Chili.
A few days late, but here we go. Concert write-up for the DC101 Chili Cook-off 2008.
Cast of characters: Myself, Russ, Julia, Chris, Taylor. Special guest appearance by Robert.
The five main characters all gather at the DeGrange house at the god awful hour of nine thirty Saturday morning. Pile into Chris' mother's Tahoe, and away we go, Metro-bound. Some cursory conversation takes place, but nothing of such importance that it sticks with you the following week.
We arrive in Shady Grove to find long lines of people waiting to purchase fare cards. We chill a bit, work through the line, and catch a train a few moment before it departs. At this point, I receive the first of many texts from Robert, indicating he just arrived at the Metro Station as we were pulling out.
Idle chit-chat about video games passes the better part of an hour, although Taylor isn't particularly talkative. First time on a Metro, and he's going backwards, getting sick to his stomach. I've been there myself, and can feel for the man.
We arrive at Chinatown Station, having skipped Metro Center which was the typical mass exodus location for the concert goers. A couple blocks of walking and we find the line. And what a line. We didn't know it at the time, but it wrapped completely around the block. Julia runs off to get some Five Guys, and the rest of us take five steps at a time as we slowly lurch forward.
At one point, Robert walks past and gut checks Russ.
The line slowly spirals around the block, and eventually we come to learn that willcall, which Russ, Julia, and Taylor require, is actually located right next to the gate. So those three go ahead while Chris and I wait it out in the line.
Eventually we get to the entrance and realize why things were moving so slowly... Everyone was cutting into the line at the entrance. Russ, et al, cut in after getting the willcall tickets, and we joined them. Getting in was easy enough. Show ID, rip ticket, and away we go!
The local band was already on the stage, and was almost done after we finally fought through the line. Didn't really hear anything of them, nor did we care. What we did care about was chili. I've learned from experience that if you want Chili, go early. The good ones all run out, and the bad ones just get worse over time. So we partook in chili, analyzing each. Taylor and Russ seemed to be the aficionados, while Chris and I just tried random junk, and Julia didn't eat any because she doesn't like chili.
We'd tried quite a few samples, then headed over to the shirt stand, as they'd been selling out the past few years. I got a shirt, despite limited finances. Chris got one, as did Julia. Taylor got two, one for himself and one for his girl. And by this time the first 'real' band was already playing.
Deaf Pedestrians was a good band. The drummer kicked ass, as he was full of energy and you could even see him singing along, despite the lack of a mic. Typical opening syndrome though, everyone was too sober to really care, and only one song has any popularity. I enjoyed the music, but I also knew what to expect. "Hail to the Geek" is the exception to their musical styling, not the rule.
Next up was Chevelle. Seen them before, and I have the same problem I did before. While the music is good, enjoyable to listen to and with a hard edge, it's just too slow to really get into the spirit. You can't really get hyped up over it. And there was a minor disagreement with Russ in a mosh pit, so I said screw it and went to the bathroom before hanging out with Chris and Taylor. The latter two stayed in the back, just watching and listening. Russ, Julia, and myself were typically the pushers, those that fought to the front and came out with bruises to show for it. As Chevelle ended, I broke out on my own and started towards the front.
Finger Eleven was one of the bands that I had specifically come for, so I wanted to make sure I had a good spot. And that I did, a dozen people from the front fence, right on the front edge of the mosh pit. Woohoo. These guys had some technical difficulties in the start, the mix wasn't right and the guitars weren't coming through properly... But once that was fixed up, they rocked. Strong set, relatively high in energy except for the pair of slow songs for the girls to swoon over. The pit was jumping, and everyone was having a good time. And then the last song came up. Paralyzer. And in the middle of the song, they broke into three other (more popular) songs, before finishing up with the last chorus. Good showmanship.
Well, I stayed in my spot for the break between bands, as I wasn't about to give up my position. The pit had closed and I'd pushed forward a little more, finding myself in the amoeba as Seether took the stage. The amoeba, to those who haven't been reading my concert reviews, is when people are so packed together that no one can actually stand and everyone just pushes off of each other, sending waves cascading through the masses. You can't really fall, not enough room, but you have no control. Well, I bounced about for a bit, and then broke back for the pit. Those crazy South Africans were whipping the pit into a nice little frenzy. During the verses, there'd be smaller guys and a couple girls in the pit, bouncing and having fun. Then the chorus would break, they'd all evacuate, and the heavy hitters would come slamming into each other, and then usually the ground shortly thereafter. I had my fun in the pit, both chorus and verse, but spent a lot of time catching crowd surfers. The back of the crowd kept launching, keeping a constant steam of people heading directly for the pit, which is about the last place a crowd surfer wants to be. Chris has battle scars to testify.
