Certain songs, they get so scratched into our souls.
So, the Hold Steady show was last Thursday, February 2. I went with my friend Andrew -- it's really incredibly nice to have a concert buddy after a semester of going to things on my own. Especially for a show like the Hold Steady, who definitely attracted a more masculine crowd than, say, the New Pornographers.
Andrew lives on the way to Chapel Hill, so I picked him up and we made our way down 15-501 without incident. Until I tried to park, when I totally hit the front of an SUV. I hate parallel parking, y'all. I don't even know what I said, but it was pretty much all swearing. Kinda embarrassing, especially when I started shaking afterwards. However, I managed to park elsewhere without incident, but with Andrew directing me into the spot, and neither my car nor the SUV were damaged, so it all turned out well.
We'd gotten there a little late, hoping to miss most of the first act. Either we miscalculated or they started late, probably both, but it worked out all right, since Plastic Constellations didn't actually suck. I don't remember a lot of what they did, but it was catchy, inoffensive rock, and went well with the other two bands. Swearing at Motorists was the second opening act -- they were a two-man group, and the singer was either high or insane. He looked like Graeme Souness in the 1970s, which led to Andrew and I having some fun pretending that he actually was Graeme Souness, having gone insane after losing his job at Newcastle and fronting an indie band with emo lyrics. They were incredibly entertaining, but mostly based on the singer's between-songs banter, which mostly focused on weed and Wiffle Ball. (And yeah. I'm being completely serious there.) Overall, though, the openers were way better than I'd thought they would be, which makes it two shows of the last three that have had solid opening acts. Bizarre!
So, Andrew and I had been working our way closer to the front between acts, like you do. By the time the Hold Steady were setting up, we'd gotten ourselves into a pretty nice place on the left-hand side. And then, right before they went on, this guy and his girlfriend got right up in front of us. And not like a little too close. Like, if that guy were any closer to me, I would've gotten pregnant. And, um, then he pulled out his notebook and started writing stuff down. I know not what, but dude. NOT the time. I wanted to mock him with Andrew, but they were so close that I would've been talking to Writer Guy's girlfriend as much as Andrew, so I just kinda made this face: o.O Which was fully reciprocated. I was also afraid to dance, since Writer Guy kept doing this weird head-flailing thing, and I could just see myself colliding with him and getting knocked out or killed. (Also, I didn't particularly want to be that close to *any* stranger's ass.) Thankfully, Writer and Girl moved to a better location pretty early on, otherwise that would've been a clear contender for Most Awkward Concert Ever, what with being on someone else's date and all.
Oh, the Hold Steady? God, absolutely incredible live. They sound pretty much like they do on record, so if you don't like that, then don't go see them live. If you do, though, they're even better than on record -- also, you get to dance without feeling stupid because you're dancing all alone in your apartment. Also, you get stories about obscure saints and Catholic poets, which, I mean, what else could you want at a rock show? Seriously, they have amazing energy and enthusiasm, and I completely wore myself out with the dancing and jumping and yelling along. "Killer Parties" was spaced-out and sort of transcendent, and the final encore was "How a Resurrection Really Feels." I may or may not have grabbed Andrew's arm and jumped up and down spastically. (Oh come on -- y'all knew I wasn't cool.) All in all, amazing.
And then I got home about two, got up at 7:30, had a full day of classes, and went to the Public Interest Retreat. Awesome.
Andrew lives on the way to Chapel Hill, so I picked him up and we made our way down 15-501 without incident. Until I tried to park, when I totally hit the front of an SUV. I hate parallel parking, y'all. I don't even know what I said, but it was pretty much all swearing. Kinda embarrassing, especially when I started shaking afterwards. However, I managed to park elsewhere without incident, but with Andrew directing me into the spot, and neither my car nor the SUV were damaged, so it all turned out well.
We'd gotten there a little late, hoping to miss most of the first act. Either we miscalculated or they started late, probably both, but it worked out all right, since Plastic Constellations didn't actually suck. I don't remember a lot of what they did, but it was catchy, inoffensive rock, and went well with the other two bands. Swearing at Motorists was the second opening act -- they were a two-man group, and the singer was either high or insane. He looked like Graeme Souness in the 1970s, which led to Andrew and I having some fun pretending that he actually was Graeme Souness, having gone insane after losing his job at Newcastle and fronting an indie band with emo lyrics. They were incredibly entertaining, but mostly based on the singer's between-songs banter, which mostly focused on weed and Wiffle Ball. (And yeah. I'm being completely serious there.) Overall, though, the openers were way better than I'd thought they would be, which makes it two shows of the last three that have had solid opening acts. Bizarre!
So, Andrew and I had been working our way closer to the front between acts, like you do. By the time the Hold Steady were setting up, we'd gotten ourselves into a pretty nice place on the left-hand side. And then, right before they went on, this guy and his girlfriend got right up in front of us. And not like a little too close. Like, if that guy were any closer to me, I would've gotten pregnant. And, um, then he pulled out his notebook and started writing stuff down. I know not what, but dude. NOT the time. I wanted to mock him with Andrew, but they were so close that I would've been talking to Writer Guy's girlfriend as much as Andrew, so I just kinda made this face: o.O Which was fully reciprocated. I was also afraid to dance, since Writer Guy kept doing this weird head-flailing thing, and I could just see myself colliding with him and getting knocked out or killed. (Also, I didn't particularly want to be that close to *any* stranger's ass.) Thankfully, Writer and Girl moved to a better location pretty early on, otherwise that would've been a clear contender for Most Awkward Concert Ever, what with being on someone else's date and all.
Oh, the Hold Steady? God, absolutely incredible live. They sound pretty much like they do on record, so if you don't like that, then don't go see them live. If you do, though, they're even better than on record -- also, you get to dance without feeling stupid because you're dancing all alone in your apartment. Also, you get stories about obscure saints and Catholic poets, which, I mean, what else could you want at a rock show? Seriously, they have amazing energy and enthusiasm, and I completely wore myself out with the dancing and jumping and yelling along. "Killer Parties" was spaced-out and sort of transcendent, and the final encore was "How a Resurrection Really Feels." I may or may not have grabbed Andrew's arm and jumped up and down spastically. (Oh come on -- y'all knew I wasn't cool.) All in all, amazing.
And then I got home about two, got up at 7:30, had a full day of classes, and went to the Public Interest Retreat. Awesome.