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Archive for the ‘rock shows’ Category

gagapalooza

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

So, Lollapalooza day one was fantastic! First, the festival now has over thirty more acres of space in Grant Park! This made the flow getting in so much easier! The weather was surprisingly great. Low 80s, but not overly humid and a cool breeze coming from the lake. We it the new farmer’s market for some pain au chocolat and coffee. Both get a hearty thumbs up from me. That was some of the best coffee I have ever had. Ever. It was from the Metropolis Cafe, check it out!
Only a few bands on the list for us. We started with Devo. I love seeing bands that have been around for ages, yet are still doing what they love and rocking out. It warms my heart to see people who don’t stop living an extraordinary life just because they reach a certain age. During Devo’s set, I was struck with an idea. I have been trying to name my new (to me) bike, and the perfect name struck me. Ginger! She’s orange, I love all things ginger…genius! (This will be important later. Also important, my irrational love of El Caminos, as in the car that is also a pick-up.)
We picked up our traditional wine in a sports bottle, because it is hilarious. Wine! In a plastic sports bottle! We then checked out the Lolla gear and I think I will have to purchase an owl t-shirt today. Then over to catch the Fuck Buttons. Not really our scene. It was a couple of DJs mixing, essentially. Not that I mind that, but if that is what I want to see, I will go to a club. We had a bit of time to kill, checked out some things and stuff. We stopped by the artist merch tent, and G’s phone alerts him to updates on Twitter. He looks at his phone and laughs, then passes it to me and says to read the top tweet. It is from La Gaga. “#Gagapalooza! A night to commemorate the most bad ass whirlwind of all time, waiting for my friends to pick me up our el camino, GINGER” I look at Geoff and told him that he heard me state the name for my bike before I read that. Do I secretly share a brain with La Gaga???
The Black Keys were fun. We chatted with some boys from Quebec about cigarettes and drive times to the festival. They were rather delightful. Both the band and the boys.
G attempted to charge his phone at the charging station, then it was time for La Gaga. Now, I just wanted to get really close to the stage, and see a few of her numbers. I am seeing her later in the month, so I will get to see the whole thing, but won’t be all that close. We thought arriving an hour early would be plenty, since it’s a festival and all. Wrong. So, we got as close as we could manage. I wouldn’t be as frustrated if at least half of the people there weren’t just a bunch of looky-loos. You know, they were already there and figured they may as well check out the freak show. Boo. Anyhow, La Gaga is adorable, and delightful and I can’t wait to see her again later in the month. Also, I had already been hoping there would be a Lady Gaga challenge on Project Runway, and now I am really hoping!
An hour in, we had to sneak away to catch The Strokes (why do bands we want to see have to be opposite each other?) It was pretty brutal getting out. Maybe I’m old (shut up) but in my day, you didn’t let people to the front, but you always let them out. I mean, letting people out means space to get closer! I guess that has changed, or maybe it was the looky-loo factor. Either way it took us a lot longer to get to the other stage than we planned. But, we got to catch a bit of The Strokes. Loved their old-timey video game backdrop, especially PONG!
It’s a lot of work having that much fun, and stepping into the shower back at the hotel felt AWESOME.

