and in the end we'll fall apart

so I saw Mindless Self Indulgence again...

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:40:52 GMT

this was back in May. I know, I've waited a long time to post about it, but I graduated the day after, and went to Europe for a month two days after that. but I have to share...

ATTN: IF YOU ARE A GERARD FAN, THIS IS RELEVANT TO YOUR INTERESTS. TRUST ME.

Mindless Self Indulgence
21 May 2008
Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ

warning: pictures and a long ass rant under the cut.

so after seeing MSI at Projekt Revolution last summer and becoming a big fan in the following months, I was definitely very excited to see them again. Plus it was a pretty sweet sendoff before I graduated.

the first opener was London After Midnight. they were pretty much awful. they hardly moved at all, and their lead singer was probably the least charismatic person I've ever seen on stage. they mostly relied on their long hair, makeup, and bondage outfits [WHAT] to make them appear interesting, and projected ~socially conscious statements onto a screen behind them in an attempt to appear relevant/provocative. My dear friend Lydia voiced what I was thinking - they reminded me of Ours, a band we saw when I took her to see Circa Survive. Ours opened up for Marilyn Manson's last tour, if I'm not mistaken, which got me thinking that London After Midnight might have been a better choice for an opening act. Then I realised - they were trying to be Marilyn Manson. Even if they had succeeded at being strange and provocative, they're just not interesting enough to be MM's successors. Bottom line: shitty band.

up next were The Birthday Massacre, who showed everyone that night what a real band looks like. I would like to see them open for MCR, just to see the clash of the cult-like fans. they're really dedicated and adorable. anyway. TBM are a fantastic live act. they're all really into their instruments and parts [hence it was impossible to get a decent picture of them], and their frontwoman, Chibi, is equal parts adorable, talented, and energetic. she manages to both bounce around the stage and give a spot-on vocal delivery. my only complaint is that many of their songs are very similar sounding, and I have a feeling the experience of listening to them at home wouldn't be nearly as satisfying.

and finally... MSI.

[I was on the barricade in front of that the entire time. hate me. fucking hate me. - hence, most of my pictures are of her. XD]

see, as a live act, they're a bit of a conundrum. most of their music isn't done live - which was my complaint the first time I saw them. anything electronic is done on a backing track, and Jimmy Urine cares more about performing than delivering his vocals as well as he does in the studio.
this aside, this was probably the most fun I've ever had at a concert.
considering the band members themselves contribute about half of the actual music, they all put on a great performance - especially Jimmy and Lyn-Z. Jimmy keeps everybody laughing their asses off in between songs with skits and observations.

"There is no reason to live... unless you have an Xbox. Or a modded PSP."

and... well, we all pretty much know I have a hard on for Lyn-Z, so we'll leave it at that.

Steve stopped by!

I would later get a much better picture of Jimmy.

so, that night just happened to by Lyn-Z's birthday. she had balloons and poppers, which she threw into the crowd. of course one landed just opposite me in front of the barricade, and Lydia, being the awesome friend that she is, begged the security guard to pick it up for me. it now sits on my dresser ^^

awesome show, awesome setlist.
then Lydia and I decide to go stalking.
so maybe 15, 20 feet or so from the tour bus area, there's some barricades set up. we make it just in time to get right up front to see if anybody decided to come out.
we're not waiting too long when we see a spiky silhouette walking towards us...

which was indeed Jimmy Urine.
[Lydia, Jimmy, me.]

he signed my ticket stub and Lydia's tshirt. [he drew a mustache on his own face on the shirt. XD] one girl asked him to sign her boobs, which he just doesn't do. so he signed her ass instead.

so Jimmy's making his rounds when I start talking to this kindofolder lady who's standing next to me. I find out her name is Amanda and she runs the Arizona MCRmy's MySpace. soon she figures out that I'm an MCR fan too, and says, "Oh, did you see Gerard?"

WHAT THE FUCKITY FUCK.

"Yeah, he was standing on the side of the stage for like, four songs!"

IT WAS AT THIS POINT THAT I PRETTY MUCH WANTED TO DIE.

my mum fully believed that Gerard was going to be there. I was like pshwhatevermom. and of course I didn't suspect anything when the venue people played "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" by the Smiths over the speakers inbetween sets. [for those of you who do not know, that is a) my favourite Smiths song and b) the song that MCR used to come out on stage to during the Revenge days. moving on.]

