Rockin' Rollercoaster Week Part II
This is actually from 1/27 but this entry took forever to write because there's a lot to tell...And there's more still!
After over four hours on the road, Krissy and I arrived back at RIC at 6:00 that morning. I was still riding some sort of overtired concert-induced high and that, combined with a sense of urgency, kept me on my toes. I ran up to my room, took the fastest shower of my life, and had just started to dry my hair when my parents called to tell me that they were on their way. I finished getting ready, threw what I would need for the coming day in a bag, and relaxed for few minutes. Soon, my parents arrived and we made our way to Kennedy Plaza to check Mom and I in for our 8:00 bus to New York City.
As hard as I tried, I couldn't go the entire ride there, let alone any longer, without gushing about the show. However, Mom didn't know I had gone and had said that if I went to that show, she wouldn't come to NYC with me the next day. Well, you can't exactly turn a bus around that you're not driving so I told her. Thankfully, she wasn't as upset as I had anticipated. That was a relief! I slept for maybe a half hour on the ride there and was starting to come down from the high of the night before by the time we arrived in NYC at 12:30.
After battling the NYC subway system for almost two hours (stupid diverted trains...) we made it to our hotel. We threw our bags in and headed out again to eat. We spotted the deli my aunt had recommended and ate there. Then we headed over to Walgreen's to pick up some promised goodies for the ZO2 boyz: cookies and coffee cake!
By this point, I was exhausted. We went back to the hotel with a few hours to spare before the show. I hit the bed and lay there semi-comatose for a little over an hour. Boy, did I need that! After 'waking up,' I got ready for the show, grabbed our goodies, and Mom and I started walking. It was getting dark and we walked as far as we had earlier before hailing a cab. Of course, we got a driver named Mohammad and we were treated(?) to some Middle Eastern music as we sped through the streets of New York. It was my first cab ride and I don't think it could've been any more stereotypical.
We arrived across from the venue and realized that the doors wouldn't open for another half hour. As we were walking to the pizza parlor down the block, who walked out of the club but Paulie Z! I gave him a wave and a yell and we promptly crossed the street where I was greeted with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Mom nearly fell over in shock. I introduced Paulie to my mother and handed over the cake and cookies after making sure that he and Joey had shared the night before's food with David.
Paulie went back to unloading the van and Mom and I headed over to the pizza parlor. We only bought a drink but we hung out for a little over half an hour until the doors opened at the club. Two of the guys from one of the other bands, Feff, were there as well. We headed into the club and, apparently because we beat the bouncer there, neither of us had to show ID. Figures. We stayed upstairs for a while watching the bands trickle in and seeing some funny exchanges between them.
Once the bands started playing almost an hour later, Mom and I went downstairs and parked ourselves at the bar. By the middle of the second band’s set, we had inched forward to the very end of the bar by the "reserved" table. I met Marty Z (the Z boyz' father) down there. Brian Z, the girlfriends, some close friends, and family were all around there too. It was neat hanging out next to them. Carol found her way to meet us and I introduced her to my mom. Anthony, given the night off from manning the merch table, was there as well. Once the second band finished their set, Carol and I made straight for the stage. Mom elected to keep her seat at the bar. We managed to squeeze in on the right side of the stage and were perfectly content there. However, a promo girl for one of the bands, Receptor, came around with an email sign up list. When she got to near center stage, a hole opened up momentarily as a result of people trying to avoid her. I saw my chance, grabbed Carol, and we hopped over there. We were dead center at the stage. I was THRILLED!