absence makes the heart grow

Monday, September 15th, 2008

So, Ive been gone for a bit from this little blog. I’ve had a lot of work stress of late, and feared posting something Dooce-worthy. Not to mention I’ve just been a bit worn out, and the effort of writing something intelligible, much less interesting, was just too much.
So, some recaps!
First off, I am drinking Diet Vernors as I type this. IT is pure effervescent deliciousness. My dear G picked me up a pack of 16 ounce bottles whilst he was on his journey to pick up my new (to me) car. I didn’t even think to ask him, he just thought of it on his own. Now, I must ration it for I don’t know when I will get more!!
Secondly, sorry I didn’t finish my Lolla recap. It is just as well, for I would have posted how much I love Rage Against the Machine. I would have then had to retract said love after their recent show at Target Center. I was so angry and disappointed I wrote them a letter, but as I thought all they care about is dollars these days. The last ten years have really worn down their ideals. I also have now blacklisted the Target Center, which is unfortunate as that’s where NIN is playing in November. However, they have the most incompetent security and staff I have encountered since the Quest in Minneapolis. At least at the Quest they tried, these people were obviously put out by having to wear a uniform and stand there. I wrote another letter as they were allowing dangerous activity, but again, they don’t really seem to care, so they are off my list. Not such a loss because as arenas go, it is a shitty venue. I am a little sad about Rage, as I think they have some catchy tunes, but I have to agree with who I listen to…so they can suck it. (I highly encourage anyone I know to tell them the same) On a brighter note, NIN was AMAZING!!! Even with Trent’s sore throat. A girl tried to get me kicked out. Apparently girls aren’t allowed to take care of themselves, they are supposed to have guys to do that for them. Whatevs. I am really sick of these girls who apparently have never heard of feminism. Also, if you want to be in the frenzy at the front, you have to be able to handle yourself, and understand that you will get pushed. That’s what happens when everyone at the show tries to get in front…DEAL WITH IT.
Thirdly, a Lolla sidenote: I LOVE CHICAGO! I can’t wait until we live there…I am trying to be patient, but it’s hard. I keep reminding myself we need to try other places first, because we sure won’t do it once we are there…but I almost just want to flee for that city right now.
Next, I am down 11 pounds, about 9 of which were pure gross FAT. My abs are looking pretty ripped, and I am working on my fat ass. I am also running…I can do up to 30 minutes without stopping, provided I am feeling well, and don’t run right after I wail on my legs with squats, and leg presses, and deadlifts, and all of that. My waist is at 24.5 inches, the smallest it’s been since early high school. I am trying to be a healthy eater, but it is hard. The crappy food isn’t all that appetizing, but it’s usually a lot easier. I am working on not being lazy. So far that mostly involves three days at the gym, and three days running. I have a 5K in two weeks (more on that later) and have decided that after that, I am training for a half marathon. For serious.
Otherwise, my birthday is looming, and I am trying to think of ideas to make this the bestest, awesomest, happiest birthday EVAR…so if you have any input, please let me know.
‘Kay, maybe now I am caught up enough to keep up…

Lollapalooza recap part II, or Day one or why Thom Yorke is made of bubblegum and awesome

