This is my chance, I want it now!
читать дальшеI hit the interstate Saturday to head to Des Moines, Iowa at around noon. I wanted to get there the day before the 30 Seconds to Mars (30STM) concert (one of a few headlining dates separate from the Taste of Chaos tour) to be able to meet up with some of the people also traveling to the show. I had been watching the weather channel all morning and was a bit worried because nothing but severe weather was being reported all along the path I needed to take to get there. It was no picnic let me tell you. It would rain so hard you couldn’t see then stop and be so clear you could see the blue sky. Then the same scenario would repeat itself the whole way out there. It was stressful, especially when the NPR broadcast would be interrupted with reports of tornado warnings in the area. I think I must have chosen the right time to depart though, because the tornados were all north of me as I traveled east.
I arrived around 4:30PM and met Cat (30cats) and her boyfriend Jason for the first time at her apartment. She had suggested for lodging that I take advantage of the model apartments her complex rents out for $20/night on the weekends. For that price I said, “Sign me up!” She took me down to get settled in and it was like having my own apartment for my stay. I had never heard of such a thing, but was grateful it existed. Once settled we took off to the Jordan Creek mall, which is a really new and nice area of shopping and restaurants. We made some stops and then headed over to Applebee’s. We had alerted people on the forums that anyone who wanted to meet us for dinner should do so there. The only group that made it was Nikki (Denver), Susie (Denver) and Joy (Des Moines), but we had a great time chatting and laughing. I was going to try and meet up with some of the others, but decided with the long day ahead of me on Sunday that I better just get some sleep.
On Sunday (day of show), got up early and was at the venue by around noon. The venue (Val Air Ballroom) is an older building known in its heyday for being THE place to go for dancing of all kinds. The new owners have turned it into a nice little spot to bring bands in to play. They were a great group of people from the owner down to the security. They even let us use the bathrooms most of the day so we didn’t have to get in our cars to drive to go looking for one which is pretty much unheard of.
There was already quite a crowd huddled around the front of the venue trying to keep warm in the windy cold. I was excited to meet everyone I hadn’t met before (too many too name but you know who you are) and also to see everyone I already have met before and adore. We spent the majority of the time just hanging out and talking, getting promotional materials ready for after the show, making various trips to gas stations and Starbucks for hot drinks and having many a laugh. I also talked with Buck (guitar tech) a little bit when he came out as he was waiting for the band’s bus to get in. He really is the coolest bloke and one of the best techs to have if you are a touring band.
Cat had won a contest through Music Today (30STM’s online merch store folk) to hear sound check and meet the band, so we were trying throughout the day to be sure everything was in place for that to happen since there wasn’t a representative from that business at the show. It was quite a challenge and finally we were able to speak with Shannon (30STM drummer) and he assured us that it would happen. After that we could breath easy and around 6PM they let us in.
When we came in they stopped playing and all went over to Shannon’s kit. You could hear him through the mics even though he was talking low saying, “I don’t know. She won that contest and…” I think Cat felt bad that they didn’t remember or have any idea about her situation, but it wasn’t her fault. Anyway, they played a few songs including “A Beautiful Lie”, “Battle of One” with Saosin’s (opening band) lead singer Cove doing a duet with Jared and two new songs that I didn’t recognize so I assumed it was new material.
After sound check was over they let the radio station meet/greet winners in and we were able to join that group to talk to the guys. Cat had them sign some things and I took photos of her with them. I asked Jared if that was new stuff they were performing and he said, “No.” I said, “Really, because none of it sounded familiar to me.” He said, “I know. Exactly.” I thought I had all the old unreleased stuff but I guess I was wrong. I greeted and had brief conversations with Shannon and Tomo and then we grabbed some seats to wait for doors to open.
We waited until about 7:30PM and all of a sudden boom – we saw our friends coming in at a run. We jumped up and joined them and were able to secure spots right against the front barricade. I had wanted a spot in front of Tomo’s area and I got it so I was satisfied. The crowd behind us just kept growing and growing and taking a look backwards I was just amazed. The venue apparently holds 3,000 people. I think they were pretty close to selling out, but I don’t know for sure if they did. We started talking with the security guys and they were very friendly and fun to joke around with. It is always good to “make friends” with the security so they “have your back” during the show. They did take great care of us from the start of the show to the finish.
Saosin came out a little after 8PM to start the show. I admittedly am familiar with the band and that they are pretty popular, but don’t know a single song of theirs. That said I completely enjoyed their set. The lead singer (Cove) really plays to the crowd when he sings with various facial exprеssions which always add to the band’s set. The rest of the band played with a lot of energy and were really fun to watch. I definitely had a smile on my face for the duration of their set.