There was an astounding belly dancer between sets. She uses muscles I'm still not certain that I possess. The curtain opened for a second and there was Joey at his set. I happened to be looking at that moment and he winked at me. I'm fairly certain I turned beet red at that. Just before ZO2 came on, Anthony appeared holding a bunch of "I <3 Anthony" stickers. The long story made short about those is that Joey pretends to hate them. Therefore, Anthony had every single girl up front, about a fifteen of us, put one on. As the curtain opened, Joey rolled his eyes at us. We just grinned. Hehe. The show was amazing, even better than the night before. They were psyched to be playing back at their home venue. I took a bunch of pictures and sang along to every song. Brian Z came up beside me to shoot some video and take some audience pictures. I'm in both a considerable amount. We even got to see Joey sing Jumpin' Jack Flash, which he jokingly refused to sing unless he got a Corona first. I've never seen Anthony move so fast before. He was at the bar and back in seconds. They played for just over an hour and it was just plain incredible. Carol ended up with one of Joey's busted drumsticks somehow...I'm so jealous! However, when Paulie came down into the audience both times, I got to touch his guitars. A Les Paul Sunburst and a Les Paul 1960. I practically died when I got to touch the 1960!
Once the boyz left the stage, I headed upstairs to chat with them for a bit. I walked in just in time to sing "Happy Birthday" to Joey as well as a round of "For He's A Jolly Good Guido." Joey got a cake and promptly tried to douse the candles with Corona. Paulie practically jumped in front of the cake to save it but to no avail. It was already soaked in alcohol. That was great. Anthony and Laurie, a fan I'd been talking to online but had never met before, were there too. I saw David and asked how he was feeling to which he replied that he was much better than the night before. There was subsequent hugging and cheek-kissing. Then I managed to catch Joey's attention. He turned to me and spied the "I <3 Anthony" sticker and sarcastically refused to speak to me while I was wearing it. I laughed and shot back saying that he shouldn't expect any more birthday signs or food if he's going to be like that. He laughed too and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I ended up finding Paulie again a few minutes later with the same result only he pulled me in for a hug rather than me initiating it. That was awesome.
I talked with Anthony and Laurie for a little while and one of Joey's friends joined in. After a few minutes and once Anthony and Laurie were otherwise occupied, Joey's friend and I started talking. It didn't take too long for me to realize what was happening...He was hitting on me! He offered to buy me a drink and, after my saying that I didn't drink, (had I said I was underage right there, I would've been booted from the club) practically insisted that he buy me one. I panicked a little. I mean, I didn't want to be a bitch in my refusal because he was damn nice and polite about it through his attempted persuasion. I ended up saying that I had people expecting me back downstairs (totally the truth) and that I would think it over if he came downstairs. I went back downstairs. He never did but it was an interesting and flattering thing to have happen. Mom and Carol thought it was hilarious.
The next two bands, Feff and Receptor, were great. There was a guy that kept starting the Feff call-back chant. (He says "F-E-F-F" and everyone responds "Feff, Feff, Feff!") Even after about twenty times, it somehow didn’t get old. Paulie and David were there too; Paulie right up front and David lurking around. Brian and David were near me for most of the show. Joey was upstairs celebrating with lots of booze. His family and friends ended up stealing him away before the night was out so I never got my group picture. Oh well, there’s always next time.
After the bands finished up, Carol left and Mom, Anthony, Laurie, and I headed over to the pizza parlor to eat. It was almost two in the morning and the place was soon packed with people leaving the club. Thankfully, we got in just as the rush started so we got seats. We stayed there for a while eating what I consider to be the best pizza I've ever had in my life, Anthony told us embarrassing stories about Joey, the once-upon-a-time chubby altar boy, and there was discussion of a certain fan club member, who shall remain nameless, whom everyone decidedly dislikes due to her apparent insanity. By three, everyone was starting to get tired. I was fairly deaf and remained so for the next day or so along with my mother. We said so long to everyone and made our way out to the nearest corner to hail a cab. We saw David and Paulie and said goodbye to them and then spent the next half hour along with a bunch of other show-goers trying to get a taxi. We finally got one and sped back to the hotel where we hit the bed for a few hours. We then got up around eight and headed down to the Port Authority to catch our bus home. Mom finally got to see Times Square on our way there. So, after two days and two shows, I was WIPED OUT! I actually slept on the bus for a while, something I can rarely do, and we arrived back in Providence at 2 in the afternoon. Fun times indeed...