I'm just standing there, staring at the tour buses, trying to cope with the knowledge that my lord and saviour IS TWENTY FEET AWAY FROM ME IN A VAN, PROBABLY HAVING BIRTHDAY SEX WITH HIS WIFE. THIS IS A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE THING TO GO THROUGH AND I DON'T WISH IT ON ANYONE.

so Jimmy's still out, talking to the fans, and I'm still waiting and hoping that Lyn-Z would come out. let me clarify one thing: I had no hopes of seeing Gerard that night, even after I learned he was there. I really just wanted to meet Lyn-Z, because she's so awesome and such an inspiration too me ~~and she's really fughshkjchvbing hot~~.
finally, a female figure does emerge, but it's MSI's drummer, Kitty. she was very nice to everybody and even talked to one of Lydia's friends over the phone for a few seconds.

Kitty, Lydia, me.

so, Lydia, knowing just how much I was dying inside, asked Kitty in her sweetest, most high-pitched voice if there was any chance of Gerard and Lyn-Z coming out. In a vaguely sarcastic voice, Kitty replied, "Well, Lyn-Z might come out, but I think Gerard's on vacation." UH HUH RIGHT.

and, dear fucking god, Lyn-Z finally comes out.
I see her silhouette for one second and I scream her name as loud as I can, causing everybody to notice her and follow my example.

...

and she turns around and goes back to the bus.

I DON'T THINK I NEED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU HOW EXCEEDINGLY SHITTY THAT WAS.

a few weeks later, I would find something that would make me feel even worse about this situation.
I managed to score my first ever issue of Kerrang! when I was in Italy and, joy of joys, it had a very nice poster of Gerard and an interview with Lyn-Z inside.

THIS IS THE PART WHERE I RANT

here's some of what she said in that interview:

I didn't stand out at all. I was the nerdy art girl in the corner and I was the total fat kid. I was huge and I was painfully shy... When I was in that shitty town, I was going to shows and watching boys have all the fun, and I never had anyone to look up to... It's fucked up that little kids want to come to my show to see Gerard standing at the side of the stage. And I don't want to have anything to do with it.., Every night I sweat, I hurt myself and I don't stop until the job is done because I want every little girl in the audience to walk away thinking that it's possible - that they can do this.

well, Lyn-Z, guess what? I am that fat girl with a bass in her bedroom who needs more role models. it's because of you that I still want to be a rockstar someday. and, yeah, I just happen to be a fan of your husband as well. perhaps I would never have heard of your band unless I had gone to Projekt Rev to see MCR, but I'm not an MSI fan because you married Gerard, or because I hope to see him at your shows. like I said before, I went to that show to see YOUR band and to hopefully meet YOU - not your god damn husband. would that have totally iced my cake if I had? for fucking sure.

but if you want to be an inspiration, try being less of a bitch.

my ticket stub. Jimmy signed it upside down, that's why it looks weird.

setlist:
Shut Me Up
Mastermind
Lights Out
Stupid Motherfucker
Issues
1989
Never Wanted To Dance
Prescription
Revenge
Animal
Tornado
Pay For It
Faggot
Capitol P
Evening Wear
Bitches
Planet of the Apes
Straight to Video
I Hate Jimmy Page

BY THE MINUTE UPDATES FROM BAMBOOZLE

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:49:33 GMT

courtesy of offcourse and her phone. she's there right now and I'm listening to the gig. strangely enough, this is not the first time I've done this.

so far:

- THEY PLAYED 'HANG EM HIGH.' it's like, almost old school.
- Gerard says 6-7 month break, then they work on the new album. kinda hope they stick to that. I was expecting, like, two years practically. oh man, let's hope this doesn't turn into Chinese Democracy.
- MCR + Frances Bean Cobain = BFFLs, apparently? haha. who knew.
- Gerard just dedicated "My Way Home" to Lyn-Z. aww. I want to sleep with both of them. XD

more updates here should anything interesting happen.

this is kind of gross. I was out running when she called, and now I am captive for the next, like, hour. whoo.

Tempe Music Festival, the finale!

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:28:52 GMT

videos! Billy Talent and MCR!

