91x's wrex the halls - san diego, 12/12/10

[koncupiscence]

the lineup:
a day to remember - no idea, we were in line.
anberlin - kind of blah. they tried real hard, but... eh.
switchfoot - aside from mcr, they definitely had the best energy of the night. really kept the audience engaged and interested. maybe bc san diego is their hometown (like actual hometown, as in that's where they're from. no idea where they currently reside). and their cover of sabotage was pretty epic live, i gotta say. they impressed me.
jimmy eat world - i know so many people that loooove them, but... idk. i was kind of bored again. they weren't bad, i liked some of their songs. but i didn't feel compelled to find them on itunes or anything.
bad religion - okay, they all look like they could be your uncle phil. if you saw them on the street, you would have no idea that these square, old dudes actually get up on stage regularly to ROCK. well done, guys (even though we took a break from standing during their set and watched them on the jumbotron).
mcr - \o\ /o/ \o/ \o\ /o/ /o/ \o/ \o\ \o\ \o\ /o/ \o/
smashing pumpkins - aka billy corgan and three bored looking 20 year olds. snoooooooooze. he didn't chat with the audience. he didn't do anything to really entertain the audience. he stood there singing and occasionally shredding (which sure, that's impressive, but "so you can shred, so what"). this review is from the san jose show, but it certainly applies:

They gave us what we wanted with "Today" and "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" but seemed lifeless. Next to Billy, the rest of the band seemed extremely quiet, possibly beaten into obedience by visionary Corgan.

There's a few things that kill the mood at concerts: People watching the Jumbo-tron when there's a stage right in front of them, people playing Monopoly on their iPhones during Phoenix, and people reading the newspaper during the Smashing Pumpkins. I saw all these, and they say one thing: boredom.

AYUP. we stayed for maybe half their set, and by that point in the night it was SO FUCKING LOUD (EVEN WITH EAR PLUGS) it was ridiculous and just stopped being fun.


but whatever, MCR!! \:D/ they were GRATE. it was clear from the start that the majority of people were there for them that night. everyone (the fans and the band) seemed pretty happy and pumped. jen and i started the night off behind a WALL OF DUDES. srsly, in every direction we were pretty screwed - and we're not short (we're both about 5'7''ish)! thankfully, by the time we sauntered back up for the main event, we found the Sea of Frankie Fangirls who top out at about 5'5''. THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. :D

favorite things:
+ RAY! we weren't on his side, but still had a great view of him, and his SMILE, man, it beams so brightly it's impossible to not smile right back. :D!
+ at one point ray came over to frank's side of the stage, to check in or whatever. when frank looked up and saw him standing there he immediately lit up and smiled SO BIG and then ray smiled back and gave him a thumbs up and frank nodded in return. S'ALL GOOD. ♥
+ GERARD. he wasn't as gloriously campy as he is sometimes, but he still fucking worked it. he's just a really great front-man. he's constantly on the move, going from one side of the stage to the other, and (i've mentioned this before, but) he has this WAY (lol way) of making you feel like he's looking right at you. i know he's not, but he really makes an effort to ~connect~ with the audience in that way. idk, but even jen felt that, and i've never talked to her about it before.
+ what i'm not fond of is them ending with cancer, bc 1) cancer, and 2) everyone, except for james and gerard, slip away without any sort of ceremony. i want to give them a proper send off with applause and heartfelt woo-hoos, but we're denied that. it bums me out. :(
+ but before cancer, gerard was taking a moment over by the drum set during the intro and trying to get his jacket back on. i couldn't make out what the issue was, but clearly he was having TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, because eventually he was out of time and tossed it back to the ground with a shrug and this little embarrassed smirk as he walked toward the mic. it was kind of hilarious. but ever the professional, the smirk quickly disappeared and he put on his SRS BZNS face for the song.
+ OMG I ALMOST FORGET, GERARD WORE A NEW FUCKING SHIRT. i mean, not a new shirt (his iron maiden one, inside out), just not the skanky sleeveless one he hasn't taken off since september (or maybe earlier). i have an old school lolzy flip phone and it takes me like 5 MINUTES to type out the simplest of texts (which is why i don't concert twitter), but when i saw those sleeves, i was like HOLY SHIT, i need to tell the internet immediately. O_O

