More Than Ordinary:

Wake me up when September ends--oh, wait

2009-10-01T06:00:23Z

So I took this weirdly accurate Quiz thing that pretty much sums up like... everything? I mean, normally I don't give stuff like this all that much merit, but... it's weird...

"You are the sort of person that needs a peaceful environment. You seek release from stress and freedom from conflicts and disagreements, of which you seem to have had more than your fair share. But you are taking pains to control the situation by proceeding cautiously and you are right in doing so as you are a very sensitive person.

You are full of stress at this time. It would seem that you are having more than your fair share of trials and tribulations and you are looking for a way out. You are not quite sure which way to go but the advice is - 'Stop trying so hard'.

Being a very proud individual, you tend to hold yourself aloof pretending that you are stoical - indifferent to pain and pleasure. This is not so, for in truth you are an extremely emotional individual, one that may make a hasty decision and perhaps regret it at leisure. It is time now to break the bond of detachment and be the 'you' that you would like to be - give vent to your emotions and enjoy yourself.

You are feeling trapped by the situation as it stands at this time and what is more, you feel powerless to remedy it. You are stressful, angry and disgruntled. You feel that everything that you try to do to change the situation is thwarted and your hopes and aspirations all seem to be receding into the ever distant future. You have reached the state where you now doubt whether your dreams will ever be achieved and this is not only causing mental stress but heartache. You need to get away from it all - you need to have time to think, to recuperate, to be able to make your own decisions.

You wish to be left in peace... no more conflict and no more differences of opinion. In fact you just don't want to be involved in arguments of any shape or form. All you want is for 'them' to get on with it - and to leave you alone."

So... yeah. I am thinking about going to art school. Probably The International Academy of Design & Technology because they have one here in Orlando and have a double major program with fashion design AND merchandising. But I don't know. It is something I enjoy and am passionate about but does not seem like a real career path AT ALL. But on the other hand going to UCF and getting a nice ol' business degree seems like an awful idea too. WHO KNOWS.

In other news, my new favorite thing in the world is Gossip Girl and oh my god when am I going to New York again? I am way overdue. Fall is here and the temperature finally dropped below 80 today and my Facebook page was a series of "WTF IT'S COOL OUTSIDE" updates. Halloween Horror Nights is as glorious as ever, and fall concert season kicked off on Sunday with the Blink 182/Fall Out Boy/The All-American Rejects show, which was EPIC. The next show on my agenda is Muse and U2, and I can't quite believe it. I do love to keep it interesting...

One month later

2009-09-04T03:57:28Z

So um, hi? Yeah. Things are weird. I got laid off from Cinnabon (sort of, it's complicated) and am now only working the 12 hours a week at my babysitting job and have more spare time than any person should have and it is kind of killing me. I know, it's a horrible thing to complain about, but I feel totally useless without an actual job. And the way things are looking, I won't be able to get another one until Christmas.

...But on the awesome end of things, my adventures in early August were pretty much spectacular (The Cab, Green Day and Lollapalooza) and the fall looks promising as always. The trick this year will be scraping together enough money for everything.

Things that I like: the new Third Eye Blind CD, the show Chuck, the new roller coaster at Universal, margaritas, this video, the fact that my whole yard smelled like honeysuckle tonight, DIY craft projects, and coffee.

nothing's bigger than love

2009-08-03T06:23:14Z

I am in such a happy place right now. For starters, my hair is PINK and I know I'm an awful person for not throwing up a picture right now, but I've been busy doing things like going to Cab shows and hanging out with supercool people!

Currently I am in a semi-shady motel in Tampa about to pass out before Green Day tomorrow (!!!) and Lollapalooza is less than a week away and things are pretty awesome.

ALSO if you haven't yet, please go see 500 Days of Summer, it was glorious. Good night.

I UPDATE WHEN I WANT, FOO

2009-07-20T19:27:08Z

Uhhh, remember when I posted that whiny entry about being super hot at Red, Hot & Boom? Perhaps you would like to see my pictures of that day?

The truly ironic thing is that shortly after that post, some nice dark clouds rolled in. They covered up the sun and dropped the temperature and it was all well and good until the sky was suddenly BLACK. View of the stage:

Last glimpse of the sun...

The first act was a singer named Evan Taubenfield (or something) who was billed in the program as the former "Lead guitarist for Avril Lavigne!!!" and uh, that pretty much summed him up. He was annoying.

But he only made it through a song & a half before they called off the show because of the rain!
He gave a couple of high-fives as he left. (I was kind of hoping he'd fall in the water...)

So I waited. It rained a little. Whatever. It rained a little more. Okay. TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR OF DOOM IMMINENT ...Fine, time to take cover. Welcome to Florida in July, people. I was pretty sure this meant that The Cab (who were next) were going to get cheated out of their set, but they weren't! Eventually the rain stopped (and it got hot again almost immediately, lol) and it was Cab time.

I did the best I could with pictures, but damn if that stage isn't far away--and I was on the "barricade." But three out of five boys were shirtless (hey, it was hot)...

Including Bryan, the new kid. I think he'll fit in just fine.

Full band shot:

They played "I'll Run," "Disturbia," "Bounce," and "Risky Business," and even then, the fourth song was a last-minute addition. I'm just glad they got to play at all. Because the stage at Crane's Roost is out on the water, the bands get there by boat, something that the boys were quite amused by (according to Twitter, anyway.) So here is The Cab on a boat, lol.

The next act was a singer named Jessie James and OH MY GOD SHE WAS AWFUL HERE HAVE A PICTURE AND LET'S MOVE ON

I stuck around for Hey Monday, who are still adorable and catchy, but they only got to play three songs: "Obvious," "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now." I'm kinda bummed I missed their headliner in Tampa.

I love her little outfit.