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

Wow, I didn’t mean to let the week get away from me! But, that’s what happens when trying to readjust from the rock-n-roll lifestyle to the ordinary one. *sigh*
Anyhow, here’s how day one panned out.
After our later than expected arrival, we had to commence napping. Our initial plan was to catch Louis XIV at 3:15, see what all the fuss is about over at Gogol Bordello at 4:15, Catch the Raconteurs at 6:15 and finish off with Radiohead at 8. We are so cute with our ambition.
We were sleepy kids. We woke up later than planned, and realized we would mis Louis XIV. We were only going to see Gogol because we would already be there and have time to kill. So, we decided to just go for The Raconteurs and Radiohead. So, we got ready, applied mucho sunscreen and bugspray, and headed off for the Park-and-Ride. (Reason number one we were not pleased with our hotel. We had to park-and-ride, rather than get right on the el.) So, we parked, we picked up transit passes, and got on the train. It was pretty smooth sailing into the loop, we got off, and set out for the lovely Grant Park. We made it to the park, among many other music fans, lots of whom were that guy, wearing their favorite Radiohead shirts to the show. No, really, you are going to see Radiohead, and you actually like them? Thanks for wearing the shirt so I could figure it out!! Douche. Bags. Anyhow, we get to the park, and we see the clearly labeled gate with the Lollapalooza logo above it. Hurray! Success! Until we find out we can’t actually just cross the street and get there. Nope, that crosswalk was closed. We had to walk to one end of the park, cross the street, and walk back to the gate. Whiskey tango foxtrot, mates. So, we head to the south end of the park. On the bright side, we did hit where we had to exchange our tickets for wristbands. See, the deal was, if you had a one-day ticket, you just relinquished your ticket at the gate, and were stuck inside from that point on. No re-entry. However, for those of us who were three-daying it, the tickets had to be turned in for wristbands. You got one wristband, and if it was altered, damaged, lost, etc, you were screwed. They did not get replaced. We were nervous about this, expecting plastic berr garden style bracelets that we were expected to keep pristine. When we received our wristbands, we were pleasantly surprised, however, to find they were woven fabric, with a one-way slider. We figured these would be more difficult to lose, and thus figured we wold be able to see everyone we wanted to see. Se did our loop-de-loop and made it back to the gate for entrance. At nearly the end of the Raconteur set, with growling tummies. Didn’t realize we would have to do so much to get in, and made a mental note for Saturday. Decided to see what the food court had to offer. I had a yummy slice of pizza, and a delicious veggie wrap, while G had some tacos. A little pricey compared to general food, but reasonable for arena fare, and definitely reasonable considering the quality. I also thought a beer sounded delicious, so we picked up a Bud Select (don’t laugh. Of the options, it was the best) and some sodas, and enjoyed our festival lunch. We then proceeded to the South Stage to gear of for Radiohead.
Now, I was pretty fucking excited to see them. I’d never seen them live, and they rarely come here. G’s seen them a couple of times, and even had the luck of meeting Thom and Johnny at First Ave, as they happened to be wandering around after the show. Now that’s one to tell the grandkids. Maybe someone else’s grandkids. I will admit a seething envy over that story, and was pretty pumped for the show.
We made our way to the area where the crowd started getting dense, and figured we could work our way more forward as crowd shift occurred. We spent a while standing behind a couple that just made me sad. Mainly, it was the girl who made me sad. She was petite, and huddled up to her boy, in a way that made her look scared. She appeared to be Chinese, based on her features, though I could be wrong, sadly my skills at these things are not tip-top. Anyhow, she had her hair bleached, and not well. It was the at home style of bleaching, that I would strongly caution against for those with black hair, as it turns it a putrid shade of goldenrod. She desperately needed the color to be toned out, which is not what made me sad…I’m getting there. She also had light blue contacts in. It was as though she was trying desperately to fit this Aryan mold. She was a lovely girl. However, with all the weird fake things she had going on, it just distracted from her features. I’m not saying she shouldn’t dye her hair or anything, it just seemed she was trying to mask who she was. She could’ve gone so many other routes with color that would have looked awesome, and that a pasty girl like me could never pull off. I mean I don’t know her, so I could just be reading too much into it, but it was weird and sad to me. I felt as though there was something to her heritage she was trying to reject.
Enough about that. Eventually, it was concert time! There was a chunk we were behind some serious stoners. I don’t get in the case of drugs/alcohol why you would drop serious bank to see a show, then get totally messed up. Why not just enjoy the show??? Anyhow, eventually we were able to distance ourselves, and just immerse ourselves in the Radiohead. It was delightful. My only beef was the screens that made it more possible for those of us toward the back to see the stage action. The whole time they were doing crazy split images, usually in quadrants and always in wacky colors. I see where they were going artistically, but could’ve done with some straight up shots of the band. One of the highlights of the show was partway through. Fireworks started going off somewhere behind the stage, and were reflected in a couple of the buildings across the way. They started during “Everything In Its right Place,” and continued during “Fake Plastic Trees.” Simply amazing. I kind of wished that it could’ve been at the end of the show, just because it was so cool. They actually closed with a favorite of mine, “Idiotheque,” so I can’t complain too much. I will say that I was not disappointed. Thom Yorke has such a beautiful voice. I realized during the show that I think he’s adorable, but not in a “list” sort of way, but more in the way that I could just see hanging out with him at the pub over a couple of pints and chatting about the world today and stumbling off into the night. I sort of want a mini Thom to keep in my pocket so he’s handy for whenever I needed such a situation to occur. We hung back a bit until the crowds thinned a bit before making our way out.
To keep the rock-and-roll theme, we ate at the Hard Rock. Cheesey? Yes. However, also delicious! I got my Nacho fix, and my frozen drink fix, and we got a couple of pins for our collection and I picked up a tee that I have long thought to be cute, but finally got since it was on clearance. We finally made it back to the hotel in the wee hours. I had planned to shower off the ick, but crashed into bed instead. I figured at worst, we could use the other bed in the room when we needed clean linens. Probably the only bright side to being in a room with two doubles.
Next up, Day two and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE!!!!