my favorite exchange came from the end of the night, talking with jen, when i found out that she bailed out of Frank Iero Sex Chicken almost immediately. "i'm sorry, but there is NOTHING SEXY about spitting up in the air and then catching it with YOUR HAIR when it comes back down. DDDDD:" ahahahahahahaha, okay. that's valid (but i'm still in /o\). "and then a second time he tried to swat it away with his hand when it came back down. better, but NO." yeahhhhhh (still in). her faces of horror were priceless. ♥

my pictures always come out blurry - THEY MOVE AROUND TOO MUCH! especially FRANK. the second i have it all lined up and in focus, zoom, he's spinning around and out of frame. :\ ah well. here's the least blurry of the bunch.



























&BAND;


...so, wait. what do you MEAN i won't be seeing them again until MAY 2011?!? ;_________;

Comments

[drinkingstars.livejournal.com]

UNF UNF UNF

[koncupiscence.livejournal.com]

I'M RATHER FOND OF THEM, TOO. YES.

[azewewish.livejournal.com]

Bad Religion is TOTALLY one of my favorite live bands. Every guy looks like a college professor (because some of them really ARE college professors - no lie), but they can BRING IT.

Sorry I missed that show, but it sounds like it was loads better than KROQ's! OMG IS IT MAY YET!??!!!

[koncupiscence.livejournal.com]

they were really quite impressive - esp considering this was their 30th anniversary as a band! holy crap, that's older than 80% of the concert attendees.

apparently, the vibe at kroq didn't seem as 'off' to the people actually there. but this show was definitely worlds better than what the ustream portrayed! \:D/ cannot wait for may! THREE TIMES IN ONE WEEKEND. BRING IT.

[fleurdeliser.livejournal.com]

...so, wait. what do you MEAN i won't be seeing them again until MAY 2011?!? ;_________;

:PPPPPPPPPPPPPPP



BUT YAY I am so glad you had an excellent time and they were ON. And ahahaha. It would never even OCCUR to me that one could actually lose Frank Iero sex chicken for that. CLEARLY STILL IN.

[koncupiscence.livejournal.com]

but it's so far awayyyyyyyyyyy. i won't make it. ;________;


yeah... marriage has clearly mucked up her brain. ;) she also thinks mikey (aka SEX ON A STICK) is too skinny, which... okay, point (but also still totes in).

[(Anonymous)]

Okay, I found you on friendsfriends, and I am compelled to read every MCR review I find, so now I'm here. And I just have to say in regards to this: "there is NOTHING SEXY about spitting up in the air and then catching it with YOUR HAIR when it comes back down"...

I was at a show once where he spat up into the air and then ended up catching it IN HIS OWN MOUTH. And I was up front so then he laughed at me when he saw my horrified face. Dammit, Frank.

[koncupiscence.livejournal.com]

ahahaha, yep. there's no denying it, it's SUPER GROSS, no matter how hard he tries to make it an ~art form~. i suppose he needs something to counter-balance his overwhelming hotness so he doesn't incinerate on stage. ;)

[msilverstar]

I love your squee!

[koncupiscence.livejournal.com]

thank you! lotr taught me well!

[yourealwaysmine.livejournal.com]

no, i love you more.

[koncupiscence.livejournal.com]

no, you.

[fuschia.livejournal.com]

I LOVE your pics!! Thanks for the great concert report! <3


And Frank's earnest little lip bite, unf unf.

[koncupiscence.livejournal.com]

i realized mikey is the only one who regularly shows up in focus because he tends to stay in one place for extended periods of time. THANK YOU, MWAY.

EVERY TIME i would put my camera away frank would tuck his hair behind his ears and either sing or smile for the crowd, and i was all asldkafsdj DAMN IT, FRANK. i'd pull it back out as quickly as i could, but then fwoooosh, hair everywhere, spinning around, hello, blurriest most useless photos. /:D\ like this out of focus sex face. so close yet so far. ;)

[bunniewabbit.livejournal.com]

Spit or no spit, he will never not be sexy.

[koncupiscence.livejournal.com]

TRUTH.