I left after that because it was hot (duh) and crowded and I didn't feel like sitting through more horrible bands (even if they did only get 3 song sets) to see Kevin Rudolf. Next time, dude.

Then last week I went out to Tampa to see Smash Mouth play after a baseball game!

The game was at Tropicana Field in St. Pete, the place that kind of looks like a lopsided spaceship. It's cool. It kind of detracted from my image of a baseball game--outside under the stars and with real grass, etc.--but you know what, air conditioning is nice too.

Spaceship!

The Tampa Bay Rays were a pretty big deal last year. I don't know anything at all about baseball so I can't offer too much insightful commentary on the game. It was interesting? We had pretty good seats; my dad won them from a radio station.

Lori was not really amused.

Because the field doesn't have a lot of extra space, the players did their warm-up throws right in front of us.

One of the cool things about the stadium is that they had a tank full of ACTUAL stingrays that you could pet and/or feed $4 fish to. Lori and I just chose to observe from a distance.

Of course, since we were there, the team ended up losing the game (sigh), but then it was time for Smash Mouth! They set up the stage right on the field.

I ended up watching the set from the back of the crowd (no one I was with wanted to get closer!) so I couldn't get any good pictures. Gotta say though, the sound was not good at ALL. Way too much bass! You could hardly hear the guitar at all. I guess that's what you get when you set up a stage on an indoor baseball field. WHEN WILL THEY LEARN. The set included a lot of Van Halen covers and more new songs than I would have liked, but eh, I'm oldschool. Smash Mouth was pretty important to me back in the day. They were the first real concert I went to--at Mardi Gras at Universal in 1990-whatever. Good times. :3

Finally, have some cute animals. I know that's what you came here for.

Orange kitty is my favorite. I have entirely too many pictures of him. Here he is using my new IKEA pillow as a hat.

He was most displeased when I moved the pillow for a better picture.

And I saved the best for last! This tiny, tiny turtle magically appeared in my backyard the other day--and I saw him again today! He could easily fit in your hand. SO CUTE

Wow, I feel all accomplished now.

I really want to get back into the swing of things

2009-07-14T05:49:52Z

I have actually uploaded pictures from the last two shows I've done, so we'll see if anything comes of that. I miss you, livejournal, I really do. I still check my friends page constantly, but it looks like I've fallen victim to the cop-out of posting a one-sentence status update on Facebook instead of taking the time to actually write something.

I am totally late on this issue, but, re: Panic sort-of breaking up: I would be much more okay with this if one of the halves decided to let Ian from The Cab and Chris from The Hush Sound join. That would be pretty awesome.

I really need to start listening to some of the bands I'll be seeing at Lollapalooza (lol Tool) since it's less than a month away, I but I seem to be in one of two moods musically: Lady Gaga when it is partytimes and Matt Costa when it is not. I missed the boat big time on Lady Gaga (she was at Lollapalooza in 2007!) and I really wish I'd gone to her show at HOB. Matt Costa was an opener at the Death Cab show in May and I absolutely ADORE him. He's like what Conor Oberst would be like if he ever got his Prozac dosage right!

...I have been watching anime lately. It's complicated.

In keeping with the trend of being behind: Carli's birthday was yesterday and she remains my oldest and awesomest friend. Happy belated birthday, yo! :3

I have had better ideas than this

2009-07-03T19:21:58Z

Currently I am in Altamonte waiting for Red, Hot & Boom to start. I am in like the second row (not that It matters, I forgot how stupidly far away the stage is) and it is about 30 million degrees outside, perhaps 25 million under my umbrella. The crowd seems to consist of 17-and-under We the Kings fans and their parents; therefore, I don't see anyone I recognize. The one saving grace is that every once in a while, a breeze blows off the lake and gives me hope that I may not, in fact, melt into the concrete. Also, The Cab are the second band on, so I could be totally not-hardcore and just leave after their set. BUT I really like Kevin Rudolf, and he plays second to last, of course. Sigh~

In other news, things are pretty good! I am taking a stupid math class at SCC and will hopefully be TRULY done with math after that.

Well, wish me luck at not-melting!

FAIL FAIL FAIL

2009-06-28T08:07:39Z

Went to a nightclub in downtown Orlando tonight and actually had a really great time UNTIL MY PHONE WAS STOLEN WTF

...So um, email me or something. This sucks so much.

Getting back into the habit...

2009-06-08T02:01:57Z

HEY GUYS I think I am going to try to actually update some more now! It's really hard when you get behind and then more things happen and then it just seems even more impossible to chronicle everything... It's safe to say that May more or less kicked my ass. There was an epic Disney trip, two concerts (Death Cab For Cutie and Amber Pacific), four movies and during all of it I managed to catch TWO different colds, which were awesome. But I wanted to write about all this stuff (maybe not the colds) but I was too busy DOING all of it, and well, it's a week into June. So let's start over. FIRST UP: I was tagged to make a list...

1. Disenchanted: Might seem like an odd pick for a favorite MyChem song--it's not something you can really ROCK OUT to, but I love it very, very much. Seeing it done live on the Black Parade tour is still one of the highlights of my concert-going career.
2. Headfirst for Halos: Now this is one you can rock out to. OLD SCHOOL, YO. I don't like the Bullets album as a whole, but come on. "THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS, THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS"
3. I'm Not Okay (I Promise): Way before I thought MyChem was cool I saw this video and thought, "Wow, this band is really weird." I continued thinking that after I saw the Helena video. Dancing umbrella goths? Oh yeah.
4. Mama: When the Black Parade CD leaked, I downloaded it just before I had to go to bed and only had time to listen to one track. This was it, and I knew from the first time I heard it that I was going to love the album.
5. Welcome to the Black Parade: The video is actually my favorite aspect of this song, and it's the real reason I got into MyChem. However, the song by itself is plenty epic, especially the very end.
6. Heaven Help Us: Three words: BASS BASS BASS. Meaning: I love the bass part in this song. And everything else about it.
7. Teenagers: Arguably the band's most fun song. I wish they'd put it on Rock Band instead of Guitar Hero!
8. You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison: You have to obey the "come with your arms raised high" line at all times, even while driving.
9. Kill All Your Friends: I wish this song had made it on the album (although I guess it doesn't really fit?) because I like it a lot. Maybe it's not the most lyrically impressive but the chorus is a lot of fun.
10. Skylines and Turnstiles: The other track I like from the Bullets CD. I'm not really sure what to say about it, you just have to listen to it.

