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In a Vans store earlier this year.

Tomorrow I fly off to the Vans Warped Tour for four days. I've only ever gone to Warped on day visits to Jesse, so this should be interesting. My brain is telling me to keep a little 'tour diary' via my Tumblr, so keep checking on that if you'd like -- but I make no promises given the lack of internet and cell signal Jesse seems to have every day. I think I'll be doing a lot of people watching, reading, and tetris. So, it might be an incredibly boring 'tour diary.' At least I know I'm going to be seeing Motion City's rad live show every day.

I'm hitting up Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis in that time. I'm quite excited to get to spend time with Jesse, and luckily Warped has a day off on Monday so we'll be able to relax outside of 'camp' for a day! PLUS I get to see fellow MCS Wife / (Warped Wife?) Lindsay! I haven't seen that sweet lady since her wedding last year.

Now it's time to pack my backpack, dry shampoo, and shorts (in every color).

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Here are the makings of a great weekend. Told three days after the fact, given recovery time necessary.

First, get your adrenaline going and then get your brain going while moving fast on a train. I left work on Friday 15 minutes before my Connecticut-bound train would be departing Grand Central; luckily there was no ticket line and I rushed onto the train with a nice healthy sheen of sweat. Once settled, I was able to look over five scripts a friend had sent me for critique (and ultimately editing). I love giving my input on this sort of project. I wrote notes all over each version and then compiled an e-mail to the writer/director via iPhone that I was proud to press 'send' on because no matter what direction he chooses I think the final product will be enthralling. I've enjoyed an amateur capacity as an editor and feedback-giver (that is a term I just made up right now, remember I said amateur) for a few friends lately.

Second, continue your journey with good conversation, an impromptu stop and meeting, and surround yourself with great family for dinner. My dad was awaiting me in Connecticut and we began our journey to Massachusetts by recounting each of our experiences with Cloud Atlas, movie and book now that we've both taken in each of them. We stopped along the way at a grocery store to pick up something I needed to make for the next day (still cooking, guys!). While I was perusing, my dad ran into my mom in another section! My mom was just about to leave to meet us at the designated restaurant, with her visiting BFF in tow. We all headed to the restaurant to meet up with my brother and his newly appointed fiance! It was a fun meal, as always with the family. We spent the time catching up, especially on all the impending wedding details!

Third, arrive home only to be surprised by more exciting news. When we got back to the house, my brother's fiance, Katie, disappeared. After putting down my purse, she reappeared with a card and a wine bottle and said "I have something I want to ask you, I'm so excited!" Then I realized that the bottle of red she was waving around had my name on it! And asked me to be a bridesmaid! Next year! AHHHH! It was such a fun moment, we started dancing around in the kitchen after I said yes and I kind of felt like I had just been proposed to again. Obviously, I spent the rest of the evening introducing her to Pinterest. I felt it was my duty.

Fourth, prepare for your mother's preparation and let the party ensue! My mom is a master party planner, and I've been her faithful servant for years. Sometimes I had attitude growing up, but it's a testament that she can direct a few people into creating spectacular parties. On Saturday afternoon their house hosted Travis and Katie's engagement party, so on Saturday morning, we got to work. People started arriving an hour early! It was incredible, having hosted my own parties in New York in which people don't show up until at least two hours after the alloted 'start time' on the invite. We continued rushing around while conversing and catching up with the guests - no more so than my mother who was doing a million things at once. It all came together soon enough, though, and the sangria was flowing and the steaks were cooking on the BBQ. Everybody was congratulating the newly-engaged couple and their friends were arriving in droves. There were lawn games, cake-cutting ceremonies starring my father's sword, delicious meats, and hilarity.