After over four hours on the road, Krissy and I arrived back at RIC at 6:00 that morning. I was still riding some sort of overtired concert-induced high and that, combined with a sense of urgency, kept me on my toes. I ran up to my room, took the fastest shower of my life, and had just started to dry my hair when my parents called to tell me that they were on their way. I finished getting ready, threw what I would need for the coming day in a bag, and relaxed for few minutes. Soon, my parents arrived and we made our way to Kennedy Plaza to check Mom and I in for our 8:00 bus to New York City.
As hard as I tried, I couldn't go the entire ride there, let alone any longer, without gushing about the show. However, Mom didn't know I had gone and had said that if I went to that show, she wouldn't come to NYC with me the next day. Well, you can't exactly turn a bus around that you're not driving so I told her. Thankfully, she wasn't as upset as I had anticipated. That was a relief! I slept for maybe a half hour on the ride there and was starting to come down from the high of the night before by the time we arrived in NYC at 12:30.
After battling the NYC subway system for almost two hours (stupid diverted trains...) we made it to our hotel. We threw our bags in and headed out again to eat. We spotted the deli my aunt had recommended and ate there. Then we headed over to Walgreen's to pick up some promised goodies for the ZO2 boyz: cookies and coffee cake!
By this point, I was exhausted. We went back to the hotel with a few hours to spare before the show. I hit the bed and lay there semi-comatose for a little over an hour. Boy, did I need that! After 'waking up,' I got ready for the show, grabbed our goodies, and Mom and I started walking. It was getting dark and we walked as far as we had earlier before hailing a cab. Of course, we got a driver named Mohammad and we were treated(?) to some Middle Eastern music as we sped through the streets of New York. It was my first cab ride and I don't think it could've been any more stereotypical.
We arrived across from the venue and realized that the doors wouldn't open for another half hour. As we were walking to the pizza parlor down the block, who walked out of the club but Paulie Z! I gave him a wave and a yell and we promptly crossed the street where I was greeted with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Mom nearly fell over in shock. I introduced Paulie to my mother and handed over the cake and cookies after making sure that he and Joey had shared the night before's food with David.
Paulie went back to unloading the van and Mom and I headed over to the pizza parlor. We only bought a drink but we hung out for a little over half an hour until the doors opened at the club. Two of the guys from one of the other bands, Feff, were there as well. We headed into the club and, apparently because we beat the bouncer there, neither of us had to show ID. Figures. We stayed upstairs for a while watching the bands trickle in and seeing some funny exchanges between them.
Once the bands started playing almost an hour later, Mom and I went downstairs and parked ourselves at the bar. By the middle of the second band’s set, we had inched forward to the very end of the bar by the "reserved" table. I met Marty Z (the Z boyz' father) down there. Brian Z, the girlfriends, some close friends, and family were all around there too. It was neat hanging out next to them. Carol found her way to meet us and I introduced her to my mom. Anthony, given the night off from manning the merch table, was there as well. Once the second band finished their set, Carol and I made straight for the stage. Mom elected to keep her seat at the bar. We managed to squeeze in on the right side of the stage and were perfectly content there. However, a promo girl for one of the bands, Receptor, came around with an email sign up list. When she got to near center stage, a hole opened up momentarily as a result of people trying to avoid her. I saw my chance, grabbed Carol, and we hopped over there. We were dead center at the stage. I was THRILLED!
