I often observe that I have a boring life...and I sort of do. But this prospect was an exception; for once the stars aligned. I was off work at exactly the right time and I had just a bit of money to spare for gas. It's only about a two-hour drive, but I have never made a trip like that by myself. It sounds silly, but that mini-road trip was a big thing for me! I love driving. A couple of summers ago when Whitteny and I made our infamous trip to her school in Indiana to pick up her 6-foot painting of Eve, I drove a lot of the way. Road trips, with the right people or even alone, are one of my favorite things in the world. The music, the scenery, the crappy food--I love it all. Although, admittedly, I didn't eat any crappy food this time, being in such a hurry to start my mid-week vacation. I did, however, have WAY too much caffeine. When I got off work I made the most amazing drink. I'm going to call it a Cinnamon Bomb. It was a Cinnamon Dolce Frappucino (which includes three pumps of espresso roast) made with vanilla soy milk. What made it ca-razy was that I also added a full packet of the Cinnamon Spice Via instant coffee AND a pump of chai...needless to say, it was a sweetly spicy blast of caffeine that got me very hyped up! haha
Surprisingly enough, I made it to Dani's duplex in Cookeville without a hitch, listening to college radio stations the whole way and feeling like an indie-rock mogul. The weather was amazing and Maurice was a champ. He didn't whine or complain at all. (For those of you just tuning in, Maurice is my pathetic little car, who by all appearances is a death trap) To be honest, I did a lot of praying on my way up. "Dear Jesus, please protect me in this car and let me not get stranded." It was a legit concern. And it seems my prayers were answered, although I do have to air up one of my tires before I make my exodus.
Now, to the concert. Jeff Leblanc was a cute, chubby fellow. His music was sweet, but honestly forgettable. It sort of sounded like a mix between The Fray and John Mayer. We were too busy chattering excitedly to pay a lot of attention to him. At first, there weren't many people there. We were way up in the bleachers, still, but had a great view of the stage. The group of friends around us were a fun bunch...and got friendlier after passing around a single beer and a flask amongst themselves. I find such things endearingly trashy. It was kind of funny to watch. But there was a sense of camaraderie as we were all huddled around, our knees hitting their backs, their elbows knocking our shins. There was a lot of goofy smiling and apologizing done. Have you ever felt at a concert that everyone around is your friend? You sing the songs together, you share those knowing smiles when the first riff is a familiar one, you comment on the general atmosphere with emphatic nods of agreement.
Anywho, Vertical Herizon was pretty awesome. They were very energetic and kind of hilarious. The best part about bands that aren't at superstar status but are still somewhat known is that they have a great time on stage. They're not burnt out of the lonely road yet and they aren't complacent with themselves thinking they can slide by because their music is so popular. In my experience, the band that plays right before the headliner usually rocks the house (sometimes more than the main event) and that might have very well been the case last night, though I haven't decided for sure. It took more than half an hour for the Goo Goo Dolls to come on after VH, and we got pretty impatient, though it did give us time to notice that there were three whole racks full of guitars next to the stage. It was a musician's dream. I don't think the lead singer used the same guitar twice.
GGD sounded great, of course, but they didn't show as much personality as VH. And maybe I'm just not familiar with the particular songs in which he sings, but it seemed to me they were trying out the bass player as a secondary lead vocalist. On the songs he sang, the mood was less than accepting. His look, voice, mannerisms, and the inexcusably tight pants encircling his portly legs lent themselves to a second-rate punk rock band: something that would have been pardonable in a local show in which the energy and fun are more important than the music, but this was a concert featuring the freaking Goo Goo Dolls and we weren't having it. Whenever he stuck to what he was good at (background vocals and bass), we were good to go. I did notice, in my possibly overly-critical scrutiny of him, that he was a strummer rather than a picker, as many bass players will tell you is both interesting and somewhat difficult. With that, he earned some points. Said points were nearly invalidated by his emo hair, which hung sweatily halfway down his face.
All in all, it was a blast. They played "Better Days," which is my favorite, and "Iris," which everyone loves (and is also Dani's favorite of theirs). After the show it was time for some Taco Bell and my first visit to a frat house, which looked basically as I imagined it would: full of fast food trash and expensive entertainment equipment. haha. We just walked around meeting people. It was as pretty relaxed night and we left soon after, heading back to the house to lay on the couch and talk until I started slipping into zombie mode. Then it was decidedly time for bed.
So far, it's been a nice adventure, especially considering my usual habit of just hanging around the apartment! And I have a new ticket to add to my concert collection. It's been awhile since that happened.
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