Fifth, end the party traditionally. Parties at my parent's house tend to devolve into the 'young people' playing party games in the basement. And this was no different; perhaps it was the most epic of them all. I joined my brother and his friends for a couple hours of flip cup. You know, the best college drinking game ever. I played my Bachelorette Playlist from weeks ago since it had a party vibe, and you wouldn't believe the amount of men who sang every word of Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman." My mother even joined our flip cup game at one point (it's happened before) and around two a.m. we had slowed down immensely. Some couples retreated to their tents in the backyard, and I talked to Jesse on the phone - when I noticed someone puking next to me. They shall remain nameless but Jesse heard my whole, "Wait--what is he doing? What? Oh man...I gotta get out of here." Priceless. And it wasn't the first time one of these parties ended in that way.

Sixth, rest up for a farewell and drop-off at summer camp Warped Tour. My brother was a little worse for wear in the morning, but we all agreed it was a great party. I had to bid adieu to my bro and my future sister-in-law after a creepy conversation about lethal spiders, and I can't wait for the next time we get to hang out. My dad, mom, mom's BFF, and I headed down to Hartford to drop me off at the Warped Tour so I could hang out with Jesse for the day. It was a bummer to say bye to the spectacular family, but I was glad to be sitting next to Jesse. Even if it was in a tiny front lounge of a tour bus.

Jesse 'working.'

Seventh, let the fact that you are hanging out with your husband and good friends overshadow the searing heat and gravel dust in your atmosphere. My best friend Rick, who lives in Las Vegas, happened to be in Connecticut this weekend and he was able to join the Warped experience with friends Jared and Karyn. We rocked out to Motion City Soundtrack's set and then (due to their car) were able to grab dinner with our friends Tyler and Pete from A Great Big Pile of Leaves. Being on tour doesn't necessarily mean party party party when those dudes aren't on stage. In fact, most of the time was spent playing Tetris in the front lounge or sitting in plastic chairs in front of the bus. I had to say goodbye to Jesse after dinner, grabbing a ride home with Tyler back to Brooklyn. It was a fantastic few hours with my husband, we really enjoyed our time together and with friends and I had a smile on my face the whole time. I left not too sad, either, because I'm flying out to see him on Friday for a whole weekend on the Warped Tour.

Just fangirling my husband, don't worry about it.

RICK: BFFs since we lived across the hall from each other freshman year! We've taken this photo many times.

Eighth, make sure to get one last photo of Tyler as he drops you off at 1:30 in the morning:

Stars may collide.

There are about five unfinished blog posts written over the last two weeks in my drafts folder. I looked over them as pieces of a puzzle for the time that passed; they don't really make sense together, but I'll put them together anyway. Consider it a digest of what I would have posted over the weeks. Maybe the end synthesis will bring some sort of connected message through the chaos. Maybe it will just be a jumble of brain thoughts from my noggin' that don't mean a gosh darn!

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My friends in A Great Big Pile of Leaves released their second album today last week, and much like their first, it's brilliant. You're Always On My Mind is a summer fun album and I hope you listen and enjoy because only awesome people will, and I trust that anybody reading here is awesome.

I'm glad such a great group of guys actually makes good music; it would be sad to tell you about crappy music. Instead, I feel very altruistic in my promotion of them to you. You're welcome!

Also, Pitchfork posted about them. As Ty Ty, friend and AGBPOL drummer would say, "BOOM!"

iTunes / Amazon / Sweet Topshelf Vinyl Package!!!!

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When Jesse first told me his band would be on the entire Warped Tour, I probably just said something like "ohhhhh really? That's...interesting..." and looked down at a thread on my jeans intently or stared at a fly buzzing around like I've seen Pee Wee do or laughed and skipped out of the room. Sometimes it's hard for me to hide my emotions. Honestly, it's a great festival, and I went to a few of them a decade or so ago (OLD), but here's what sucks about having a husband on the Warped Tour, since I'm asked a lot:

1. It's two whole months of him gone!
2. You've been to a music festival, right? Does your phone ever work/get a good signal?
3. It's in the summer, in what some might consider unbearable heat. (Las Vegas date of Warped this year had an asphalt temperature that was reportedly 154 degrees, just saying.) Please pair this condition with lack of regular showers.

