12-VII-2009 or Dance With The Dead In My Dreams
by Aaron Shurtleff on August 12, 2009
Hey, everybody! Long time, no hear! How are you all doing today? Me, not so bad.
I have a report to make on the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, but first random rambling...
First of all, I think that I need to update more often. It won't happen, but it should. I really do love each and every one of you, and I need to show it better.
And truth be told, I'm lying
I'm also re-instating the random music lyrics within the post. Actually, I don't know that I ever really instated it (stated it??) in the first place, but there it is. The random lyrics will generally fit with the theme of the conversation (post?), but should not be interpreted as a literal representation of my thoughts, except when they are. Okey-dokey?
I was very excited about going to see Slayer (and that's what it was all about for me, from the start). The trouble was that I'd been to quite a few concerts by myself in the past, and there is a certain degree of discomfort in being (as I was at the previous shows) "the creepy older guy in the back of the hall". I wanted to invite some folks along, but I could only think of Scott who I knew really liked Slayer. I suggested that if he knew anyone else to let me know, but the only person he could think of who might be interested couldn't go (that's Miah, and I really did wish he could have been there...) Which was super unfortunate, because 4 packs of tickets were available without service charges, so I could have gotten 4 tickets for about the price of 2. But I wasn't going to hold 2 tickets I couldn't use. So, I bought Scott's ticket for him, since he was really doing me a favor by going, but mostly because I so rarely get the chance to show him how much I personally appreciate everything he does on the site here (and also in person...Scott is genuinely a nice person, not just a guy with a nice on-line persona). And, it got me an invite to Gothic Earth, the most talked about campaign evar, so... :P
We had some Westshore Pizza before the show (actually, I had a chicken parm sub, which was good, but I ordered a sausage parm, so I was disappointed a little). I didn't say anything, because it wasn't such the big deal.
So, after putting Scott's car in the Seminole Hard Rock Casino parking lot, we drove over to the show. It took a couple tries to find the right parking lot (we could have paid $30 for the VIP parking, but...no). I ended up parking in a muddy spot, way out in East Bumble F### nowhere, because I almost always take the first spot I see open. I should have searched around a bit better, and this will be important later... We passed SO many spots on the way walking to the amphitheatre. I was totally not happy.
Anyways, we only got to see three bands, so that's all I can discuss. I think we caught the tail end of Bullet For My Valentine as we were walking in, but that doesn't count, really. Kill Switch Engage had a good showing. The whole band was dressed up in those t-shirts that look like tuxedos, so that was pretty cool. I was not familiar with the band, personally, but they had a tight set, so I appreciated that. The best part was the Dio cover song (Holy Diver!) at the end, but that's mostly because it was a) unexpected and b) something I knew.
After this, I fortified myself with a t-shirt and one beer ( I was good!). The lines were very short, which was probably due to the rain falling. Anyone who has spent time around here knows that you can pretty much depend on a rain storm every afternoon at some point, and this day was no different. It was funny to see the people scurrying for cover in the rain! I personally love the rain, so I was walking as usual (in my Light This City t-shirt and black sh!tkicker boots..total metal badass!). I actually got props from the beer seller for being out in the rain!
I also got to see wet t-shirt boobies (who wears white at a metal show? Seriously? And why not put on a darker colored bra at least? Well, as my co-worker sometimes says, if she's woman enough to show it, I'm man enough to look), so that's always good. :)
Slayer rocked the house, as expected. As I mentioned to Scott (and now share with you all), I wasn't really allowed to have Slayer albums growing up, so I only heard them at my friend Chris's house. I still recognized almost every song (although I couldn't name them...or know all the words to them...) [Aside to Scott: That song I couldn't think of the name of...the one with "YOU SPILL THE BLOOD!!" It's apparently called Spill The Blood...who knew?] It was interesting to see Slayer live. They are truly larger than life. I'm pretty sure Kerry King must be like 13 feet tall, with arms as thick as tree trunks! Great times, great memories! And, since my camera phone sucks donkey dong, memories will be about all I'll have to remember the show by. I got a decent picture of a young child (I'd guess 6 to 8, but I can't guess those things well), which I took just for the sheer hilarity. All the rest didn't come out too well. :(
Marilyn Manson was ok. I mean, I don't regret staying to see him (them?), but that just wasn't my thing. I did notice that there were a lot of guys sitting down for his songs, but the girls were up and dancing and singing along. Maybe it's a "chick thing"? (KIDDING!) I think I was really expecting an over-the-top show, and it was just more or less a regular concert. I thought there'd be costume changes and crazy crap, but it wasn't like that at all really. I mean there was a little bit, but I expected a grand extravaganza! I probably let myself get my hopes too high. It was a good show. Except his little fist pump that he kept doing. He looked like one of those skinny white guys who tried to do the Arsenio Hall woof-woof-woof thing, back when that was popular, if any of you haven't eliminated that little tidbit from your brains.
Song of the day: Dead Skin Mask by Slayer. It was a close call as to which Slayer song it was going to be (you all know it was going to be a Slayer song, right?...although Holy Diver (as originally done by Dio) was an option, too), and this one just barely edged out War Ensemble. It was a great part of the show, and I enjoyed it greatly. Thanks to Scott for making it happen, and for going with me!
The only thing I feel bad about (other than the whole parking 200 billion miles away thing) is that, afterwards, I said, "Oh, I got to get gas!", and Scott said that thought he might have to also. So I said I was going to the little gas station next to the Westshore pizza where we had dinner. Of course, when I got to the corner, I saw that the gas station kitty corner across the way had gas for 6 cents a gallon cheaper, so I pulled in there. Don't I look across the way, and there's Scott filling up his tank at the gas station I originally mentioned. I feel so bad for ditching him for just 6 cents a gallon cheaper, but I wasn't sure he was stopping, and every penny helps.
I'm a bad person. :(
Also, for those of you who saw the earlier debacle (if you saw the video, you'll know what I mean), and then read this, you might be thinking I have an outfit for every occasion. Well, I don't. I am not a metrosexual, or whatever they call themselves! I have a DB outfit (which I bought special) and I have appropriate metal gear (which I actually owned prior). Most of my other clothes are crappy jeans and t-shirts, and some so-so nice clothes. And that's it!
Although I do have a sweet funny hat collection. :D
Also, keep an eye out for Gothic Earth player comments from yours truly! I have things to say (behind the scenes stuff!!), and I just have to find the appropriate place for them. I hope to use the wiki (if I can figure it out how), but otherwise, it might be here in posts. I think things happen, and I like to fill in the whys and other information that I think are interesting. You'll all be bored to tears, but I'll feel a sense of connection to the game. You know..other than the "actually in the game" connection. :)
Two Replies to 12-VII-2009 or Dance With The Dead In My Dreams
Jackie Mason | August 14, 2009
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MiracleASSassin
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Scott Hardie | August 12, 2009
I wish I had gone to the other gas station. You might have seen that panhandler walk up to me asking for money. I gave him a little cash, which I shouldn't have done anyway since we're broke, but afterwards I realized that I was so distracted listening to his sob story that I didn't stop the gas pump at half-tank, meaning that I had a nice big overdraft fee hit my bank account before I even got home. Thanks, panhandler.