Ok...will get to college stuff later (maybe, who knows?! *g*), but for now, got somethin' better to cover:
The Smithereens *ROCK*.
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^ ...just got back from a (free!!!) concert of theirs down at Manhatten Square Park (this's Rochester, btw). Frickin' *awesome*. I've grown up listening to them, my parents've loved their stuff for years, went to a concert in..I'm guessing '88 (cos the shirt I inherited from Mom says U.S.A. Tour '88 *g*), Mom got a guitar pick, which she still has. *g* Every once in awhile, I'll pick up on it again...I remember driving past my old hosue on Reddick Lane after we moved, and "House We Used to Live In" came on the car stereo...and listening to it tonight, struck another chord..cos I know I'll be thinkin' it again, come late August..."this is the house we used to live in, this is the place where I belong..." And I remember, few years back, listening to... "..as I lie in bed and think of her, sometimes I even weep. Then I dream of her behind the wall of sleep", changing the "her" to "him", thinking of a certain person...(pretty sure it was Blake, at the time ~_^)..and then, too..."when I lie here at night, and I turn out the light, and I'm holdin' my pillow instead of you...you won't break my heart, no matter what you do, my love is especially for you..."
So, with all this, when I heard they were comin', an' it'd be *free*, on top of that, I was totally psyched (actually, I'm sure I mentioned it on here ^_^). And tho I was a bit tired and out of it today, still hung-over from orientation, I still definitely wanted to go. So, Dad took me and Daf...
The wamr-up band was actually really, really good...they were called La La Land, which yes, is a dumb name, but..I dunno, it really didn't fit. Rock laced with a good dose of country. But they were pretty good...hehe...and then there was the cornbread song, which was just funny...*laugh*....yeah, the music was a lot stronger than the lyrics were (I successfully predicted at least five lines *g*), but...were still good. Oddly enough, my dad knows the bass player, he went to talk to him afterwards..the guy works over at Liftbridge bookstore, which's one of dad's accounts. *shrug* ..small world?
Oh, yeah. "That was so sharp you could cut a tomato with it." - guy from La La Land. *G*
Opening act started a little after 5.30, were done about 7, 7.30. Daf and I went down front, were a few steps up from the very front (maybe 20 feet?). About 8.30, I think, Smithereens came on...first song, I didn't know, but the next few, I did...can't remember the second song, but it was one I knew - third (or fourth?) was "House We Used to Live In"! ^_^ ..mostly did ones that I knew: "Top of the Pops" (which someone in the audience called out, the band wasn't too sure on doing it at first, 'we don't play that one anymore'), "Time After Time", "Elaine" (which the drummer repeatedly declared as being "the best song we've ever done!" *g*), "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (which I'd told Daffy about - it's about the guy ebing in love with a female bass player *G* ...but I can really relate..well, switching it to a guy, rather'n a girl.."and I know I'm one of many who would like to be your friend, and I've got to find a way to let you know I'm not like them"..plus, y'know, the lines mentioned before ~_^), "Only a Memory", "Blood and Roses" (which I think's Daffy's favourite *G* ..know it's one of mine), "Yesterday Girl"...also did "Room Without a View" and some off their latest album (from '99)..which I felt bad about, that's the one album we don't have, so I didn't know any..but they were good..."Believe" was one, I think....claimed to do "White Castle Blues"..but, uh, it wasn't the "White Castle Blues" that *I* know, the bonus track on the "Especially for You" cd..*shrug*...They did a Beatles cover, which Daffy knew, tho I didn't...a few towards the end, I didn't know, either - one was the first song they'd played at a gig here back in '86 (I was, uh, two years old at the time, so---!). Finished with "A Girl Like You"..or, at least, planned to, but then did a few more. *G*
I don't know, like, the lead singer didn't look so great..he's put on a lot of weight, I think. (Was never super-thin, but...) He was drinking and smoking onstage a bit, too..well, ok, the drummer and guitarists drank a little, too, but not much at all, and... *shrug* Whatever. The guy can still *sing*, tho--! *smile* The guitarist was just *cool*, tossed about ten picks out into the audience (tho I wasn't quick/pushy enough to get one ;_;), he reached out and shook hands with people at the end (again, wasn't fast or pushy enough)...and he was just cool. Frickin' rocked on that guitar, too...he's awesome. The drummer was very, very good, too - more so than I'd realised before. (Can't say he was the prettiest, but..*shrug*. This is a band I've always loved due to the *music*, have largely ignored their looks. ~_^) And he was cool, at the end, he like, stood up and pounded on the drums for a bit, kept draaaaagging that last(?) song out, never quite ending it..