Take all that together and then you've got Jesse and I trying to talk every day like we do, but sometimes he's frustrated because the tour bus' AC just broke and sometimes I'm frustrated because I just got eight texts from him five hours after he'd sent them. Our phone calls don't work. The e-mails get to each other late. We're shouting "What!?" into our phones from hundreds of miles away.

And it just makes me sigh. You have now seen the window into my frustrations!

However, just as much as it can be infuriating, it's on-another-level-awesome when we DO get a clear signal and/or when he has a day off and we can videochat. [Sidenote: sometimes we'll be videochatting and I'll be talking about things people talk about and then he'll say something to someone across the room when you thought you were only talking to him and he was the only one that could hear you. Then he turns the computer around and the whole band is lounging in the hotel room, maybe they had been listening. Mortification sets in.]

Jesse also enjoys the fun of being on stage, always. I know he's had a great Warped experience as far as the music and the fans and the signings go! And the evening poker games...

And also, sometimes, he takes a plane from Warped Tour to show up for our best friends' rehearsal dinner and wedding! At the rehearsal dinner:

I may...or may not be...excited...?

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SPEAKING OF: Erica and David were married last Friday and it was FUN TIMES! I'm still mildly exhausted from the festivities. Much like Erica used to DJ into the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday nights, her wedding was basically a huge party. 

But first! There was the ceremony, and then dinner. Throughout I was intensely nervous about the speech I would be giving as the co-maid of honor. I'd barely had time to practice in the past couple of days with everything going on, and I had no idea when the emcee would be calling my name. Luckily, I had this chap next to me keeping me calm:

That's my "I'm nervous but hiding it with slight open mouth smile because I actually want to kind of scream" face. Luckily, the speech went well, people clapped, we toasted, I melted into a puddle of relief in the middle of the floor, per usual. And then I could let loose. Like so:

My sense of balance in the photo looks great and also a misleading depiction of my abilities. I probably fell over in the next frame. My legs still hurt, my voice was slightly hoarse. I may be dehydrated. I don't know. The symptoms of having too much fun vary.

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Remember when I wrote about the chocolate mousse exercise? I'll have you know that my cooking is still going strong, and I especially liked having a feast ready for Jesse when he came home last week. My cooking has been so consistent, in fact, that I invested in the above apron. The weekend at home may have kickstarted my cooking streak, but probably also Hannibal. Anyway, I wrote up the recipe for my friend Kelly's lifestyle blog! CHECK IT OUT HERE! And...always check her blog out, it's so cute. [There's even a photo of the finished product.]

I also have the second part of Jessica Thinks She Can Cook ready to go in my head. Thumbs up for my un-suaveness in the kitchen, am I right?!

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You know what? I cry a lot. Mainly at movies, music, tv, etc. I cry when a huge group of people come together for one reason. I may or may not have been known to cry walking down the aisle for my two best friends. I cried walking down my own aisle. So, here's my cry story from a couple of weeks ago.

I was watching this movie that was somewhat relatable culturally, so I was thinking of my family and loved ones a lot while watching it.  There were a lot of heartstrings being pulled. Strings that made me bawl alone on my couch, clutching to my cat. It's based on one of my favorite books, so I knew what was going to happen, and everything that made me cry in the book made me cry in the movie. I don't want to give the name of the movie currently because I might be spoiling it by my next description...

In the film, a husband and wife have moved to the U.S. from another country. Many years pass and they have two kids who have moved out and graduated college. The husband has to go to another state for a business trip that will take a few months. While there, he goes to the hospital for a stomach ache, and calls his wife to let her know. She expects a call later when he gets back to his apartment, but she receives no call. She calls the hospital and is trying to spell out her foreign last name to various hospital workers in order to get some information. Someone figures out who she's looking for and without ceremony tells her that her husband died a few hours ago. She cannot comprehend the news. She has nobody to talk to, she doesn't know what to do. She's alone in the house and she walks from room to room and finally just goes outside to the front lawn in the middle of the freezing night and lays down and screams.