I really can't wait for the new CD. (And more importantly, the tour!)

And while we're at it, a list of upcoming things that I may/may not end up writing about! HOORAY!

-June 16th—Taking Back Sunday, Jannus Landing, Tampa (Maybe. Not sure if I want to spend the money/effort of a trip out to Tampa for Adam Lazzarra, but we'll see. The kicker of this show is that Anberlin are opening)
-July 18th—Hey Monday, The State Theater, Tampa
-July 24th--The Warped Tour, Orlando (Maybe! Not thrilled about the lineup but it's WARPED. Tradition!)
-July 29th—Gogol Bordello, Firestone, Orlando
-July 31st—The Cab, The Social, Orlando
-August 2nd—The Cab, Orpheum, Tampa
-August 3rd—Green Day, St. Pete Times, Tampa
-August 7-9th—Lollapalooza, Chicago
-October 9th—U2 and Muse, Tampa

So after October, I will have seen every band I've set out to see. (U2 and Green Day are the ones that are missing.) INTERESTING.

well now

2009-05-28T02:46:01Z

Okay, I am AMAZINGLY behind on posting, but I have to say something about this.

Bandit Lee Way! I am glad Gerard did not follow through with his promise to name his kid Dracula. In fact, I like it better than Bronx Mowgli Wentz. I hope they hang out though. :3

On a related note: I've seen a lot of bad (and some REALLY bad) Twilight merch in my day, but the worst has to be a 5 year old kid wearing a shirt that said "Edward in training." DO NOT WANT, EVER

Overall, things are pretty ridiculous. :D

EDIT OMG: Did not realize that Bandit Lee is in fact a girl, not a boy. I think this makes it EVEN MORE AWESOME

Headed nowhere

2009-05-05T05:38:23Z

I planned on making some informative post on the state of things (they have been eventful lately) but I spent some time looking for Bamboozle videos and got distracted. Looks like The Cab had a great time with their Queen covers! Wish I could have been there. I am going to repost a link to the cover of Brick from January, because it is still one of my favorite things ever.

Today I went to Ulta and got more nail polish--peach, obnoxious hot pink and sparkly light pink. (This is riveting news, I know) The sparkly one is called Princesses Rule and I am wearing it to Disney on Friday. (Eeee, Friday! So very soon!)

Coolthing on the internets that you've probably seen already: Texts from last night.com. They're so funny I don't even care if some of them are fake, haha.

Man, that is really all I've got right now. :D

This is a picture post!

2009-04-30T02:56:22Z

I realize that most of you have not seen the pictures of the ridiculous cakes I've been making!

The first class was just to practice/get acquainted with the basics of cake decorating, so there wasn't a cake for that. Here is the end result of the second class:

Each little dot of color on the rainbow is made individually with frosting. Yeah, it takes a while. I skipped the third class because of the Fall Out Boy show (oops) but Lori made creepy, creepy clown cupcakes and I kind of feel I didn't miss anything. But! Here is the final cake:

Isn't it AWESOME? Lori made two of the roses and I made two, and we collaborated on all the other aspects. Here's a comparison shot of the book:

And a glorious, glorious close-up:

So yeah. It was a fun class! And fortunately, Erin's birthday is next week so I have an actual excuse to make a cake. I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS OMG. While we're posting pictures, Lori's prom was Saturday (lol THAT was an adventure) and gosh darnit, she looked so cute. Her and Kevin:

There's more over on Facebook. Kids, they grow up so fast.

Speed up or get blown over

2009-04-29T05:59:39Z

You know what? Whatever, self-imposed internet hiatus. I'M OVER YOU. I am having a good week. Things I like:

-LJ changes! I don't think I've changed my journal style in... well, ever. It's much prettier now. I switched up the title and icons a bit too. We'll see if it sticks.
-The Hey Monday CD. That and Taylor Swift are what I've been listening to--they make me happy.
-Renting movies! Yesterday I got Almost Famous because I'd somehow never seen it before, and I LOVED IT, and a weirdo indie movie called The Go-Getter that was cute and strange. Today was Cruel Intentions, which really had a fantastic ending. COMEUPPANCE.
-Cake class! The last one is tomorrow, and I am not really prepared because I had to skip last week thanks to Fall Out Boy. I have noooo idea how to make a frosting rose. This is SRS BSNS, GUYS.
-The previews for the "Jonas" show on the Disney Channel. They apparently live in a firehouse (lol convenient stripper poles) and get mauled by fangirls when they take the trash out. If I had cable I know what I'd be doing Saturday night. ALAS.
-I do, however, have Saturday off, and it is coming down to choice of theme parks or the beach. Tough call.
-Next week is Erin's birthday and we are going to Disney! It will be awesome if I can coordinate everyone.
-Got a knockoff American Apparel shiny bikini (top AND bottom) at Wet Seal for $20. Yessss. I'm not really a fan of that store but it has served my purposes on occasion.
-I went in to T-Mobile see about getting a new phone and was informed that the new Sidekick comes out in two weeks and it looks AWESOME. It has real internets and a GPS, which is great but will take away the joy of frantically Mapquesting while in the car. Those were the best and worst of times. I want to go on a road trip so very, very much.