PS - if anybody remembers when they played House of Wolves, tell me. I left it out of the setlist. :P

Red Flag

Welcome To the Black Parade

My Way Home Is Through You

Mama

The Sharpest Lives

Famous Last Words

Teenagers

Kill All Your Friends

part of "Helena"
[I hate myself kind of for not taping the whole thing, but it was the last song and I wanted to get pictures while I still could. :P]

"Prison" intro
WARNING: contains Gerard's underwear. no, really.

Tempe Music Festival, part 2!

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:37:42 GMT

pictures and story under the cut! videos next!

fyi - the pictures are wayy huge. sorry. :P give your compy cookies if it loads them all for you.

I had been really worried about where I would be standing in the pit. Being so far away the last two times I saw MCR, I was damn determined to get a decent place. Turns out my money [rather, my mother's money] was well-spent, as the VIP tickets got us at the very front. offcourse [aka Stacie] and I were one person away from the barricade (even though we got there late!), and it was kind of unfathomable for me to think that MCR were all going to be right THERE.

me and Stacie! <3

sadly, we got neither...

We arrived in the middle of The Summer Set and I didn't really pay attention to them. Dear and the Headlights were next (they're one of our biggest local bands) and I didn't really pay attention to them either because I was talking to my friends in the GA section behind us and embarrassing Stacie.

Dear and the Headlights

Then... Billy Talent! yay!

They're one of those good bands that sounds really badass live. their music is kind of hard to pin down, but their shows are totally punk.

Benjamin crouched on the stage for most of the set, kind of like a vulture. He must have been a catcher or something back in the day, because sitting like that for that long is not easy to do. (though I don't know how big Canadians are on baseball.)

so I'm watching Billy Talent and all of a sudden Stace pokes me and says, "There's Gerard." And I look and OMG THERE HE IS chilling on the side of the stage and smoking. I started spazzing and seriously almost started to cry. (I'm pathetic, whatever.) Then Bob came out too and the fangirls started to catch on and started screaming. Bob said something to Gerard and Gerard ~disappeared. He was still there, but he was ~lurking. I claim that Bob and I might have made eye contact.

I think it was after Billy Talent that Gerard went over to this little stage they had reserved for interviewing the artists and it was all over the big screens.

It was kind of far away but if I stood on my tippy toes I could see his hands and his face. sort of.
The fangirls went crazy and I couldn't really hear anything he was saying. Which was kind of disappointing because he was talking about the DVD a little bit - but it's probably nothing we don't know.

Billy Talent got me all excited, but Puddle of Mudd went and killed that for me. I got really tired during their set, which dragged on for everrrrr. I took two pictures of them but they were shitty. so there you go.

then there was a fashion show of sorts. kind of really random. all it was was a dance crew wearing free shit from Dillards. as a former dancer I could appreciate it - they were really kick ass - but it was out of place. I felt bad for them though, people kept chanting "MCR" throughout the whole thing.
then the roadies!

haiiii Cortez!

and I THINK I saw Worm, too. well, he was fat and had glasses, anyway.

Then...

not much to say except 9574359cvbncvxkby758957834vcxvkjhxc.
best line of the whole night: "Y'all gonna get Fergalicious tomorrow?... I was born Fergalicious... not really."
He's so ghey.

like I said earlier, Mikey's stage presence has really improved. I'm proud of that kid.
also, he had the Sharkbass. SHARK BASS IS SHAAAARRRK.

Gerard said that this is definitely the last tour for a while. :[ I believe he said they were starting on the new album next year...

Gerard had all the boys take off their shirts again for "Prison." Nice to see that married life hasn't made him less queer, even if he won't make out with Frank anymore. [at least on stage.]

I think some girls got in on the shirt swinging too.

NNOBYCVB978976U45YM,BMCVGCBC6B78C6B79526N,NCV,BHCVB6C786B78CXBC7B890
[that damn wedding ring.]

almost Ferard. god damn.

YEAHHH HE DOESN'T SHAVE!

'RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE TOUCHING YOUR BALLS.'

I tried soo hard to get a decent picture of Ray, but there was a big catwalk in my way. But Gerard came over and stood at the front of it a lot, so I wasn't exactly complaining...