I did the puddle trick again on my couch. This time it was a puddle of grief. But I like crying. I enjoy catharsis. I went to bed smiling after talking to Jesse, my parents, and holding on to Pee Wee. Sad crying usually lets me know that there are things I should be happy and grateful about; it's a reminder. Happy crying just makes me believe in humanity and love and all those good things. I think I happy cry a lot more than sad cry.

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And now for something completely different. Oddly enough I've been listening to Kanye West's new album Yeezus the past few weeks. Yes, surprising. I don't much listen to rap and I've never been fond of West's personality. However, this album... it grabbed me from the start. I liked the sounds. The groom from earlier, David Galea, liked the sounds too but he was more eloquent about it for this piece in a New York street culture blog called Fourth and Sixth. You should check it out. 

Any opinions on Yeezus? I often find myself bopping my head going "I just talked to Jesus / He said 'What up Yeezus?'" and laugh. Just laaaaauuuuugh.

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I have this friend from middle school, Jon Davis...I don't think I've seen him since 8th grade, both of us being military kids and all and moving every couple of years. However, social media had the ability to keep us in touch and now he's a filmmaker, so we have common interests. He posted this short he directed and wrote called Vows. It's embedded above. It's part of an interesting web series about the end of the world. There's not really any need to watch the first five episodes of the series, this being the sixth of Withered World, since they are all capsule episodes. I liked it a lot.

To be honest, I wondered at the end if I was feeling like a happy cry or a sad cry reaction. Maybe both.

That summer they took us in.

Here are the remarkable things that have happened in the past month --

I should start with a true point of unending happiness: my brother proposed to his girlfriend who shall henceforth be called his fiancé! He had wanted to surround Katie with the beauty of New Hampshire, at the summit of a mountain, and profess how his love was more vast than their view (at least, this is what comes to mind when he said "yeah, I'm going to take her hiking..."). Instead, as the gods are wont to do, it rained heavily all weekend and he was left to take on the task in a dimly lit, romantic restaurant, on one knee like a true charmer. I mean, I know what that's like! I'm thrilled at the prospect of having a sister! And for all the happiness she brings to my brother, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Before my brother's magical weekend, my own romantic hero took me across the United States to visit his family in northern California. It's not a part of the country I've spent much time, and it was great to reconnect with his father and aunt, and to meet his grandmother for the first time. We spent the last day of the trip in San Francisco, a city that renders me in a state of perpetual coldness. There was no fog this time around, like there was that July many years ago, but the wind was still there and it ran through me and chilled my bones every chance it could. I was glad to say bye to the city, but was sad to leave the loving faces of family just north of it.

Amidst the past month Jesse and I also spent a weekend in Massachusetts with my family for Mother's Day. It was a jam-packed weekend that included Katie (before she was The Fiancé) graduating with a Masters Degree (while Jesse and I parked it in a barcalounger-full theater for The Great Gatsby), and a dinner with her entire family. (They who will soon be an extension of our own family!) They are wonderful and again, I'm so happy for my baby brother. We spent Mother's Day on my parents' deck and Jesse got to show off his bocce skills again. He's quite the impressive chap when it comes to competitive games. We were sad to say bye to my family at the end of the weekend.