This is for real

2009-04-27T03:03:42Z

Broke up with Philip, this time in a "wow things aren't working are they" way instead of a "I'm temporarily angry with you" way and oh, not so fun times. It really wasn't working.

So yeah, break from the internets for a while, carry on without me.

Believers really never die

2009-04-25T04:05:36Z

Okay, maybe not as timely as the last one, but there are a lot more pictures and videos!

Basically, I am really lucky I made it to this show, lucky I was able to stay on the floor the whole time, and ALSO lucky that somehow both 50 Cent AND Metro Station weren't at this date. HOW FORTUITOUS. What ended up going down was a good lineup, good friends, and overall good times.

First! Hey Monday, aka Hayley Monday, or Hey Paramore, take your pick. I am done apologizing for liking ridiculous things. YES I LIKE ZACEFRON AND HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL AND THE CAB AND YOU CAN JUST DEAL. (On that note: today I was told I was too old to go to the Magic Kingdom. I BEG TO DIFFER) Uhhh, yeah. Hey Monday: not terribly original, but terribly catchy, terribly cute, and I think the scene needs more girl bands in any form.

It kind of bugs me that she spells her name "Cassadee," but it could be worse. She is tiny and adorable.

Pete Wentz came out to sing with them on their second song, "Obvious," the chorus of which goes "It's so ah-ah-obvious," and I'm like, "well, yeah."

I didn't get any shots of her bandmates, but I am really wondering if any of them are named Alex. (WIKIPEDIA SAYS YES. HAHAHA) She has kind of a weird possessive thing going on with them, making sure to mess up their hair or touch their shoulders whenever she found herself next to them. Hmm. Interesting dynamic.

Because the extra time, they got to play "Josey," one of my favorites on the album, which was a lot of fun! It is full of the foolish optimism of YOUTH. Cassadee also played the acoustic guitar during "Candles," a pretty song that isn't all that suited to her voice.

They ended the set with the current single "How You Love Me Now," and oh, how I DO love that song now. This band does know their way around a catchy chorus. The last song was "Homecoming," their attempt at dipping into the 'punk' side of the pop-punk pool. It's cute.

Then it was ALL TIME LOW TIME! I actually hadn't seen these dudes in a while, but they are pretty much the same dorks they always were.

The backdrop is their new CD cover, which looks to be shaping up to be another Matt Squire masterpiece, haha. And you can't really see it in that picture, but the stage actually said "HELLO..."

Yeah, at the ORLANDO show, hahaha. Alex said it was a practical joke played on them. I bet it was Pete. Oh, and Jack, I miss your silly blond highlights, but I guess it's okay since you passed the tradition down to Cassadee.

I was worried that the crowd might start to get crazy during their set, but everyone was fairly chill! Unlike the last FOB tour at UCF, this seemed like a slightly older crowd. Either that or all the 12-year-olds got early entry and we just didn't have to deal with them this time around! Truthfully I do miss being an Overcast Kid somewhat, but not $30 worth. Oh, and you know what? Bandom is a little bit like a cult. Thanks, person in front of me, for letting me use your flash for this creepy pic.

Let's see, they played all the best songs from the current CD and a few from their old EP, and one new song that I am really drawing a blank on the title--it's a good one though--and somewhere during the set, "TAMPA" got changed to...

You weren't expecting maturity from this bunch, were you? KIDS. I think they were the first band I like where all the members are younger than me. Whateverrr. They do put on a fun show though.

Their extra song turned out to be The Party Scene, preceded by a little Fall Out Boy tribute, haha. The last song of the set was "Dear Maria, Count Me In," and I got this really cute picture of Alex and Jack, aww.

Now, do you know what the panels on either side of Cobra Starship's stage said? "GET AWESOME." I think the audience is supposed to take it as "ASPIRE TO THIS LEVEL OF AWESOME, THOUGH YOU SHALL NEVER TRULY ACHIEVE IT"

How much Cobra love? SO MUCH. From opening Honda Civic two years ago to their own headlining tour to main support (I guess it rotated some nights but whatever) on this FOB tour. How? Because they are AWESOME. (However, those lights on the stage made it kind of hard to get good shots of them, oops. Also, I was busy dancing, as you do.) Suarez's maraca action during "Smile for the Paparazzi:"

Vicky T, lovely as ever. I'm not sure "giant flower thing stuck to the side of my head" is a look that would work for me, but it's cute on her!

Gabe waving excitedly to the crowd. I guess someone had a sign saying "HI FROM AMY" on it or something, so he said "HI AMY" and Erin looked at me all expectantly even though I had nothing to do with it!

Ryland wore his "special edition" Mickey Mouse shirt ("I don't wear this in Michigan, only in Orlando!"):

There was talk about how Alex had spent time in 98 Degrees and NSync but ultimately had to leave because he was just too cool for them (or something, lol) and he had three things to say to that: "KISS MY SASS." (And then, you know, they played the song, but what a lead in!)

Just as I'd hoped and dreamed, they played their AWESOME NEW SONG, you know, the one called "Pete Wentz is the Only Reason We're Famous." I think this is perfectly appropriate for a tour with Fall Out Boy. And I know I've said this before, but I need the new Cobra album like, yesterday. Oh, I'm sure trained professionals can find a difference in Gabe's voice post-surgery, but he sounds fine to me, and I'm just glad he was up to his usual shenanigans at this show and not dying of food poisoning/broken bones. OH GABE. You are like blindingly awesome in this picture.

Cassadee came out to sing during "Bring It," which is hilarious for two reasons. 1. She is literally about a foot shorter than Vicky T and two feet shorter than Gabe, hahahaha. She had to lower Vicky's mic stand just to reach the microphone!