Fraaaankie. Stace and I got his water on us :DDD I'm waiting for a Frank Water Zit to form any day now.

this is what I was wearing, fyi.

the tour shirt! it's soooooo comfy omg.

setlist:
I'm Not Okay
This Is How I Disappear
Dead!
Mama
My Way Home Is Through You
Welcome to the Black Parade
I Don't Love You
The Sharpest Lives
Kill All Your Friends
Give 'Em Hell, Kid
You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison
Sleep
Teenagers
Famous Last Words
Cancer
Helena

Tempe Music Festival, part 1

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 08:18:29 GMT

NO BULLETS.
NO DESERT SONG.
NO FERARD.
(though Gerard is as ghey as ever)

now that that's out of the way...
just some major points for the good of the MCR community:

IN GENERAL: the guys are really going back to basics. not as far as the setlist, as you can already tell. but Gerard has long hair again and is back to wearing jean jackets and shirts with the sleeves cut off. there wasn't any pyrotechnics, just lights, some smoke, no big frills, really. they're playing shows again, not epically mind-blowing, history-altering arena operas.

MERCH - not a whole lot of it. The tour shirt is pretty sweet - it looks like old school tour shirts like Van Halen used to have. There was a shirt with [I think?] a chihuahua on it and lyrics from "Mama," but I was kind of insane with giddiness so I could be wrong. There was also another that had a rollercoaster on it and said "I survived the Black Parade" which was pretty cool. I really wanted a hoodie - they're black, on the front they say "The Black Parade is Dead!", on the back it says "Long Live The Black Parade," and it has the MCR logo on the side of the hood. Normal shirts are $25, the tour shirt is $30, hoodies are $40. No stickers, accessories, stuff like that.

MIKEY - actually has stage presence! he's really improving, fo reals. and he has a shirt that says "Mikey Fucking Way." why I want one, I don't even know.

BOB - needs to cut his hair.

SETLIST - almost the same as Projekt Revolution, for those of you who went. they did throw "Kill All Your Friends" and "My Way Home..." in there. and they had a couple of their roadies join them on "Teenagers" on harmonica and cowbell. (Not that anybody could hear it, but it was kind of cool.) I'll have the whole setlist later.

BILLY TALENT - awesome. watch for MCR in the wings - both Bob and Gerard came out to watch them. But Gerard started ~lurking and hiding when we, uh, *cough* the fangirls started screaming. (I almost cried, okay.)

ARIZONA MCR FANS - pretty much the best. if any of you were there, I was the one in the hand painted white shirt with "We Are The Black Parade" on the front and a bunch of stuff everywhere else. Oh yeah, and I was really loud. XD sorry. but I get that way when I'm really really really really really really really really excited.

pictures, videos, and more details to come. :]]

ahhmahgad I haven't done one of these in forever.

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 03:49:07 GMT

From the mcr_fridayfive

1. Are there any magical powers you wished you had?
Invisibility would be way sweet. Or Disapparation. I'll be going to college 4 hours away next year so travel methods are on my mind a lot... XD

2. What is your favourite time of day?
any time where I don't have obligations, or any time when I can safely put them aside.

3. What’s your favourite album of all time?
haha. how many times do I have to go over this??

4. What’s the grossest thing you’ve ever seen?
A male zebra urinating is the first thing that comes to mind.

5. If you could only have on book for the rest of your life what would it be?
since I don't think I could just pick one Harry Potter, I think I'll go with Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. I could easily spend years dissecting it.

first concert writeup in a while...

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:20:47 GMT

last night wasn't so much a show as... an ADVENTURE.

[apologies for my inability to use only one tense and its length - but it's a pretty funny and interesting story, if you ask me.]

so, first off, I need to stop thinking every venue in Tempe is like the Marquee, because they're not. apparently most of them are next to sports bars and grocery stores.
The Clubhouse is one of those places - just a dive bar with a stage shoved in the back.
As per usual, I get there two hours early, with my friends Rico and Stacie [offcourse in tow. We walk around for a couple hours, wait for the Clubhouse to open. Finally it does, we go in, check out the merch table. The dude who sells the merch... is crazy. He called Stace "sunshine." which made her strangely happy. Anyway. I bought a Gallows shirt [black, with a wolf on it and blood dripping out of its mouth to spell the band's name] and he gave me two stickers that have the lyrics to "Abandon Ship" on them. ASSUM.