There was an astounding belly dancer between sets. She uses muscles I'm still not certain that I possess. The curtain opened for a second and there was Joey at his set. I happened to be looking at that moment and he winked at me. I'm fairly certain I turned beet red at that. Just before ZO2 came on, Anthony appeared holding a bunch of "I <3 Anthony" stickers. The long story made short about those is that Joey pretends to hate them. Therefore, Anthony had every single girl up front, about a fifteen of us, put one on. As the curtain opened, Joey rolled his eyes at us. We just grinned. Hehe. The show was amazing, even better than the night before. They were psyched to be playing back at their home venue. I took a bunch of pictures and sang along to every song. Brian Z came up beside me to shoot some video and take some audience pictures. I'm in both a considerable amount. We even got to see Joey sing Jumpin' Jack Flash, which he jokingly refused to sing unless he got a Corona first. I've never seen Anthony move so fast before. He was at the bar and back in seconds. They played for just over an hour and it was just plain incredible. Carol ended up with one of Joey's busted drumsticks somehow...I'm so jealous! However, when Paulie came down into the audience both times, I got to touch his guitars. A Les Paul Sunburst and a Les Paul 1960. I practically died when I got to touch the 1960!
Once the boyz left the stage, I headed upstairs to chat with them for a bit. I walked in just in time to sing "Happy Birthday" to Joey as well as a round of "For He's A Jolly Good Guido." Joey got a cake and promptly tried to douse the candles with Corona. Paulie practically jumped in front of the cake to save it but to no avail. It was already soaked in alcohol. That was great. Anthony and Laurie, a fan I'd been talking to online but had never met before, were there too. I saw David and asked how he was feeling to which he replied that he was much better than the night before. There was subsequent hugging and cheek-kissing. Then I managed to catch Joey's attention. He turned to me and spied the "I <3 Anthony" sticker and sarcastically refused to speak to me while I was wearing it. I laughed and shot back saying that he shouldn't expect any more birthday signs or food if he's going to be like that. He laughed too and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I ended up finding Paulie again a few minutes later with the same result only he pulled me in for a hug rather than me initiating it. That was awesome.
I talked with Anthony and Laurie for a little while and one of Joey's friends joined in. After a few minutes and once Anthony and Laurie were otherwise occupied, Joey's friend and I started talking. It didn't take too long for me to realize what was happening...He was hitting on me! He offered to buy me a drink and, after my saying that I didn't drink, (had I said I was underage right there, I would've been booted from the club) practically insisted that he buy me one. I panicked a little. I mean, I didn't want to be a bitch in my refusal because he was damn nice and polite about it through his attempted persuasion. I ended up saying that I had people expecting me back downstairs (totally the truth) and that I would think it over if he came downstairs. I went back downstairs. He never did but it was an interesting and flattering thing to have happen. Mom and Carol thought it was hilarious.
The next two bands, Feff and Receptor, were great. There was a guy that kept starting the Feff call-back chant. (He says "F-E-F-F" and everyone responds "Feff, Feff, Feff!") Even after about twenty times, it somehow didn’t get old. Paulie and David were there too; Paulie right up front and David lurking around. Brian and David were near me for most of the show. Joey was upstairs celebrating with lots of booze. His family and friends ended up stealing him away before the night was out so I never got my group picture. Oh well, there’s always next time.
After the bands finished up, Carol left and Mom, Anthony, Laurie, and I headed over to the pizza parlor to eat. It was almost two in the morning and the place was soon packed with people leaving the club. Thankfully, we got in just as the rush started so we got seats. We stayed there for a while eating what I consider to be the best pizza I've ever had in my life, Anthony told us embarrassing stories about Joey, the once-upon-a-time chubby altar boy, and there was discussion of a certain fan club member, who shall remain nameless, whom everyone decidedly dislikes due to her apparent insanity. By three, everyone was starting to get tired. I was fairly deaf and remained so for the next day or so along with my mother. We said so long to everyone and made our way out to the nearest corner to hail a cab. We saw David and Paulie and said goodbye to them and then spent the next half hour along with a bunch of other show-goers trying to get a taxi. We finally got one and sped back to the hotel where we hit the bed for a few hours. We then got up around eight and headed down to the Port Authority to catch our bus home. Mom finally got to see Times Square on our way there. So, after two days and two shows, I was WIPED OUT! I actually slept on the bus for a while, something I can rarely do, and we arrived back in Providence at 2 in the afternoon. Fun times indeed...