2. She was actually singing William Beckett's part. William Beckett, who is technically a boy. LOL. Sadly the rest of my pictures of her are veeery blurry, so I will conclude the Cobra portion by posting my Guilty Pleasure video. I have a lot of videos of this song, two of which end with Gabe getting far too personal at the Warped Tour! Memories.

I had mostly steered clear of tour spoilers this time around, but I had heard that FOB did have some costuming going on, and oh, it was true. The very first song was "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes," (I still want to know what water buffalo wronged Pete Wentz) and they made their entrance to the stage to the sound of sirens and riot footage. The costumes? Disgraced/beat-up CEOs/Politicians. Really. This is the first shot I took:

They had two costumed riot squad members stand on either side of the stage for the duration of the song, and two more played extra drums behind Pete and Joe:

I may or may not have clearly stated my love for the latest FOB album here, but I ADORE it and hearing all the new songs for the first time was AMAZING. The extra drums during "Disloyal" were a neat touch. You know what? Time for a side note! Shows with theatrics are fun. I've been talking to my coworker lately about Panic (I just found out that she is a fan) and how she went to the Rock Band tour in Orlando (the one I missed thanks to Tyson Ritter, nurrr) and she'd heard that Panic were 'not very good live' but was pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise. She really enjoyed the show--and I told her about the epicness of the Homocircus Tour and I don't think she really believed me. Amusingly, she is not really a Fall Out Boy fan because she still holds a grudge against Pete for 'ruining One Tree Hill,' and I kindly explained to her that 1. One Tree Hill was on its way out after like season two, and 2. There would be no Panic without Fall Out Boy. I have let her borrow the new CD. She will understand.

Right! The second song was "Thriller," ("Don't forget to thrill them," Pete said) and I was kind of wondering if they'd keep it up and play "Lawyers" third, but no such luck (I think it was "16 Candles?" It's all a blur of awesomeness). I really love that song live, but I'm okay that it didn't make this setlist because SO MANY NEW SONGS. Anyway, close up of Pete with his black eye makeup and slicked-back hair:

Cassadee came out again during "Sugar We're Goin' Down," and I really love the lights in this picture. So pretty.

And here she is kind of respectfully watching Patrick play his guitar:

The costume change was accompanied by a strange, distorted video that included a lot of shots of Pete shirtless, but hey, give the people what they want, or something. I just hope the 12-year olds don't Google him too enthusiastically, or at least that their Safe Search is on. Fully dressed Pete addressing the crowd:

They used the light-up guitars for "I Don't Care" like they did in December, because really, they are just that cool.

I took this shot before they played "Headfirst Slide" and Pete was talking about how it was a love song about taking your clothes off and Patrick was NOT AMUSED. I wish you could see his face better!

Pete also talked about how before they went on tour, Gabe called him and said "When you play this song, you have to take over the family business." PUT YOUR FANGS UP!

The song was "Grand Theft Autumn," and it got some guest vocals from All Time Low's Alex at the end!

Then he gave Patrick a hug and yes of course he is taller than him and I don't even get the face he is making here, lol:

One of the big highlights of the set was "What a Catch, Donnie," featuring guest vocals by Gabe, and, via video screen--the other Fueled By Ramen guys! I somehow did not notice this until I was like "OH OKAY THAT'S AN ALEX DELEON" and then the next shot was WILLIAM BECKETT IN A BATHTUB. This was one of those moments that I was too busy boggling at to get a picture of. It happens. Sometimes tour spoilers are a good thing. Favorite, favorite moment had to be Coffee's For Closers, because it IS my favorite new song and definitely in my top 5 FOB songs. Watch the video all the way to the end (don't mind the part in the beginning where the girl in front of me punches my camera, whee) for epic dancetimes. Change will come.

Oh, and I got precisely one good picture of Joe where his ridiculous hair wasn't in his face. It WAS a little shorter than it was back in January, but not by much. Still, the fact that he's cut it is a good sign.

As far as old-school FOB goes, they did play "Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes," and it was AWESOME. Hadn't seen that one before! I am a little curious as to why they're still playing "Beat It," I guess they did release a video and such, but still. The set ended with "America's Suitehearts" and we got these special guests during the brief break:

Yeah, Dirty and his son, Dylan, who wasn't wearing ear protection, but ehhh. Whose kid are we talking about? They got the crowd to chant "Fall Out Boy" and the boys came back out and played "Thnks fr th Mmrs." Creepy Patrick shot!

They wrapped up the set with "Dance Dance," and of course, "Saturday," and fortunately, we weren't all that close to Pete when he went into the crowd!

Post-show, I waded through the merch line and got the most adorable shirt with little sheep (and a wolf!) on it, and Erin ended up getting the same, of course. :P Fortunately we both resisted the Cobra Starship Michael Jackson-inspired hoodie, because we are not cool enough to pull it off. IN CONCLUSION: This was a great tour! Please continue to tour with bands I like, Fall Out Boy. :D

Not good at allllll

2009-04-22T00:05:03Z

I woke up this morning feeling not so good, which quickly turned into feeling REALLY not good, and then discovering that I must have some kind of stomach bug, which is horrible enough on its own but AHHHH FALL OUT BOY IS TOMORROW I HAVE TO GET BETTER

Fortunately I AM feeling a bit better, but I'm not brave enough to try eating anything yet. Also, it would appear that 50 Cent is no longer playing, which is awesome and strangely disappointing. I do, after all, enjoy a good train wreck. But if it translates into longer sets for everyone else, it will be worth it. I'm getting into Hey Monday, who are like Paramore mixed with Avril Lavigne, and I am all about that. The single is catchy and she is darn cute.

...If this sickness is because I saw The Cab last week I swear I am not even going to their headliner, lol.