It's another hour before the show starts, so we wander around the place. Not much to wander around, though. It's just a big black room with a bar and a stage and some bathrooms. We end up chilling by the merch table and suddenly I hear somebody say "Frank." I look over and there's this group of guys clumped around one of the tables and I look closer and I see pale skin and a sliver of red hair hidden under a black Dodgers cap - and a British accent. FRANK FUCKING CARTER, lead singer of Gallows, IS RIGHT THERE, playing craps with a bunch of guys. I really wanted to ask him for a picture, because I've never had that opportunity before, but I HATE asking people for shit and I can't get up the guts to do it. Plus, it would seem kind of fangirly and Gallows isn't that kind of band. I'm still thinking about it when Vultures United goes on. I'm not really impressed by them. But I know that Frank is somewhere behind me watching them, because I can look back and see the fuzzy silhouette of his jacket. And it's just kind of... surreal for me, because this kind of thing has never happened to me.

Vultures United leaves the stage and Frank is gone, along with my picture opportunity. Then Cancer Bats go on [better than Vultures United]. Between Cancer Bats and This is Hell, I just walk right up to the front of the stage and stand there. [NO BARRICADES. NO SECURITY. HELL. YES.] That's what I love about little shows like this where most people aren't HARDXCORE fans [not like at Muse, geez!] and don't really fight to keep their spots. Anyway, during this time Stace and I spot a girl in, of all things, a Skeleton Crew shirt! And we're all O HAY BFFL [later we saw her MCR messenger bag]. I tend to avoid wearing MCR stuff to shows, because of the high likeliness of getting beat up [although I usually have my 'concert bag' which I made for PR and is pretty fangirly] - and wearing my Jack Skellington hoodie isn't much better, but oh well.

Unlike the previous bands, Gallows actually have roadies and aren't up there setting up their own equipment.

Now, I have heard that Gallows are notorious in the UK for their brutal shows, and I went fully intending to have my ass kicked. In reality, it wasn't all that crazy. There was some moshing - one of the bassists from the previous bands came up to sing with Frank and kept pounding into me, but that didn't last too long.

Gallows however, were explosive - and interesting.

I'm not entirely sure of the actual set list, but I believe it was in the last half of "Abandon Ship" that Frank decided to get off of the stage [RIGHT BY ME OMG], gets up on the bar, and finishes the song. Then he clears a space in the middle and performs "Rolling With the Punches" - he's just singing in the middle of a circle of people, and it was seriously awesome just to see him performing [sometimes right in front of me, mmhm.] For the final song, "Orchestra of Wolves," Frank left the stage for the final chorus of "the hardest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return," leaving us to chant it until they all left the stage. I'm pretty much the world's biggest sucker for being surrounded by people who know the lyrics and are yelling them as loud as they can. I love it. Several times during the show, Frank would stop singing and let us do the work. Which was awesome [when I knew the lyrics, that is XD].

Maybe it's because I was having such an awesome time, but the set list seemed ridiculously [and unfairly, compared to the openers] short. This was confirmed by me after the show because they didn't play the entire set they had planned. How do I know this? Oh, I only GOT THE FREAKIN' SET LIST.

I have never ever ever ever gotten anything like this from a concert. I got hit by a Julien K drumstick at Projekt Revolution [Stace has the other one - makes me mad I didn't grab it], but that's really about it. So one of the roadies is taking stuff down, and my posse and I are the only ones really hanging around. I'm waiting for my chance to ask for the setlist, because I want it BAD. Finally, he leans over to peel it off the floor, and I say, "Can I have that? ... PLEASE???" at first I think he's ignoring me, but then he looks up and says, "You want this?" and I'm like 'UM YESS' and he smiles and says, "Yeah, I saw you rocking out down there," and hands it to me AND I EXPLODE INTO A PUDDLE OF HAPPY.

Then, the trouble starts.