It ALWAYS takes 30STM forever to set-up and get on stage. We had mentioned earlier at the meet and greet that it was April Fool’s Day and asked if they had anything planned. They didn’t, and I suggested they figure out some shenanigans to entertain us with. Right before heading on stage Buck and Kenny (new guy working for the band) came out and acted all shocked and then made gestures to the crowd and were shaking their heads in dismay. (It was then I knew this had to be their “joke”.) Then Shannon came out and the crowd was screaming. He came to the main mic and said, “Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I have some bad news. Due to an emergency we won’t be able to play the show. We are really sorry, but we promise to make it up to you somehow. We’re really sorry guys. See ya.” I don’t think ANYONE bought it, but it was a valiant effort on their part. Ha ha ha!
After Shannon left the stage the familiar song “O Fortuna” started to intro the band. Shannon, Tomo (guitar) and Tim (the new bass player taking Matt’s spot for now) had the black bandannas around their faces (ala masked bandits) and the masks with the long noses on them. Jared came out last and was sporting the white line make-up, wearing both 30 wristbands and played Artemis (black guitar). Everyone got their instruments on and they launched into “A Beautiful Lie” and the crowd went nuts.
It was a struggle to keep your position with everyone pushing and crowd surfing, but I held my ground and stayed in my spot. I had so much fun messing with Tomo as he played on stage by making silly faces and gestures. I think he enjoyed it too since he made faces back to me. I adore how much he gets into his playing and on certain parts just loses his mind and moves all around. There was a part in one of the songs where he was playing really fast and I made a look like, “That’s hot,” and fanned myself. To which he made this face as if he was in a state of great pleasure and mouthed, “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah,” -- SO FUNNY!
The set consisted of (not in order) “The Kill”, “From Yesterday”, "Savior", “Battle of One”, “Buddha for Mary”, “Modern Myth” (solo acoustic Jared), “Capricorn” (acapella Jared) and “Attack”. (I feel like I am missing some and I probably am.)
During “Battle of One” Jared, as always, asked the crowd to create a huge circle by in the middle of the crowd and having everyone run as fast as they could at the same time in a counter clockwise motion. I couldn’t see it with my own eyes but I could tell by the band’s exprеssions that they were impressed. Tomo cracked me up by walking very fast in his own little circle in his area of the stage (I wish I had video of this because it was SO FUNNY) as well as running like mad all over the stage. Cove from Saosin did a good job on the song too. He took the high part Jared normally sings and Jared went low. Jared commented after the song that it was one of the best circles he has seen. He also commented on how extremely hot it was in the room. So hot that when you looked in the spotlights rays as they shined down that it looked like it was raining in the venue because so much moisture was in the air. And hot it was! I was completely drenched from head to toe.
During the set Jared asked how many people owned the first record and after the response said, “Now I know who all the freaks are.” I am hoping that is a good thing, but you never know with him. J
At the completion of “Attack” they reminded the crowd about the signing and left the stage. Tomo tapped the security guard that was in front of me on the shoulder and told him to give me his guitar pick which I thought was really awesome of him. I hate not being able to talk with these guys as much as I used to but they always remember the “oldies” and I adore that.
I was pretty much left by myself when the show was completed. A lot of people had either gotten pulled out during the show or scattered before I did. So, I meandered my way out of the venue to try and meet up with everyone. I have been through the signing line a few times and it is like a cattle herd, so I opted out of doing it. I found a few folks outdoors and we went to my car where all of the promotional posters were and handed them out to people as they walked by.
Slowly and surely most of our group joined us and we all wandered over by the tour bus to see if there would be a post show Echelon (street team) meet and greet. This used to be a given, but with the band’s increase in popularity they are becoming fewer and fewer which is understandable, but disappointing, especially when there is only a very small group of people left. And we were unlucky this night as they decided not to come out to say hello. I was glad, however, to be able to hang out and talk with all the others for a bit longer. I even did an impromptu dance to Cobra Starship’s “Hey Mister D.J.” song and Susie captured it on video. She and Nikki say it is hilarious, but I have yet to see it, so I don’t know if I should be embarrassed yet or not. Regardless, I was having fun.
When we received confirmation the band wasn’t coming out, we all said our good-byes and headed out. I left Monday for home with yet another great concert full of memorable moments. I have to admit while Tim has filled Matt’s spot seamlessly and is a super nice guy that it was very odd not having Matt there. I hope he is enjoying be a normal dude with the husband title.