Music is my girlfriend

2009-04-21T07:09:14Z

You guys, Lollapalooza lineup! EPIC WIN. The main headliners don't quite trump last years, but the other bands MORE than make up for it. I finally get to see The Killers! And Andrew Bird! Also The Decemberists, The Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, and so on... I'm surprised Manchester Orchestra is playing again (and unsurprised that Brand New wasn't invited back, lol good job Jesse Lacey) and hoping there are some great aftershows this year. SO MUCH AWESOME

Also, Green Day dates got announced today, and they are doing Orlando & Tampa the first week of August which seems to be when a lot of things are going down. I wonder how much tickets are gonna cost--I'll check that out before I decide how many dates to do. Green Day and U2 are really the two bands I want to see most, and it looks like I'll see them both this year!

Uhh, in other news, I did productive school-type things today just to shake things up a bit. I really kind of wish I wasn't so terrible at math!

Last night I went to go see 17 Again, and I LOVED it. I came for the ZACEFRON but stayed for the cute and genuinely funny story and WILD INAPPROPRIATENESS. It has become our theme for the week. Today I saw He's Just Not That Into You at the cheap theater, and I'm sure it's been said before but It's Just Not That Great of a Movie. In fact, I think I enjoyed this promo more than the actual film. Justin Long, however, is adorable, but not so adorable that I will blindly go see his movies like those of Emile Hirsch, or apparently, ZACEFRON. Don't judge.

Really, now?

2009-04-18T11:54:16Z

Maybe it is just because it's WAY TOO EARLY but this video struck me as kind of hilarious. STOP MESSING AROUND IN JAPAN AND WORK ON THE MYCHEM ALBUM ALREADY GERARD (It's the promo song for the new Advent Children re-release or whatever, featuring some J-Rock guy and, in a way that totally makes sense and is also inexplicable, Gerard Way. Awesome!)

One of the benefits of working at Cinnabon: COFFEE ON DEMAND. Today won't be so bad.

HERE IS THE DEAL.

2009-04-18T04:21:05Z

Okay, no more being behind on things, on-time concert reporting powers: ACTIVATE

Long story short, Erin and I rolled in pretty late and missed the first band (Mercy Mercedes) completely, but I'd never even heard of them before so no great loss. We caught most of Never Shout Never's set, and um, he was a tiny emo boy with a hat and a ukulele named Fred. It was both endearing and a little annoying--dude had a voice like the Rocket Summer singer. But he ended up wearing a tiara (on top of his hat) and playing a decent cover of The Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," so I'll place him in the 'endearing' category. Plus, at the end of the night I spotted Alex Marshall gleefully running around with the ukulele, and that's definitely awesome.

Then it was time for The Cab! Yay, Alexes! The lights are dimming, they're coming onstage--OH GOD IT CAN'T POSSIBLY BE WHO I THINK IT IS THOSE ARE NOT ALEXES AHHHH TRACE CYRUS GTFO OF MY CONCERT Seriously, I was NOT expecting to see those punks, not at all. I was rather pleased that Metro Station wasn't going to be at my FOB show, but then they're being replaced with 50 Cent... At least it's a NEW kind of horror. ANYWAY.

(Yeah, marvel at my ninja photography skillz, plz) I do not get why people do not love this band. I guess at first glance, maybe they do not stand out from the rest of the pop-punk emos, but their album as a whole is a LOT of fun and if you watch their show, you know they are going places. (And um, they are certainly a hell of a lot more interesting than We the Kings, who were headlining this show, so yeah.) Alex Deleon does not stand still onstage at all, making ninja photography all but impossible. I like the colors here, anyway.

Dude is a performer.

They played the "Disturbia" cover, as I mentioned, and from where I was in the crowd, not that many people were into it? Maybe it was different up close (I was literally in the very back row of the floor) but around me a couple of kids were just halfheartedly filming it with their phones. Hmm. I am really running out of time here, so have some Cash:

Edward pointed out that Maika from There for Tomorrow was watching the whole set sidestage, aww. I was really hoping he'd come out and sing with them, but no. One day soon I am going to have lookalike day on lj and post some comparison shots of Maika, Gerard and the Jonas Brothers so you people FINALLY UNDERSTAND. Ian got to have his customary awesome guitar solo towards the end of the set (I think it was before "Bounce?") and I took this picture while he was in the middle of it:

And, in my opinion, the best shot of the night:

All in all: GOOD TIMES, and definitely worth the ridiculousness of the rest of the show. Forever the Sickest Kids came on after them, and I tried to like them, I really did, they are colorful and plentiful (okay, only 6 band members, not 12 as I had originally estimated) but I dunno, they don't appeal to me all that much. A factor in this may be the fact that the crowd has been CRAZY both times I've seen them, and they're one of those bands that encourages circle pits and ugh. Whatever. Also during one of the songs Trace Cyrus got a tambourine and danced around the stage in a most unfortunate manner so they lose points for that.

After FTSK Erin and I left the floor and miraculously managed to track down Debbie, which was awesome! We hung out with her and her friend Colleen and met Stephanie and a few other members of her entourage. *waves to new friends* I am amazed by all the awesome bandom people I keep finding in Orlando! I'm thinking we should call ourselves Team Florida: This is why we're hot! (If you have any less retarded suggestions, suggest away.) We stayed upstairs and watched a bit of We the Kings' set, and I'll have to admit I was impressed when he busted out an actual piano and played a rather nice song called "Don't Speak, Liar." The cover of "The Middle" was fun too, although the cover of whatever rap song was just trainwreck-y and made even more so by TRACE CYRUS AHHHHH I wish I had a video to share my pain. Alas. The best part was of course "Check Yes Juliet," the song that made them popular through sheer infectiousness! I still don't know the words to it. I am fighting the power.