Last week, after Jesse returned from a couple of weeks of rehearsing in Minneapolis, and I returned from house- and dog-sitting in New Jersey, we celebrated his birthday! I took him out for a delectable steak dinner and then we hung out with friends in the East Village. It was a glorious Monday evening. We squeezed out every bit of time we had since his return and before his departure for the Warped Tour the day before yesterday. On his last night in town we got to see The Menzingers live! And though we felt like The Old People who were checking our watches at 10:30pm, as soon as they hit the stage and the first notes of "The Obituaries" began, we were pumped. (I have to pause here and personally thank Liz for the introduction of them via her blog.) I had a bit of an urge to jump into the crowd and let loose, but I just bounced around in one spot near the back for the most part. Jesse and I (with Pee Wee, of course) collapsed in bed that night exhausted, but it was all time well spent. And now it's gone. I'll see him again soon, and hopefully it will only be a stretch of a couple of weeks.

And in a few minutes, I'm off to Massachusetts again!

Summer time, the nights are so long.

Warped Tour was THE BEST! And yet - how many bands did I watch? One and a half. I arrived in the midst of Motion City's (always stellar) set, and watched the All-American Rejects later in the day. But the music wasn't the main event for me yesterday. I hadn't seen Jesse in three weeks (!!!), and thus I was elated to finally embrace him.

Apparently in the middle of the MCS set he told his tech to check if I'd arrived. Ha! I had, with empanadas for everyone, courtesy of my Mom (she makes amazing empanadas, fact). And after he got off stage, we were pretty much inseparable. Well, until he had to do a signing. But then he was back!

A great big bunch of friends were there, and after Jesse and I had a nice time catching up over delicious Mexican food, the activities began. Whether it was watching a crap movie on the bus, sitting outside the bus under their tent, or playing wiffle ball in the parking lot with some random ladies and some dudes from The Swellers (we won!). I love reuniting with Jesse - nothing feels so good than to be back in his presence, taking in all the little things I missed so much.

We were so busy having so much fun, this is the only picture that came out of the stellar day:

Me up at bat!

Alas, I had to say goodbye. He'll back back home in a week, but after only a few hours of seeing him, I miss him even more now.

Also, thanks for all the Warped memories! Loved my own memory being jogged by some of the comments, and seeing pictures! Got any more? How was your weekend?

She thinks that she can fly and she might.

Here's the deal: it's been a busy week. You could say it's been too hot to post. It's true. Next week I'll be back, but until then - I'll be relaxing at my parent's home in Massachusetts, and getting to see Jesse this Sunday at Warped Tour. And Warped Tour, my friends, is always good for a laugh. Take, for instance, this picture I scanned from the 2002 Warped Tour:

That's me in the middle, wearing one arm warmer (in the humid DC summer, I mean, c'mon, Jessica) and enthusiastically posing with the band Something Corporate (when I was totally in love with Leaving Through The Window - not many songs incorporate my name into the lyrics, this album did it once!). On that day, I remember Alkaline Trio were the first band to play, and after that I planted myself at the Drive-Thru stage. I saw RX Bandits, The Starting Line, Finch there, stayed near the front for the moshing, and got covered in dirt. My friends and I ended the extravaganza by bouncing around to New Found Glory. I had had "the best day ever." And that's what's fun about Warped Tour: you get to see a bunch of your most favouritest bands play all in one day and jump around and be surrounded by other people who are into it in just the same way.

Of course, this year, there's no act I'm more excited to see than my husband and his arms hugging me.

Do you have any Warped Tour memories? Are you going this year? Let's all share the good stuff - who'd you get your picture taken with? Best Warped act you've seen?  A funny memory? A horrible memory? I know you're out there! Let's discuss.

I wander aimless, leering at strangers.

It's about that time again. Yes, we're a week and one day into my separation from Jesse, and no, the stagnant heated arms of the obliterating humidity aren't replacing Jesse's as I fall asleep. It happens this way. There's much to do, but my mind wanders like it sees a bright, shiny object to the west, and that would be my husband. So I drift into silences sometimes, staring out a window like I'm in a Sofia Coppola movie - pensive muteness, great soundtrack - and I think about him. We'll be together soon, but it's kind of one of those recurring and familiar feelings when he's gone away. It's not horrible, but I find myself sighing a lot.