The band is headed to Europe for some dates and it is unclear if they will be doing anymore touring for this album in the states. They might be headed into the studio. They might be taking a hiatus. We just don’t know at this time. So, this was a really great way to experience what might be the last concert of theirs in a while.
Tonga lip syncing terribly to Cobra Starship: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAPAK4cP-Oo
I arrived around 4:30PM and met Cat (30cats) and her boyfriend Jason for the first time at her apartment. She had suggested for lodging that I take advantage of the model apartments her complex rents out for $20/night on the weekends. For that price I said, “Sign me up!” She took me down to get settled in and it was like having my own apartment for my stay. I had never heard of such a thing, but was grateful it existed. Once settled we took off to the Jordan Creek mall, which is a really new and nice area of shopping and restaurants. We made some stops and then headed over to Applebee’s. We had alerted people on the forums that anyone who wanted to meet us for dinner should do so there. The only group that made it was Nikki (Denver), Susie (Denver) and Joy (Des Moines), but we had a great time chatting and laughing. I was going to try and meet up with some of the others, but decided with the long day ahead of me on Sunday that I better just get some sleep.
On Sunday (day of show), got up early and was at the venue by around noon. The venue (Val Air Ballroom) is an older building known in its heyday for being THE place to go for dancing of all kinds. The new owners have turned it into a nice little spot to bring bands in to play. They were a great group of people from the owner down to the security. They even let us use the bathrooms most of the day so we didn’t have to get in our cars to drive to go looking for one which is pretty much unheard of.
There was already quite a crowd huddled around the front of the venue trying to keep warm in the windy cold. I was excited to meet everyone I hadn’t met before (too many too name but you know who you are) and also to see everyone I already have met before and adore. We spent the majority of the time just hanging out and talking, getting promotional materials ready for after the show, making various trips to gas stations and Starbucks for hot drinks and having many a laugh. I also talked with Buck (guitar tech) a little bit when he came out as he was waiting for the band’s bus to get in. He really is the coolest bloke and one of the best techs to have if you are a touring band.
Cat had won a contest through Music Today (30STM’s online merch store folk) to hear sound check and meet the band, so we were trying throughout the day to be sure everything was in place for that to happen since there wasn’t a representative from that business at the show. It was quite a challenge and finally we were able to speak with Shannon (30STM drummer) and he assured us that it would happen. After that we could breath easy and around 6PM they let us in.
When we came in they stopped playing and all went over to Shannon’s kit. You could hear him through the mics even though he was talking low saying, “I don’t know. She won that contest and…” I think Cat felt bad that they didn’t remember or have any idea about her situation, but it wasn’t her fault. Anyway, they played a few songs including “A Beautiful Lie”, “Battle of One” with Saosin’s (opening band) lead singer Cove doing a duet with Jared and two new songs that I didn’t recognize so I assumed it was new material.
After sound check was over they let the radio station meet/greet winners in and we were able to join that group to talk to the guys. Cat had them sign some things and I took photos of her with them. I asked Jared if that was new stuff they were performing and he said, “No.” I said, “Really, because none of it sounded familiar to me.” He said, “I know. Exactly.” I thought I had all the old unreleased stuff but I guess I was wrong. I greeted and had brief conversations with Shannon and Tomo and then we grabbed some seats to wait for doors to open.
We waited until about 7:30PM and all of a sudden boom – we saw our friends coming in at a run. We jumped up and joined them and were able to secure spots right against the front barricade. I had wanted a spot in front of Tomo’s area and I got it so I was satisfied. The crowd behind us just kept growing and growing and taking a look backwards I was just amazed. The venue apparently holds 3,000 people. I think they were pretty close to selling out, but I don’t know for sure if they did. We started talking with the security guys and they were very friendly and fun to joke around with. It is always good to “make friends” with the security so they “have your back” during the show. They did take great care of us from the start of the show to the finish.
Saosin came out a little after 8PM to start the show. I admittedly am familiar with the band and that they are pretty popular, but don’t know a single song of theirs. That said I completely enjoyed their set. The lead singer (Cove) really plays to the crowd when he sings with various facial exprеssions which always add to the band’s set. The rest of the band played with a lot of energy and were really fun to watch. I definitely had a smile on my face for the duration of their set.