Post-show was spent slowly collecting other members of Debbie's group and figuring out food plans (and standing outside the venue watching the security guards tell the crowd "THE BANDS AREN'T COMING OUT TONIGHT GO AWAY" as one of the Sickest Kids posed for pictures right next to him) and eventually ending up at the Orlando Ale House with our standard dinner ratio of 10 girls and one little boy. This time it was Kelly's brother who was ADORABLE and totally allowed to act like a 14-year-old because he actually IS one! How novel! All in all, it was a really great night. I'm looking forward to more fun at FOB next week. :D

I am working open to close tomorrow. WISH ME LUCK.

Bounce bounce

2009-04-17T00:21:35Z

Live report from The Cab show!

WHY IS THERE METRO STATION AT MY CAB SHOW AHHHHHHH TRACE CYRUS WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO TORMENT ME

...In other news, average age of the crowd: 15.5, average height: 5'3," I am in the back of the room & I can see perfectly. I snuck my camera in and took precisely 2 good pictures of The Cab and security is none the wiser. Win! I love those boys. "Disturbia" is awesome.

I don't even care about the rest of the lineup, but Forever the Sickest Kids has like 12 dudes in it, and apparently We the Kings is covering "The Middle" and oh wow I am not prepared for the horror of Trace + Travis on the same stage.

I need a drink.

Behind on everything, of course

2009-04-15T04:45:24Z

I have actually been sort of busy lately! Last week was spring break #2 and involved a lot of driving back and forth to the beach, and this week really filled up fast. Wednesdays I'm taking a cake decorating class (!!!) with Lori at Joann Fabric, so that's good times. Thursday, it turns out, I will in fact get to see The Cab at HOB, and I am super excited about seeing the Alexes and sure as heck not sticking around for We the Kings AGAIN. Also, in case you hadn't heard, everything ever is happening this weekend, including my boss' wedding, mom's friend's wedding, the Fx Show, the last night of Mardi Gras, an art show, etc... And none of it matters because I am WORKING FOREVER. (One of the nights after work I am so going to see 17 Again omg yay)

I am pretty sure I'm the last person in the world to not have a Twitter, and I am still not really a fan of them--I think this stems from my bitterness that a lot of people don't care about lj anymore. Why bother writing a whole update when you can sum it all up in 160 characters?

I watched (some of) American Idol today for the first time ever (talk about being behind the times, right?) and wow, Adam Lambert better win. And after that, he can time travel back to 2006-ish and tag along on Panic's Homocircus tour. (By the way, I know there's a lot of crossover here, but it was these little birds who told me about Mr. Lambert in the first place, and if you're not reading this you should be!)

The goal of tomorrow's cake class is to make a cake with a big freaking rainbow on it. Maybe I'll make another one for the Idol season finale...

Let me in the sound

2009-04-02T17:15:12Z

Guys, I am actually feeling pretty good today. I started the day off at 11:30 (what, a sleep schedule, I doesn't have one) and managed to get floor tickets to U2's concert in Tampa which is RIDICULOUS and I am so, so excited. Not sure who's going with me, but the tour setup looks amazing and hopefully Muse will open. YAY.

Other things I love:
-New Cobra song. I'm sure you've heard it already, but it's on Myspace if not.
-Going to IOA. We took my Patrick action figure this time and hilarity ensued.
-Realizing my Youtube account has 196 videos, including this classic.
-The fact that I will get a new phone at the end of the month, because the screen on my Sidekick doesn't light up anymore and it is sad times.
-Lush's Rock Star soap which is pink and ridiculous and I could see any number of my favorite singers using it, hahaha.
-The fact that I am going to see 500 Days of Summer this Saturday. This movie looks like it was made JUST FOR ME. Like, seriously.
-Zac Efron's new movie, 17 Again comes out the 17th and I am going to see it and I don't care if you judge me because it looks HILARIOUS
-My babysitting job. The kids are fun and reasonably well-behaved and it is overall good times.
-Brief moments of optimism where I think "hey, maybe I could have a real life like a real person." WHAT A NOVEL IDEA
-I am absolutely going here when I am in New York this summer. It looks awesome.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP

your axis on a tilt

2009-03-31T00:54:26Z

Hi, LJ! Long time no see. Currently I am at HOB waiting to see Third Eye Blind, which is cool because they are awesome (whoo, the 90's) and not so cool because no one would come with me. However, there is a tiny, tiny girl next to me (seriously, she is definitely under 5') who was totally rockin' out during the opener and I am amused.

There have been a lot of emotimes on all sides lately, and that is no good. But spring is here! And summer is already shaping up nicely. Traditional NY/Chicago trip is in the works, and thinking about that is cheering me up considerably. Also my mom will be in Vegas for two weeks, and we shall PARTY.
Alsooo I don't know if anyone is still watching Dollhouse, but the 5 lame episodes finally paid off with an AWESOME one last week! Oh Joss, we should not doubt thee.

Showtime soon! They just have to play "Motorcycle Drive By" and I'll be good.

I DO NOT APPROVE

2009-03-18T14:38:28Z

For a while there, I had like an actual addiction to Threadless. It was SRS BSNS. I have an absurd number of their tshirts. Fortunately I managed to get clean and have been for a while--I haven't bought a tshirt from anywhere in a long time--but THIS IS AMAZING. They have also restocked this one at Threadless, and I really need to get to a tshirt addicts anonymous meeting ASAP, guys.

What I am actually doing today is getting Thai and wandering around with Erin! Yay!

And she said baby, it's 3am I must be lonely

2009-03-03T08:39:34Z

Wow, I had a really fantastic day today! Erin texted me at 11:11 a.m. and said she'd pick me up in an hour (which usually means 2+ hours depending on what is on the BBC at the time) but then showed up in roughly 30 minutes and I more or less had a heart attack.