The swell part is that he's there when I reach out for him - not physically, of course, but somewhere there. Invisible lines stretching until our voices or words connect. He's always there.

These soles are useless without you.

And so it is Friday, and I'm finishing up the update about last weekend. Ha.

On Sunday we were in Shakopee, Minnesota. My plane was at 5pm, so I had to leave by 3, way before their set and only a few hours after we woke up. We went to catering, I helped Jesse wash his hair in the parking lot, and then we just hung out by the bus until it was time to go.

At one point, I went on the bus to grab my backpack, and when I came back out the dudes were like, "Where are you going?!?!?!" - they were so surprised that I was already leaving. And they got in a line to give me goodbye hugs, not kidding. It was really cute and made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Then they were off to a signing and our friend Tiffany drove me to the airport, cause she rules. And the planes were all on time, thankfully. It was such a completely fun weekend, I didn't want to leave. Jesse, true to form, was like, "then don't go," and I may have seriously contemplated skipping work again, but they were heading to Canada. He'll be back soon though, and that's how it is for us - there's always something to look forward to.

Tony staying far away from the likes of me.

Brian camping out in front of Shwayze's bus. (You know I'm kidding.)
[P.S. I saw far too much of Cisco Adler that weekend. And way too much of his hands touching girls...like, all the time.]

Jesse testing out Brian's new bike.

Hangs. Matt, literally.

Bye, bye.

I am wrecked, I am overblown.

Saturday!

The Chicago Warped date was actually in Tinley Park, a good 40 minutes outside of Chicago. In the early afternoon, we were sitting on the bus just hanging out, when Coby and Alex from Say Anything came on the bus to say that Max Bemis was super sick and instead of cancelling their scheduled set, they were wondering if Justin could sing a song for them. They were going around the bus lot asking their friends for a solid. Which, apparently, everybody was up for. They said even some people they'd rather not have sing their songs were up for it (I should keep mum on who they were referring to).

The only real problem was that Motion City Soundtrack's set began half an hour after Say Anything's on a different stage - so it would be squeezing it in. Justin told the dudes he'd mull it over while MCS went to do a signing. When they returned from the signing, Beth uploaded "Alive with the Glory of Love" on his iPod, and Justin holed himself up in the back lounge trying to memorize the lyrics for the rest of the afternoon.

I spent the afternoon wandering around, trying to find my friends' tents to no avail. I caught Four Year Strong's fantastic set, and then ran into one of my good friends, Ben (I call him Supernice Guy), who is teching for All Time Low. Ben and I have known each other since we both went to college in Boston years ago, and were part of the Monty Are I fun times. It was nice to be able to hang out with him, even if only for a bit. It's weird seeing friends like that go from one context (college) to another (working on Warped). Kind of like how Jesse went from dude in a band I used to go see live all the time to, oh, hey, fianz.

Anyways.

The time came for Justin to open Say Anything's set, and he was a bit nervous. All the MCS guys were encouraging him with words and smiles. Backstage, Jesse jokingly told Bemis he owed MCS one. We all scurried on stage as Bemis explained to the crowd that he wasn't up to singing that day, but some friends would be singing their songs. And so began the first notes of "Alive with the Glory of Love" (a great, great song in my opinion) and Justin belted it out with aplomb. He was still nervous about the words (it does have a particular lot of them) and held the lyric book close. The crowd was amazing and sung each word along with him and pumped their fists and seemed to be having a good time. During the instrumental, Justin even did some dancing on stage. Everyone was having a blast.

Justin before the set.

Bemis telling the crowd he can't sing.

Justin rockin' it awkward and fun!
There's video of Justin's performance HERE!