Lollapalooza recap part I, or we made it out of the house

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

So, the time we’d been waiting for for months was looming. I’d planned to actually do some play-by-play blogging of the full adventure, but it turns out that just wasn’t meant to happen.
A couple of weeks ago, I finally made it to the dentist. Surprisingly, things looked pretty good. It seemed like very little scraping until the hygenist got to my appliance (I have a wired glued to the back of my bottom teeth to keep them in line.), which I expected to be a little grosser than the rest of my mouth. After all, it’s a bitch to brush and floss around, so some flotsam has to stick around. The cleaning was done and some scanning was done to confirm what the x-rays hinted at, I had three cavities. My back teeth all had sealants on them at one time due to my teeth forming weirdly and having canyons in them. These aren’t permanent things, and so where the sealants disappeared, cavities took their place. One was actually part of a cavity I got prior to the dentist getting wise and sealing those bitches off. So, to make a long story even longer, I went in on Tuesday to get those bad boys filled, and get what would be my lone mercury filling removed and replaced with a sleek and modern white filling. I merely hoped that they wouldn’t open my teeth up to find something living in there or worse. But, they numbed me up and I watched a couple of episodes of The Office while I was drilled and poked and buffed. Since they were doing teeth on both sides, my jaw, tongue, cheeks, bottom lip, so on, were all completely numb. I was starving, and thought it couldn’t be that hard to eat, so G took me to get a pizza. It was clear pretty quickly that this was not going to happen, so we went to the event we had planned on for the evening (more on that later) and I figured I could eat the pizza later. On our way out, I couldn’t quite close my teeth together. I thought there was some pizza stuck in there. So, in the safety of the car, I flip down the mirror and have a look. Not so much pizza stuck in there as it was a large portion of my inner cheek. Apparently, while I was at it, I took out some of my lip, and both were swollen and bloody. Delightful.
Anyhow, Wednesday rolls around. I figured that after work I would get all my stuff done, so that on Thursday, the very second I was off work and my clothes were changed, we would be on the road for some sweet Chicago action. Yeah, that was a nice thought. Sadly, between my muscles being irritated from the shots, and me gnawing a large portion off of the inside of my face, my head was rebelling against my body. I took drugs, and had a lie down. Until it was time to get up for work in the morning. Not cool. So, while I was at work on Thursday, I e-mailed to dos to G, and made lists of what I needed to get done and what I needed to pack, and was optimistic that we would only be two, maybe three hours behind.
I am such a silly girl. By the time we got that absolute musts done, it was clear that everything else would have to be abandoned if we were going to get out of Dodge, and see ourselves some music. We managed to get things squared away enough that the car was packed, the cats had clean boxes and food, and after a quick chat with the only reasonable neighbors we have…we made a run for it in the middle of the night.
Needless to say, our all night Chicago clubbing adventure was canceled. By the time we made it to the city, and managed to find our hotel, the rest of the world was just opening their peepers up for the day. We bemoaned the fact that our usual hotel was full and quickly realized that what we were dealing with was not the ideal substitute. However, our lids were drooping, so we made the best of things and quickly made our carcasses home in one of the beds we would be calling ours for the next three days, and got some shuteye before we would be expected to rock out with our cocks out, as it were.
The next installations (all of which are filled with rock stars and sunshine, and far better than what you’ve just read, if you read it at all) will be up shortly…I must feed my growling tummy.

you haven’t really lived…

Monday, August 4th, 2008

…until you’ve seen Perry Farrell and Slash perform Superstitious live.

the biggest nerd in the world

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

So, thanks to the help of the wonderful G, I now have a main floor ticket to see the New Kids on the Block live, in concert, during my birthday week.
Special thanks to Proptart, who will accompany me. We plan to dress like 13 year old fangirls. It should be AWESOME.
(hey…mom…any chance any of my NKOTB stuff survived???)