1. Coffee. As evident by this entry, I have had a bit too much today. But in my cavorting around today there was a stop at Stardust Coffee in Winter Park (one of the few hipster/scene hangouts in this stupid place) and sat outside and drank it and it was lovely.
2. Over two months later, I still listen to the new FOB CD almost daily. Today I am really loving "Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet" because I am identifying with the lyrics. What if I did peak early? Hmm.
3. VINTAGE. I also went to Goodwill today and tried on some 80's prom dresses (yeah, there are pictures) and it was good, good times. I didn't end up buying one (though it came close) but I did get a Katy Perry-esque 40's style dress that I figure I might actually wear on occasion (lol, occasion, like I ever have those). It is adorable. I need heart-shaped shades to really pull it off.
4. Not-vintage but still ridiculous items of clothing, like this, which I bought last week at 75% off. I wore it today and it was awesome.
5. The Emperor's New Groove. Hadn't watched it in forever but man, is that a classic or what? Eh, Pacha?
6. This blog! She has pink hair and legally changed her name to "Gala Darling" and doesn't have a real job except for writing about her fabulous adventures. I adore her. I haven't figured out what I want to change my name to, except that the last name is definitely going to be "Moonachie."
7. Long hair. I am thinking of growing mine out, and I give this idea four months tops before I lose interest and get it cut crazy short. Such is the way of things!
8. The title track from U2's "No Line on the Horizon." I am still not crazy about the rest, but that is a great song.
9. My orange kitty. He always wants to hang out with me, because he is the coolest.
10. Teal! Or turquoise. Variations of blue-green, anyway. I am not really sure why, but it is the color I like best right now.
11. A little bird told me that there is a rather fantastic candidate on American Idol this season, and I am intrigued! I have never cared about this show ever.
12. Not being the oldest one in the group tonight. "28." I just about fell over.
13. Realizing that at some point you really have to stop worrying about what other people think of you. No one gives a crap who you dated in high school. (I am, in fact, getting rid of a lot of baggage from this era. I cleaned my room and threw out all my old history notes and mom was like "lol you've been carting them around all this time" and honestly it was more out of laziness than anything, I just never went through the boxes, just carted them around kind of blindly...)
14. Empanadas! I should learn how to make them, as they are one of my favorite things. Today I had a delicious one from the Pan Pan Bakery. I also very much enjoy the name of that place. PAN PAN.
15. "I don't just want to be a footnote in someone else's happiness."

Wow, it is really, really late.

Hide your feathers on the back porch

2009-03-02T16:42:46Z

Hi, internets! It has been a while, huh? Today I have the day off and no real plans, which pretty much never happens. I am going to talk about RL for a little while.

Hmm, I was going to give this more backstory, but basically the point is that occasionally I hang out with Christina, who has a brain tumor and a learning disability, because I feel bad and no one else ever does. It's not that bad, we usually just go to the mall and try on necklaces at Claire's and such. But Friday she more or less tricked me into taking her 'boyfriend' with us, which was way not cool. She has dated less-than-winners in the past. So we spent some awkwardtimes at the mall but I survived.

She calls me the next morning and says that he got arrested--supposedly for not paying a ticket for a car accident/appearing in court, but who knows if that's the truth or not. My life, so exciting!

Ugh, really though, it is such a bad situation. Brain cancer is, you know, pretty serious, but her mom is still mean to her and her dad and stepmom don't seem to really care, and she can't drive so she doesn't get to go out unless I take her, which means LOTS of calls and texts about "heeeey when are we going out next." She also doesn't like to hang out with Erin, which is annoying.

In other news, hi, I still have no idea what I want to do with my life. I haven't done anything even remotely school related this semester which is kind of awesome and kind of horrible. I really don't want to go to UCF because it is SO FAR AWAY FROM HERE (seriously, it's like 40 minutes if you don't take the toll road, and $4.50 in tolls if you do) but I don't really have any other financially feasible options! FUN.

It also turns out that I have to work this entire weekend, which means missing the sort-of Barenaked Ladies concert and probably seeing Watchmen with everybody, but whatever. I am employed! I will show up when they tell me to and ~~complain to lj~~ not complain.

As far as shows go, I am dumb and did not make sure to get a ticket to The Ting Tings at the Social and it is sold out, as is the one in Tampa, sigh. But Band Marino are playing a show at the Social with As Tall as Lions and Dear and the Headlights on March 25th! I saw ATAL with them once before, actually, and it was good times. I do wonder how this is going to affect Band Marino's magical EP that never seems to come out. At the Gainesville show Nathan was like "It's coming out sometime! Maybe..." and guys, it's an EP. That means 6-8 songs, tops! WE NEED IT, OKAY? But whatever, they're playing shows with JP from Baron Von Bear and his trumpet/keyboard skills are a big time upgrade to their songs. I hope they keep him forever.

Alsoooo I would love to go to the No Doubt/Paramore/The Sounds show at the Ford Amphitheater, but goddamn, $80+? It's called the economy, guys, maybe you have heard that it is DYING IN A FIERY BLAZE OF FIRE? I mean, I guess No Doubt are a big name and it's their first tour back etc., but still. I'm saving my $80 for the Blink 182 tour. I can't believe that's going to happen this year! Also I'm sure U2 is going to tour again, and although I am not entirely loving the new album yet, I do need to see them and Green Day before I die, so really, this is looking like a good year for reaching some life goals. (Why is MyChem's first show back in Japan? Faaail.)

Is anyone watching Dollhouse on Fox? It seems like they really have it out for Joss Whedon, what with the Friday night timeslot and Foxification of the first few episodes, but I think it has some potential, and also I am amusing myself by calling the nerdy tech guy XanderWash, because come on. It'll definitely be worth watching once the main villain shows up, anyway.

Alright, breakfast/lunch time! Today is going to be AWESOME.