Hammers and Strings - 11/16/08

I don't think the day could have gone any better. For days before, it poured, and all I could imagine was myself sitting in the rain outside Toad's Place for hours on end. I had done it for an hour and a half while waiting for Cobra Starship, and it was not the funnest time in the world. Thankfully, the rain stopped the night before, and it was sunny as all hell on Sunday morning. It took months to convince my parents to leave at 12, because I wanted to get there for 12:30 and they, obviously, did not. All worked out in the end.
I practically jumped into the backseat of the car, confirmation emails and sloppily written directions spread out in the backseat next to me. I attempted to find a small spot for my bag and eventually shoved it against the other door. Up in the front seat, my parents were arguing about something as my dad set up the GPS. Finally I realized my mom was addressing me.
"Laura," she was repeating. "Where's The Glass Passenger?"
"Oh, not that album again..." my dad moaned. He was being overdramatic and knew it, because he sincerely liked that album. He was just giving us a hard time for using him as our personal taxi driver.
"Shut up, Will," my mom snapped. I had heard that tone of a voice from her too much lately, but this time I laughed. I was laughing at a lot of things today, things that weren't even funny. But there wasn't really anything wrong with that. I laughed when the GPS said the arrival time was exactly 12:30, and I laughed when I got out of the car in the parking lot and realized just how damn cold it was.
We were 8th in line, which was alright with me.
My mom and I spent an hour and a half cuddled underneath a heavy blanket while my father walked around the shops, keeping warm as we froze our asses off. People stared at us as if we were homeless, which I found pretty funny. After an hour and a half, my dad hung in line while my mom and I went to Barnes and Noble. I insisted we get back in line by 3:30, which she had a tough time understanding, and I didn't fully understand either. I had always had a feeling that 3:30 was a good time for band members to come out, ever since Poughkeepsie. Sure enough, five minutes after we got back in line, I saw almost everyone. Casper, Bobby, Dr. J, and Jay Mac walked back and forth every few minutes. We watched Treaty of Paris pull in with their van and walk into the building, and Nate arrived alone an hour or so later. He was much smaller and skinnier than I imagined, a trait my mom called being "drug addict thin." I'll admit I laughed when almost every band member couldn't find their way into the building, They all tried the front entrance instead of the other door fifteen feet to the left. It was hidden, pushed back into the wall, so they all missed it, and when they didn't, it was locked. Bobby pulled out his cell at one point and called someone inside the building to let them in, but by the time the guy came to open the door, he had walked away. The poor was standing there saying, "Where's Bobby? Where'd Bobby go?"
I kept laughing and feeling bad after, but I bet I looked pretty foolish with a big hoodie and a heavy blanket wrapped around me like a cocoon. I brought more than one book, but my hands were so cold I couldn't take them out of my sleeves.
So they had all the rights in the world to laugh at me.
Nate walked around by his lonesome more than anyone else, in and out of the building, up and down the street, for over an hour. Gosh, he looked so sad and serious, and I wanted to say something, anything, maybe just a "hey Nate, how are you?" but I couldn't. I always got quiet in front of band members, even when they were directly in front of me, especially they were right in front of me. So I never said anything, and when one girl did, he stopped to talk. He had the greatest smile that, in turn, made me smile, even though my teeth were chattering like madmen. He told us were were all crazy for sitting out there, and half of me wanted to agree with him. I was crazy, and I knew it.
But I kind of liked it.
Andrew came out around 4. He walked by and said, "How are you guys? You holding up?" and then walked into the building. I figured that was as close as I was going to get to meeting him. Since it was a Sunday night and all, I wasn't allowed to hang around after the show, like I usually did. I had school the next day, not to mention an essay to write at 7:30 the next morning.
Thankfully, I was wrong. Somewhere around 5, my mom and I walked to a nearby cafe to use the bathroom. It took longer than I expected, partly because it was so goddamn warm in there, neither of us wanted to leave, and partly because there was no toilet paper in either of the bathrooms. I was red as hell when my mom went right up front to tell a worker, standing next to a guy who was ordering a drink and probably didn't care to know about the status of the toilet paper in the bathroom. But what was I going to do? I mean, after all, I did have to use the bathroom.
When we came out, the first ten people in line were in a small mob. I could see them from where I was, halfway down the street, and Casper was standing in the middle. Honestly, I thought there was something going on with tickets. I don't even know. I didn't suspect anything major, but I sort of ran over there anyway. Just to see what was going on. I heard my dad yell my name loudly, and all of sudden his hand was on my back and he was shoving me forward. I was still confused, but I looked up and realized I had almost pitched forward into Andrew. He was standing in front of me, mustache and all, with his hand extended. I shook his hand and he said, "How ya doin'?" I don't remember how I responded, or if I did at all, because my dad then said, "Andrew, this is my daughter, Laura."
I found out later that my dad had told Andrew, "We've been here since 12:30, but my daughter just went to the bathroom. Man, she is not gonna believe you came out!" He said that was too bad, but I came out in time. Andrew didn't even mind waiting a minute while I dug through my bag to find my camera, and waiting while my mom was confused to death by the camera.
All in all, it was an amazing day and an amazing night. Hammers and Strings was one of the only tours where I absolutely loved every band there. I wasnt sure how Treaty of Paris was going to be acoustic, but I really really enjoyed their set. They were all sweet guys and my friend and I already made a pact to see them again, no matter what. Same with Fun. Nate mentioned that there would be a full band and an upcoming album/tour, so I will definitely be there. I don't even feel the need to express how amazing Jack's was...it's sort of a given. The crowd got rougher than I expected they would be and for a moment I wondered what would happen if I broke a rib or something, being pushed so hard. Not to mention that goddamn elbow in my ear for ten minutes. Luckily, Andrew told the crowd the quit the shoving and pushing, because everyone in the front row was getting the worst of it.
I took way too many pictures (265, to be exact, which took five Facebook photo albums even when I deleted a few of the mess up shots). I called two people too, and it felt really good to know I sort of made their days with that. I have two pictures where Andrew is looking at the camera, and a couple great shots of Dr. J. I don't even understand how I get these pictures, because for the most part, I just point and click. These were some of the best concert photos I've taken though.
Everything fit together perfectly.
I had never felt more content, more at home, than I did right then. Nothing else mattered. Even if it only lasted one day, nothing else mattered except having an amazing night.
Those kinds of days are the best.
Most of the time, Jack's Mannequin shows are the few times I feel like I've found my place.