After Seether we'd all agreed to meet back up and grab a bite to eat. Chicken on a stick, of course, as there really isn't anything else to eat at a concert. It's become tradition. We chilled on some fake grass, resting and munching, as Live took the stage. We listened from afar for a while, digesting and making bathroom breaks. Everyone knows some songs by Live, if they know it or not, but despite being a 'big' band, our group wasn't particularly concerned. We did, however, make our way into the crowd near the end of the set, as we needed to secure our positions for the last band. Chris and Taylor hung back again, while Russ, Julia, and I forged ahead. We also had Robert try to meet us, but the crowd was a bit too packed for a man of his size to navigate easily.
We chilled for a bit as Live finished up. Russ had a drunk in a straw hat next to him, feeling up his mohawk. There was also a bunch of conversational girls behind us. They seemed friendly enough, despite the fact that no one was making much small talk. It was almost time for the last band when the moment of truth came. I lifted Julia onto my shoulders, and she flashed T-Bag and Roche, the two radio jocks on stage announcing the last band. She flashed not once, but twice. (On the note of flashing, I successfully manage to overt my eyes from all of the approximately forty-three sets of tits that were exposed that day. I prefer to remain a gentleman, although Taylor tried to argue with me that I was disrespecting them by not staring.)
Okay, last band time. Staind. Bedlam broke out. Good music, well known stuff, lots of drunks, hard edge with decent tempo. It one point I counted three mosh pits within five feet of each other, effectively turning an entire side of the stage into a massive pit. I moshed a bit at the start, but soon the typical problem arose... Crowd surfers + mosh pits = potential disaster. The protective spirit that I am, I'd hug the edge of the pit, edge guarding and alerting to crowd surfers incoming. I can remember at least five or ten people that I personally saved from a very personal meeting with the pavement. I carried one girl, threshold style, directly across the pit and just tossed her back up on the crowed on the other side. I felt good for protecting people, and still had my fun.
That basically covers the concert. We hung around a bit, several people left with more clothing than they came with, and Russ returned two cell phones he found, one for a twenty-dollar profit. We also scrounged tickets off the ground to get some free water. The metro ride back was pretty tame, as we were all tired. The ride home was also kind of quiet, mostly a discussion of what to eat when we got back to Frederick.
We all came home with some sunburn. We also played some Halo, but that's not really concert related. All and all, a fun show.
Cast of characters: Myself, Russ, Julia, Chris, Taylor. Special guest appearance by Robert.
The five main characters all gather at the DeGrange house at the god awful hour of nine thirty Saturday morning. Pile into Chris' mother's Tahoe, and away we go, Metro-bound. Some cursory conversation takes place, but nothing of such importance that it sticks with you the following week.
We arrive in Shady Grove to find long lines of people waiting to purchase fare cards. We chill a bit, work through the line, and catch a train a few moment before it departs. At this point, I receive the first of many texts from Robert, indicating he just arrived at the Metro Station as we were pulling out.
Idle chit-chat about video games passes the better part of an hour, although Taylor isn't particularly talkative. First time on a Metro, and he's going backwards, getting sick to his stomach. I've been there myself, and can feel for the man.
We arrive at Chinatown Station, having skipped Metro Center which was the typical mass exodus location for the concert goers. A couple blocks of walking and we find the line. And what a line. We didn't know it at the time, but it wrapped completely around the block. Julia runs off to get some Five Guys, and the rest of us take five steps at a time as we slowly lurch forward.
At one point, Robert walks past and gut checks Russ.
The line slowly spirals around the block, and eventually we come to learn that willcall, which Russ, Julia, and Taylor require, is actually located right next to the gate. So those three go ahead while Chris and I wait it out in the line.
Eventually we get to the entrance and realize why things were moving so slowly... Everyone was cutting into the line at the entrance. Russ, et al, cut in after getting the willcall tickets, and we joined them. Getting in was easy enough. Show ID, rip ticket, and away we go!
The local band was already on the stage, and was almost done after we finally fought through the line. Didn't really hear anything of them, nor did we care. What we did care about was chili. I've learned from experience that if you want Chili, go early. The good ones all run out, and the bad ones just get worse over time. So we partook in chili, analyzing each. Taylor and Russ seemed to be the aficionados, while Chris and I just tried random junk, and Julia didn't eat any because she doesn't like chili.
We'd tried quite a few samples, then headed over to the shirt stand, as they'd been selling out the past few years. I got a shirt, despite limited finances. Chris got one, as did Julia. Taylor got two, one for himself and one for his girl. And by this time the first 'real' band was already playing.