*G* And then...there was the bass player. ^_^ He was awesome, he really was... He was also a much better player than I'd ever realised before, and he was great fun to watch - *he* was the one bopping all over the stage (as Daf pointed out, he reminded one of Peter quite a bit ^_^), planting a foot on a speaker, just generally rock-posturing. And it was great. ^_^ And he tossed out a few picks - didn't use them much, but then tossed both into the audience when he'd finished. And one...was to Daffy. ^_^ (She missed it, I scrambled to get it for her...figure I've already got one in my family, so..^_~). He winked at her, too. (And he's..not too bad lookin', he was definitely the cute one in the band when they were younger.)...uhh, needless to say, I think Daf's still floatin' off in the ether... ^_^ (Be sure to go read her blog, I'm sure she'll have *her* account of things up soon! ^_^)
Yeah, partway thru, I spotted some emptiness up closer to the stage, so we moved *right* up to the *very* front, that first step closest to the stage..this was, maybe, 5, 10 feet from the gate that was kinda leaning against the stage. ^_^ ...couldn't get all the band in one shot on my camera anymore, and couldn't see the drummer so well, but it was *great*. ^_^ ...know they saw us - for one thing, yeah, I'm wearing a very '80s-looking vintage Smithereens shirt. Woo! ^_^ ...think made eye contact with the guitarist and bassist a couple times, and towards the end, the singer saw me up dancin', smiled at me, kinda laughed..I'm thinking amused by the shirt. ^_^ But that was very, very cool.
The crowd really wasn't too bad, it wasn't like, super-crowded, which was good. We had a few drunken old guys in front of us (who, sadly, occasionally blocked Daffy's view of the bass player *sniffle* ~_^), one bumped into me at one point, but he apologised and backed off, wasn't too bad. There was this guy in dreds who I'm thinkin' was prolly stoned...woman next to me at one point was smoking, but it wasn't much, and there was only one time where I had to lean away to avoid the smoke. Daffy had a bit of trouble smelling the smoke from burgers being cooked, but... *g* We just sat and bopped about and sang along (what we knew - I knew most, Daf picked up a lot pretty quick, and we'd been listening to Smithereens in the car on the way there), 'til the last few songs, we got up with a buncha other people and danced.
I took an entire roll of film. ^_^ (Expect a desktop or two eventually with some of the pics, they should come out pretty good. Lighting etc. wasn't much, really, lotta red spotlights, touch of yellow and blue, but that was it. But they didn't need it. ^_^)
Oh, yeah, was great fun - the whole rest of the band sang, too, not just the singer! ^_^ Like, they let the DRUMMER(!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^) sing a whole song, it was..gah, shoot, what was it? an old Elvis song...ah, it'll come to me later....but he was actually really good, it was cool. ^_^ The guitarist sang a few, then, towards the end, the *bass* player came up and sang some, too! ^_^ (That was esp. cool, cos the guitarist and drummer sang back-up on most of the songs, but the bass player'd only done a few bits here and there prior to his solo there. ^_^)
They went to finish, prolly about 9 or so..and left the stage, but we kept cheering etc..and they came back on, did a bunch more songs. ^_^
..yeah, think the highlights were probably "House We Used to Live In", which was massively extended at the end...was *so* cool, they just kept going, it sounded *awesome*, I never realised how *GOOD* these guys are until tonight! "Time and Time Again" was kinda the same way... "Blood and Roses", they intro'd the bass player, and it was *awesome*, I've always loved that song, never realised what a sweet bass part he pulled off in it, tho..*smile* (Think that's prolly Daf's fav now ^_^ ...and he came right up to the edge of the stage to play and stuff, was great.) "A Girl Like You" was *supposed* to be the last song, I think, but wasn't..and that was awesome, too, they must've kept it going for ten minutes! ^_^
Definitely awesome. ...I ended up with a new shirt (tho it's frickin' *HUGE* -_-#), Daf decided the pick was enough for her. ^_^
...was great.....I mean, and it was nice, it was outside..at one point, I think "Especially for You", I tilted my head back, looked up to the sky beside the tall building in front of us, just *feeling* the music, and the gorgous blue sky, and....later, when we were close, I looked at the band against the darkening sky, and just smiled at the sight.....there's very little in the world that's better than watching a rock band in their element, putting their heart and soul into what they do best.....
..and I'll stop raving now, am quite tired...and need food. And more water. *panting* ^_^ (..hoping my hearing comes back soon...tho, this really isn't as bad as the U2 concert at all, *that* one my ears were *really* ringing! *g*)