After Justin sang, we made for an exit to get to MCS' stage, along with Aileen, who was visiting Warped that day (yay!). Everybody was telling Justin what an awesome job he did, and within a few minutes, MCS took their own stage and they rocked it as they always do. They were the last band to play that day, essentially closers, and the crowd was fantastic. Aileen, Luis, and I were singing, clapping and dancing around sidestage to their set. Luis got some great video of us during the first song, "Attractive Today," -

Oh we are so nerdy and we love it (and MCS, obvs). Aileen found it hilarious that I know all of Jesse's hand claps and did them in unison - uh, yeah. Fan and fiancee, fiancee and fan. Also, I recognize a lot of "things bands do live that I can too" in my favorite live performers (see also: No Doubt, Dashboard Confessional). I'm a dork, I love live music, it's what I do.

After the show, Warped was over for the day, and we hung out in the parking lot with the fun people. There was an early bus call and we headed out to a 24-hour Super K-Mart. Those boys like their frozen food, just sayin. It was another epic day, and Jesse and I were definitely exhausted again. I was just hoping time would slow down a little bit, because I knew I was leaving the next afternoon.

My lungs are fresh and yours to keep.

Let me start with Friday.

I scurried to the airport on Thursday evening, clearly a little cynical about air travel considering the past weekend's debacle. However, the flight was merely 15 minutes late to Milwaukee. Yes! Emily was there to pick me up and I got to hang out with her and Evan and their adorable pooches Penny & Jack as we reminisced about college and discussed the future (weddinz, 2012 apocalypse, srsly). The next morning, Emily drove me to the Warped grounds where Brian was waiting for me with a pass and I got to run on the bus and plant kisses all over the dead-asleep Fianz. I got in that bunk with my jeans and everything and slept until about noon, at which point I finally saw his face.

Jesse and I then hunted down his rental car and headed back to the venue for the MCS set. Saw Christy & Josh which was sweet, but unfortunately that was the only time I saw them all weekend! I rocked my newly-cut-up Oregon Trail shirt that Jesse had gotten me ages ago ("you have died of dysentery") and, I'm such a NERD, I got really excited when anybody complimented it. My excitement probably turned away a lot of people...um, sorry I'm not really wearing this IRONICALLY, I actually love Oregon Trail. Anybody?

I digress!! Where is my mind? (Canada, dude, secret project, work, cleaning...) But perhaps Friday can be best explained in pictures. I went to three shows, in two states, at three different venues. Let me shows you.

(Preview: my arm at the end of the night. Not including Warped pass.)

2PM. Motion City Soundtrack - Warped Tour. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I was totally alone side-stage and I felt a little bit ridiculous jumping, clapping and dancing as I always do when they play without someone doing the same next to me. But I did it anyway - whatever. Their songs and live energy always puts a smile on my face. Always! And I've seen a lot of their sets.

8PM. Radiohead - Lollapalooza. Chicago, Illinois.

This is what it felt like to see Radiohead. Ha. But really, it was an amazing two hour set. Matt, Pavan, Jesse, and I headed out after MCS's set in the rental car to make it just for this. We watched from the Lolla Lounge, which, after sweating for half an hour just trying to GET to the left side of stage, we were so thankful to find it was also accommodated with an open bar. Yes! Perry was also in the lounge, and it was fun and strange to hang out with her in a place that wasn't New York! I don't think I've ever seen such a large crowd for a concert in person - and I went to Lollapalooza last year. It was epic. The lighting tubes hanging were magnificent, and Pavan was quite geeking out about all the production. Jesse and Matt picked up some sweet tees while Pavan and I reminisced about the 90s. The only complaint was that the sound was soft. It wasn't loud - it didn't boom and echo. During the end of "Fake Plastic Trees" some actual fireworks were going off and if the song didn't kick in at a certain point, I'm sure the song would have been drowned out. However, it's Radiohead and the fireworks made it even more incredible. Duh.

As we're heading out of Grant Park, Matt spots this gentleman. He had a lot of fun.

1130PM. Brand New - House of Blues. Chicago, Illinois.