Deaf Pedestrians was a good band. The drummer kicked ass, as he was full of energy and you could even see him singing along, despite the lack of a mic. Typical opening syndrome though, everyone was too sober to really care, and only one song has any popularity. I enjoyed the music, but I also knew what to expect. "Hail to the Geek" is the exception to their musical styling, not the rule.
Next up was Chevelle. Seen them before, and I have the same problem I did before. While the music is good, enjoyable to listen to and with a hard edge, it's just too slow to really get into the spirit. You can't really get hyped up over it. And there was a minor disagreement with Russ in a mosh pit, so I said screw it and went to the bathroom before hanging out with Chris and Taylor. The latter two stayed in the back, just watching and listening. Russ, Julia, and myself were typically the pushers, those that fought to the front and came out with bruises to show for it. As Chevelle ended, I broke out on my own and started towards the front.
Finger Eleven was one of the bands that I had specifically come for, so I wanted to make sure I had a good spot. And that I did, a dozen people from the front fence, right on the front edge of the mosh pit. Woohoo. These guys had some technical difficulties in the start, the mix wasn't right and the guitars weren't coming through properly... But once that was fixed up, they rocked. Strong set, relatively high in energy except for the pair of slow songs for the girls to swoon over. The pit was jumping, and everyone was having a good time. And then the last song came up. Paralyzer. And in the middle of the song, they broke into three other (more popular) songs, before finishing up with the last chorus. Good showmanship.
Well, I stayed in my spot for the break between bands, as I wasn't about to give up my position. The pit had closed and I'd pushed forward a little more, finding myself in the amoeba as Seether took the stage. The amoeba, to those who haven't been reading my concert reviews, is when people are so packed together that no one can actually stand and everyone just pushes off of each other, sending waves cascading through the masses. You can't really fall, not enough room, but you have no control. Well, I bounced about for a bit, and then broke back for the pit. Those crazy South Africans were whipping the pit into a nice little frenzy. During the verses, there'd be smaller guys and a couple girls in the pit, bouncing and having fun. Then the chorus would break, they'd all evacuate, and the heavy hitters would come slamming into each other, and then usually the ground shortly thereafter. I had my fun in the pit, both chorus and verse, but spent a lot of time catching crowd surfers. The back of the crowd kept launching, keeping a constant steam of people heading directly for the pit, which is about the last place a crowd surfer wants to be. Chris has battle scars to testify.
After Seether we'd all agreed to meet back up and grab a bite to eat. Chicken on a stick, of course, as there really isn't anything else to eat at a concert. It's become tradition. We chilled on some fake grass, resting and munching, as Live took the stage. We listened from afar for a while, digesting and making bathroom breaks. Everyone knows some songs by Live, if they know it or not, but despite being a 'big' band, our group wasn't particularly concerned. We did, however, make our way into the crowd near the end of the set, as we needed to secure our positions for the last band. Chris and Taylor hung back again, while Russ, Julia, and I forged ahead. We also had Robert try to meet us, but the crowd was a bit too packed for a man of his size to navigate easily.
We chilled for a bit as Live finished up. Russ had a drunk in a straw hat next to him, feeling up his mohawk. There was also a bunch of conversational girls behind us. They seemed friendly enough, despite the fact that no one was making much small talk. It was almost time for the last band when the moment of truth came. I lifted Julia onto my shoulders, and she flashed T-Bag and Roche, the two radio jocks on stage announcing the last band. She flashed not once, but twice. (On the note of flashing, I successfully manage to overt my eyes from all of the approximately forty-three sets of tits that were exposed that day. I prefer to remain a gentleman, although Taylor tried to argue with me that I was disrespecting them by not staring.)
Okay, last band time. Staind. Bedlam broke out. Good music, well known stuff, lots of drunks, hard edge with decent tempo. It one point I counted three mosh pits within five feet of each other, effectively turning an entire side of the stage into a massive pit. I moshed a bit at the start, but soon the typical problem arose... Crowd surfers + mosh pits = potential disaster. The protective spirit that I am, I'd hug the edge of the pit, edge guarding and alerting to crowd surfers incoming. I can remember at least five or ten people that I personally saved from a very personal meeting with the pavement. I carried one girl, threshold style, directly across the pit and just tossed her back up on the crowed on the other side. I felt good for protecting people, and still had my fun.
That basically covers the concert. We hung around a bit, several people left with more clothing than they came with, and Russ returned two cell phones he found, one for a twenty-dollar profit. We also scrounged tickets off the ground to get some free water. The metro ride back was pretty tame, as we were all tired. The ride home was also kind of quiet, mostly a discussion of what to eat when we got back to Frederick.
We all came home with some sunburn. We also played some Halo, but that's not really concert related. All and all, a fun show.