah, i got a blower pick too. brooke got a mark one. she caught it in her bottle holder  when austin jumped down to us, (austin jumped into the crowd during room 21!!)i made sure not to really grab him too much, but when he turned to go back, i gave him a good pat on the back for sure  :) afterwards, went to the merch booth. bought the white hinder shirt they had. got john to sign one side of the bsc pick and ben to sign the other side. i asked ben why they were first instead of right before hinder. he said he didn't know. i told him they should be cause the other band wasn't all that great. he just smiled and held up his fist to mine lol. and john fred does have a great accent. i honestly don't remember much of what he said to lexi lol. i was freezing at that point and thinking of food cause it was after 11 and i hadn't eatten since 2. hinder was up doing a hot tub meet and greet and from what stacey said, she saw cody's girl backstage when the guys came out. which i am thrilled about! i hope austin's girl was there too and blowers too. i mean, it was valentines day! lol. so we try to head out to mcd to get something to eat and stacey gets lost and brooke and i get lost in opposite directions lol. we made our way back to the norva to start over and the buses were pulling out at that point. we were running out of time though so had to cut food short and hit a drive thru (sorry again stacey! wish we'd have had more time). got brooke home, found my hotel at the beach and went to bed lol. i was so tired at that point. i barely made it out of bed before checkout time lol. so there ya go, long and drawn out and prob not really saying much of anything lol. i had a great time though and i'm glad i drove myself. i was so scared and stressed when i picked brooke up though.

 

my first show...hinder kicked butt!! oh the way austin moves his hips i swear....even hubby said they have a great stage presence. had to buy a cd to meet the guys but i can return it to fye no problem. got them to sign my shirt :D my pics will prob suck of the show itself and not sure how the others will turn out. will get them developed on sun since i have to work sat (and the lady who worked for me today said she is still gonna work on sun so i dont have to!!) forgot to ask the guys their b-days though. at least until they were walking away. austin was last to leave and i yelled out asking him and he said the 25th! my b-day!!!! loud yes from me i must say. wish they guys could have played longer. started out with how long, last 2 were lips and get stoned. in between but not sure of the order right now were homecoming queen, bliss, and room 21. in that order i think. anyway. can't wait till the new year when i have vacation time again!!

i loved this show!!