so, it is a myth after all

Saturday, February 9th, 2008

So, we just returned from our foray to Maplewood to see my stocking stuffer from Santa.
To be fair, Mr. Manson and friends were amazing, as usual. He is so glam, and such a performer, he truly is suited for live shows. It is pretty much a theatrical experience seeing him.
That being said, seeing him in a theater space is ideal, followed closely by an arena.
What he is not suited for? A too-small club with an incompetent security staff. Seriously. I felt like we were at the Quest on steroids. And we all know what happened to the Quest. (and if you don’t know, it was shut down, the space purchased, completely redesigned, and reopened in a much more pleasing manner).
Here are some tips should you decide to open a nighclub or already are running a nightclub, and decide you want to also have the occasional rock show:
Just because you can cram that many people in the space, doesn’t mean you should.
There are crazy things called fire codes. They exist for a reason.
When you have stairs that connect floors, sometimes people actually want to use them to climb to the upper floor, or descend to the lower floor. If they are completely packed with immobile people, it negates their purpose. Trust me, the bouncers aren’t being dicks at First Avenue when they are manning the top and bottomw of every stairwell to keep traffic moving. They are being what is called “prepared.”
Your bartending staff is there to serve drinks. Whilst it is perfectly acceptable for them to have a good time on the job, maybe they should be paying enough attention so that if people are frantically waving cash at them to get their attention, and thus a drink, the bartender could actually be bothered to make them a drink. That incoming money provides them with what we call a paycheck. I don’t know about anyone else, but the work I do at a for-profit establishment sure as hell isn’t on a volunteer basis.
When hiring an architect, maybe hire one that knows how to design a nightclub/concert venue. Then, pull your head out of your ass to correctly assign activities to the space created by said architect. A ten foot wide aisle that you are expecting to be a coatcheck line and a major exit aisle…not the best idea.
Remember that the general public is dumb. Of the portion that is not dumb, a large percentage is just plain inconsiderate. This is why we hire bouncers. They remind people how to act in public, and control large crowds. Velvet ropes can often serve a similar function, as can barricades.
Now, some reminders for the general public:
If you want to spend over $50 on tickets to a show, then get so wasted you won’t remember any of the night, that is your right. However, if you are so drunk you are infringing on others enjoyment of the show, you have crossed a line.
Clothing comes in a full range of sizes. Please buy the correct size so that I don’t have to look at the layering of panties, thong and ass crack you wind up displaying because your skirt cannot contain you. I don’t care what size you are, or what size you want to be…last time I checked, it wasn’t printed on the outside of your clothing unless you are on one of those Tyra Banks shows…so just buy your actual size.
Saying you’re sorry does not make you less of an asshole. Not behaving like an asshole makes you less of an asshole.
I think that is all. In short, the Myth has been blacklisted from our concert venue list.
If anyone on the staff from First Avenue reads this..PLEASE BOOK ALL THE SMALL (IE: NON TARGET CENTER OR XCEL ARENA) SHOWS SO THE PUBLIC DOESN”T HAVE TO DEAL WITH SUBPAR ATMOSPHERE. THANKS!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, August 24th, 2007

So, I had that title all saved up for a different post, but since the trip I was going to post about has been canceled (if it were a post, it would be titled GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)….I get to use it for this:
made of awesome
Yeah, read the final song list…READ IT.
If there is any question, I am the hot chick bassist in our rock band. Yes, you read that correctly HOT CHICK. I am working on it. It’s slow going, but I could tell that under the fat there were actual muscles when I was at the gym Wednesday.
Now we just need to fall into some cash so we can buy a 360…and my dreams of being a rock star will be realized.

i’ve got a hunger only tacos can stop.