It ALWAYS takes 30STM forever to set-up and get on stage. We had mentioned earlier at the meet and greet that it was April Fool’s Day and asked if they had anything planned. They didn’t, and I suggested they figure out some shenanigans to entertain us with. Right before heading on stage Buck and Kenny (new guy working for the band) came out and acted all shocked and then made gestures to the crowd and were shaking their heads in dismay. (It was then I knew this had to be their “joke”.) Then Shannon came out and the crowd was screaming. He came to the main mic and said, “Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I have some bad news. Due to an emergency we won’t be able to play the show. We are really sorry, but we promise to make it up to you somehow. We’re really sorry guys. See ya.” I don’t think ANYONE bought it, but it was a valiant effort on their part. Ha ha ha!
After Shannon left the stage the familiar song “O Fortuna” started to intro the band. Shannon, Tomo (guitar) and Tim (the new bass player taking Matt’s spot for now) had the black bandannas around their faces (ala masked bandits) and the masks with the long noses on them. Jared came out last and was sporting the white line make-up, wearing both 30 wristbands and played Artemis (black guitar). Everyone got their instruments on and they launched into “A Beautiful Lie” and the crowd went nuts.
It was a struggle to keep your position with everyone pushing and crowd surfing, but I held my ground and stayed in my spot. I had so much fun messing with Tomo as he played on stage by making silly faces and gestures. I think he enjoyed it too since he made faces back to me. I adore how much he gets into his playing and on certain parts just loses his mind and moves all around. There was a part in one of the songs where he was playing really fast and I made a look like, “That’s hot,” and fanned myself. To which he made this face as if he was in a state of great pleasure and mouthed, “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah,” -- SO FUNNY!
The set consisted of (not in order) “The Kill”, “From Yesterday”, "Savior", “Battle of One”, “Buddha for Mary”, “Modern Myth” (solo acoustic Jared), “Capricorn” (acapella Jared) and “Attack”. (I feel like I am missing some and I probably am.)
During “Battle of One” Jared, as always, asked the crowd to create a huge circle by in the middle of the crowd and having everyone run as fast as they could at the same time in a counter clockwise motion. I couldn’t see it with my own eyes but I could tell by the band’s exprеssions that they were impressed. Tomo cracked me up by walking very fast in his own little circle in his area of the stage (I wish I had video of this because it was SO FUNNY) as well as running like mad all over the stage. Cove from Saosin did a good job on the song too. He took the high part Jared normally sings and Jared went low. Jared commented after the song that it was one of the best circles he has seen. He also commented on how extremely hot it was in the room. So hot that when you looked in the spotlights rays as they shined down that it looked like it was raining in the venue because so much moisture was in the air. And hot it was! I was completely drenched from head to toe.
During the set Jared asked how many people owned the first record and after the response said, “Now I know who all the freaks are.” I am hoping that is a good thing, but you never know with him. J
At the completion of “Attack” they reminded the crowd about the signing and left the stage. Tomo tapped the security guard that was in front of me on the shoulder and told him to give me his guitar pick which I thought was really awesome of him. I hate not being able to talk with these guys as much as I used to but they always remember the “oldies” and I adore that.
I was pretty much left by myself when the show was completed. A lot of people had either gotten pulled out during the show or scattered before I did. So, I meandered my way out of the venue to try and meet up with everyone. I have been through the signing line a few times and it is like a cattle herd, so I opted out of doing it. I found a few folks outdoors and we went to my car where all of the promotional posters were and handed them out to people as they walked by.
Slowly and surely most of our group joined us and we all wandered over by the tour bus to see if there would be a post show Echelon (street team) meet and greet. This used to be a given, but with the band’s increase in popularity they are becoming fewer and fewer which is understandable, but disappointing, especially when there is only a very small group of people left. And we were unlucky this night as they decided not to come out to say hello. I was glad, however, to be able to hang out and talk with all the others for a bit longer. I even did an impromptu dance to Cobra Starship’s “Hey Mister D.J.” song and Susie captured it on video. She and Nikki say it is hilarious, but I have yet to see it, so I don’t know if I should be embarrassed yet or not. Regardless, I was having fun.
When we received confirmation the band wasn’t coming out, we all said our good-byes and headed out. I left Monday for home with yet another great concert full of memorable moments. I have to admit while Tim has filled Matt’s spot seamlessly and is a super nice guy that it was very odd not having Matt there. I hope he is enjoying be a normal dude with the husband title.
The band is headed to Europe for some dates and it is unclear if they will be doing anymore touring for this album in the states. They might be headed into the studio. They might be taking a hiatus. We just don’t know at this time. So, this was a really great way to experience what might be the last concert of theirs in a while.
Tonga lip syncing terribly to Cobra Starship: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAPAK4cP-Oo