We got these sweet side-stage "opera box" seats at the House of Blues, that had a couple of other people in it. There was a dude in our box who said, "Is that a Harajuku Lovers camera??" in an incredulous voice. I was embarrassed (but, srsly, it's SO cute), but he goes, "I DJ for No Doubt!" And shows me this No Doubt tattoo he has on his ankle. I don't know exactly what he meant, and I don't know if I really cared, but it's always fun for me, super ND fan. Moving on. The show finally started around midnight? 1230?

Vinnie was into it, obvs.

We went to the front view during the last song. It was a great show to take in, and I realize now that I haven't seen them since before they released their last record, The Devil And God.... They played six songs off their first two albums, all in a row, in the middle of the set: Tommy Gun, Sic Transit, Jaws Theme, Shower Scene, No Seatbelt Song, and Play Crack the Sky. I was really excited to hear those last two. I got a little teary during Play Crack the Sky, because I remember the first time I actually took the time to listen to that song and my heart broke. It was one of those songs that I never really paid attention to, but then listened to it all on its own and it became weirdly profound - to me, and perhaps me alone. The rest of the set was from their last album, and I believe they also played a new song; everybody asked me if they played it, but I honestly don't know much of the songs on Devil and God, so I wouldn't know if was new or not.

Here's what I will say about Brand New. I love them. I remember buying Your Favorite Weapon freshman year of college. I remember going to their shows and flipping out. I remember buying Deja Entendu the summer it came out and playing it on repeat for weeks, maybe months. I wore their band tees all the time. I had that one kinda infamous shirt that said, "Mics are for singing, not swinging." It was stolen from me in my dorm's laundry room and I was pissed. I went to Warped 2005 in Massachusetts, and I swung by the press area to see my friend Seth, who was the boss dude at WBRU at the time. The station happened to be interviewing Brand New, and after they were done, Seth called the guys over to us and said, "This was the first person I saw wearing one of your shirts, and she's a huge fan." Being me (read: awkward), and looking down at my sneakers (yeah, the ones with the Brand New shoelaces), I was like, "Hiiiii...." and the dudes all shook my hand and were incredibly nice to me and said nice things and Jesse at one point said, "Come by the bus later and we'll hang..." - and I don't think in a band dude type way, you know? Anyway. I didn't go to the bus (remember, I was-slash-still am awkward) but I was totes happy that day knowing that one of my favorite bands weren't a bunch of assholes. Since The Devil and God came out, and perhaps a bit before, I think they've tried to cultivate a different air about them, a different sort of stage presence. Basically, Jesse goes on stage dressed like Kurt Cobain and acts like a petulant child.

And I get that he's a nice person, as I've witnessed and several people who are actually friends with him have told me, but the way I see him play shows now turns me off. And this isn't just Brand New - if any band I saw live acted so bratty on stage I'd be just as turned off. Up in the opera box we could hear Jesse's asides between songs, and it didn't help. I understand a band not wanting to be cast into a scene and restricted by a sound, but their act is doing nothing for me. It's a good thing that Deja Entendu meant so much to me at the time it came out (if you've heard Guernica you'll understand why), because I might not have kept up with the band after seeing one of these recent live shows.

Okay so there is my diatribe on Brand New - all opinion, my observations and absolutely nothing personal against them.

I did smile at the end of the set, however. The lights went down after the last note, and all you hear is Jesse say in a low, somewhat raspy voice: "Don't hurt the boy, Harvey." It was completely out of left field, and maybe completely unrelated, but it felt menacing and mood-correct at that moment. Plus, yeah, Dark Knight lover here.

After the show it was around 2 am and Matt, Pavan, Jesse and I were BEAT. (Sorry Perry & Jamie for not coming by AK!) We drove 40 minutes out of Chicago to Tinley Park, where Warped would be on Saturday. And proceeded to pass out! More on Saturday & Sunday, later. I think this was enough words, am I right? Plus, I gotta go get on a conference call. Secrets!