Sunday, March 18th, 2007

Eek!! That pretty much sums it up right now. So much on my mind, so much to do. I’ve been on a manic swing which I wish made me more productive, however, instead it is making my mind jump all over the place. I have two weeks to get a whole lot accomplished, so I really need to focus!
Yesterday was mostly a goof off day. It was good old Saint Patrick’s day, which I ordinarily don’t celebrate outside some wearing of the green. However, my dear friend Toni talked me into going out bright and early. We met up with her at McGovern’s at 11 o’clock. It’s frightening how many people were out and bright eyed and bushy tailed and drunk at that hour. I was pretty decked out. I had picked up some little hot shorts that were black with green ribbons laced up on either side. I know I’m chunky, but I still went for it. I wore my green Robin tights with black fishnets over them, my black super tall boots, a black tee with a rhinestone shamrock on it and two shades of green eye makeup. It was pretty cute. G wore my Guinness tee-shirt. We hung around for a bit, then I went off to rehearsal.
Rehearsal was interesting. I’m happy with where I’m at for the second half of the play. Feeling it and what not. However, the first half I am totally struggling. This character is toying with me!! She’s a strange woman. I know I will find what I need within me, but I hate going through this awkwardness. It’s feeling really false right now, so I need to work extra hard to get past it. We also had a production meeting after, so there was a table full of the the theater company’s board members/crew. It was good to get an audience, and I tried to think about how my blocking was reading. I may have overcompensated, but it’s what rehearsal is for! The production meeting was good. It was fun to be a part of it, and see what was going on. After rehearsal, I had G take me to Penney’s to see if I could find costume stuff. After much wandering around and measuring, I walked out with a bunch of good potential pieces. I felt some serious relief, since it seems like there is not much out there that goes with the picture I have in my head. Tomorrow I will have the ladies try on their things, and we shall see where we are at. Cross your fingers with me that these things work! Then I just need to accessorize them. I’m having them bring a few things to see if they will work. I’m thinking I may make the jewelry pieces I need, unless something awesome and inexpensive pops up. Oh, and I did get a sweater for my character on e-bay that is pretty cool. Well, cool for the character, I don’t know if it’s so much me. I need to find an appropriate skirt to go with it still, but I am confident something exists out there.
After my exciting shopping trip, we chatted with our lovely friend, the man of many names, and met up with him at the Chatterbox for some drinks and lunch…er…dinner. It was fun. I have to say, I’m glad we’ve become friends. He’s a pretty cool guy. Who knew I would make a good friend from going dancing nearly every Saturday night? We hung out for a good while, and parted ways for a bit so he could get amped for the rest of the evening, and we could meet up with friends in Minneapolis. There were more drinks, a bar change, and some interesting peeps. We eventually made our way to our final destination, Ground Zero. I had a pretty fun time, drinking and chatting and meeting new people. We met up with our lovely friend again, along with a friend who we hadn’t seen for some time, at least until he accompanied us to 300 the other night. We stayed until we were booted out at the end of the night, and made our way to the Uptown Diner, where I drank some hot water, ate a bit of a caramel roll and fell asleep on my friend’s shoulder (sorry man, hope I didn’t drool on you). When we arrived home, I crawled right into bed, fully clothed outside of my shoes.
Today I felt like poo, but not in a hangover way. My throat is sore, and I kept going back and forth with freezing and burning up all day. That was not fun.
Oh, and I found out this week that the bestest band evar is headlining the Virgin Festival in Toronto. Can we say ROAD TRIP!!!! The tickets presale Tuesday, and I must get some! I think I will request this to be my 25th birthday present this year! The concert will be before the big birthday, but it would certainly be an amazing present. *sigh* Billy Corgan. I have not seen him live in years. Too many years. I also cannot for the rest of the NA tour to be announced…I would like to see a few shows. In my youth I wanted to be a Pumpkinhead and follow them for a tour and see all the shows. I am seriously considering such an endeavor, though it hardly seems practical now. Especially since there are two other tours coming that I also would like to see: NIN and Tori Amos. I don’t know that I would follow them around, but that is still at least two more shows to add to the list and the budget.
Oh Billy.

engaging story

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

So, I was totally going to post this on our anniversary…and didn’t. So then I was going to post it on the anniversary of the event, and I didn’t. So then I thought Valentine’s day would be a good time, since it’s all romantic and such, but I didn’t. Then I was going to post it as a birthday gift to Christopher Eccleston…but once again, I didn’t. So here is the story on a random Wednesday. Some people know the story, I thought everyone did, but yet, I still find myself retelling the story to looks of utter surprise. Or people know part, but not the art that shows how incredibly dense I can be. So, without further ado, here’s the story of how G and I got engaged.
To set the scene, it’s fall of 1999. It was my first semester as a college student after taking a bit of time off. Nine Inch Nails finally released a new album. It had been five years since their last, and we were amped. I had never seen NIN live at that point (travesty, I know). Like many bands/musicians/singers, their first tour for the album was European. We began to joke about how cool it would be to see them in Paris. I had a jar on top of G’s dryer, where I would put quarters for laundry (to show what I was saving by doing my laundry there, instead of in my laundry room). This jar became the “going to Paris to see trent jar.” It was hilarious…as if we would.
Then, about two weeks before Thanksgiving, G picks me up from school. He asks me if he were able to get tickets for the concert, and found reasonable airfare, could I go to Paris with him to see NIN over Thanksgiving. I laughed…he’s such a funny boy. He’s like, “seriously. Could you get the time off work.” I told him I promised to work since I was in retail, and Black Friday is kind of a big deal, but I could see. However, I told him even if I could, I couldn’t afford to go to France. He tells me that he would pay for it, all I would need to do was get the time off. He’d already purchased concert tickets, to be sure we could get them, but would need to know soon so he could get the plane tickets he’d found. I tell him I’ll see what I can do.
The next day I go to work, and tell my manager the situation. She tells me she’ll talk to the store manager and get back to me by the end of the day. the end of the day comes, and she tells me that he didn’t get back to her, and if I need to get the tickets, to go for it. SWEET! I tell G, and the plan is in motion. I was going to Paris to see Nine Inch Nails. Funny sidenote to this…the SM got back to her the next day, and told her I couldn’t go. So my manager told him that if I couldn’t, I would quit. Suddenly, he was fine with me going.
So, G secures tickets, a hotel. I talk to my instructors for my affected classes, and have my work schedule cleared. We were flying out on the day before Thanksgiving, and coming back on the following Sunday. Squeeeee!!!!
We arrive safely in Paris. We are staying in a very basic, but clean hotel. The night manager was super cool, and indulged us with our broken French. We were able to do some sightseeing on Thursday, before the concert. Yes, we were spending Thanksgiving in a country that doesn’t celebrate it, seeing a rock concert. Wicked awesome. There, I said it. We made sure that we knew where the place was and everything, and were totally ready. That evening, we got decked out. Cute, but Mosh-pit ready. We took the metro to the venue, and as we walked up to the place, we were bombarded by peeps handing out flyer after flyer. We just kept repeating, “no, merci.” we got in, and the place was pretty freaking cool. Not very big, maybe held 3,000 people. We were on the main floor, and got pretty close. Sadly, Atari Teenage Riot opened for NIN. I’d been unfortunate to see them before, and the were no better this time around. However, we suffered through to see our Trent. It was worth it. The show was amazing. So worth going to Paris for. It was a little surreal to be surrounded by people singing along with the band with French accents.
After the show, we scored some great concert tees and such. I will admit, I feel extra cool wearing my version 1.0 tees, with the european locations on the back. We also bought some as gifts for our favorite NIN fans. Then we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for some Thanksgiving drinks and din-din. Hey, it was open.
So, Friday we set out for sightseeing. G is acting especially strange. He’s insistent that we go to l’arc de triomphe. At sunset. We have to get there at sunset. I’m all, whatever…if we get there, we get there…not the end of the world. He’s emphatic that the view from the top at sunset is amazing, and I need to see it. Okay..whatever. The whole day he’s checking his watch, and reminding me he wants to get there at sunset. I’m thinking he needs to chill out…it can’t be that big of a deal. We do get there in the evening, and start climbing the billionty steps to the top. I’m thinking to myself the whole way up, “this’d better be worth it.” We get up there, and the sun is indeed starting to set. G is happy, everything’s cool. So, we get up on the raised sidewalk around the top to see Paris. We start at the Champs d’elysee side. It’s decorated for te holidays as only the French could do. We walk the whole way around, snapping pictures and chatting. Then we return to where we started. I wanted to get some pictures of the crazy trees wrapped in white tulle with coloured lights shining on them that lined the street. G tells me he threw the camera in his backpack, and he needed to dig it out. He proceeds to open his bag and start looking. I’m enjoying hte scenery as he says “here, hold this.” I take the object from him, thinking he is just getting stuff out of the way to find the camera. I continue to enjoy the scenery. I suddenly realize I am holding a wee velvet box. It dawns on me that it is a jewelry box. “Why does he have a jewelry box in his backpack? weird,” I think. After a minute I realize I should open it. There’s a diamond ring in the box (a beautiful one, I might add). “Why is he carrying around a diamond ring?” I wonder. Another minute goes by. I realize it is an engagement ring, and again wonder why he has one. I slowly start to put the pieces together. “Is this…oh. Oh. Oh. OH! OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!” I then look at him. I had no idea that he was not looking in the bag at all, he’d just been watching me the whole time. I look at him some more. Finally I say, “so are you gonna ask me or what?” “Will you marry me?” “Yes.” Crying and hugging ensue. Then I made him get down on one knee and ask me again. Annoyed tourists were trying to get around us as we were being all silly and giddy.
We saw a few more sights, and I made him ask me at each landmark we stopped at. I’m such a nerd. Then we went back to the hotel and got really dressed up to go out to dinner and celebrate. We ate at TGI Friday’s. Seriously. It was open, and they had food.
So, that’s the story. Thanks Trent.