At some point during Gallows' set, a microphone landed on stage not far from where I was, pretty much completely busted and bent and dented. After the show, as the roadies are doing their thing, Rico thinks it is a good idea to take it. Then, we want to get things signed. I see Stuart over by the merch table and was going to ask him to sign it, but he left before I got the chance/worked up the nerve. Rico got to talk to some chick [I guess she was a manager or something] who I gather leaves to tell the band that they're going to be asked to sign some stuff. We head to the back of the club where the bus is [I was smart and went around before the show to find it]. Rico knocks on the window, and the same manager lady comes out, asks us what we want signed, so we give her the setlist, the mic, and my green sharpie [which I had the good foresight to bring with me] and she disappears. Then these two [drunk] ladies come over, with hopes similar to ours. One of them actually took a picture of Rico and I in front of the bus, just in case that's all she could get. XD We wonder why it's taking so long for things to get signed. There's a sun shield on the front window so we can't really see in, except for a little hole at the bottom. Stace reports that manager lady is still holding my Sharpie out to Frank, who doesn't look happy. She does, however, emerge with my setlist, and says that everybody but Stuart signed it [he did give me one of the water bottles he had on stage, so I guess that makes up for it] , and that Frank would be out soon. And, OMG I look up and there he is. He talks to me for like two seconds, just to make sure he signed my setlist, then starts talking to Rico about the microphone. At first Rico thinks Frank's being sarcastic, but then Frank asks him why he's laughing. Then he goes on a tangent about how much microphones cost and how hard they've worked for everything [which is true] and how you should never steal shit from a band. The drunk ladies offered to put it on their credit cards if Frank would just take a picture with them, but to him, it wasn't about that. So he disappeared back into the bus and didn't come out. No picture for me. :[ Oh well.

We left after that in search of food. [Our fellow MCR nerd had apparently done some street teaming, because I had Skelton Crew and Leathermouth ads on my car - which I kept despite the fact that Stacie is the Iero fan in the relationship.] Rico was mad that Frank got pissed at him, and even though the microphone was basically useless, I don't think he should have done it. But whatever. We saw a couple of big buses like Gallows had on the way home and joked that they were following us around [which would have been scary if you ask me]. We had some Sonic, and of course Stace and I had to listen to Brand New very loudly in the parking lot. XD Which resulted in several more of our "yell out loud in the car" favourites. Rico was frightened. Rightfully so.

So now I'm home, sore, but happy, and with another story to tell.

I didn't get my sharpie back.

my setlist!

[Tentative] Setlist:
Kill the Rhythm
Come Friendly Bombs
Nervous Breakdown
Abandon Ship
Rolling With the Punches
Black Heart Queen
In the Belly of a Shark
Orchestra of Wolves

[pictures will be up on either deviantart.com or flickr.com under the screen name "domino_mask." videos will be up on youtube.com under "ToHisCoyDistress." this will be in about 24 hours from now, when Stace sends them to me.]

What Do You Have To Say? - Put It On Repeat

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:20:24 GMT

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, which one would it be (and why)?

Brought to you by HP

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If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, which one would it be (and why)?

Brought to you by HP

View other answers

I was going to put this in my personal journal, but I figured I'd put it where it would be better appreciated.

and I finally had to answer one of these because the answer is sooo obvious:

THE BLACK PARADE.

I've never loved an album like this one ever in my life and I don't think I ever will again. I mean, it's the only album I've bought three separate times. wait, scratch that. I bought Smashing Pumpkins' Zeitgeist three times. but The Black Parade was the first time I'd ever done something silly like that.

It didn't just give me my life back, but changed my entire outlook on life and myself as a person. How many albums do you know of that have that kind of power? Not many.

It's one of the few [if not the only] modern music masterpiece. In some cases, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts [I don't know that I've listened to "Disenchanted" without listening to everything else before and after it. I don't particularly like it on its own, but it sets perfectly the mood for "Famous Last Words."] I honestly think MCR will be one of the few bands that really stand out in this era - and this album will be the most important for this generation. The way kids today wish they could have seen the Beatles, the Stones, the Sex Pistols, Zeppelin, in their heyday, will one day give birth to kids who will be saying "Damn, I wish I could have seen the Black Parade." For those of us who were there, we knew we were witnessing something historical. Maybe I sound crazy and fangirly, but I really, truly, fully believe that.

okay. I'm rambling. It's my favouritest album ever and probably always will be - for both its sentimental value and its brilliance.

first friday five in a while!

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 05:22:09 GMT

1. Breaking news has been the reinstallation of Halos into their sets. What would have your reaction been had they played it at your date?
Umm. wow. I think practically every time I listen to Bullets I imagine what I would do if I heard one of the songs live [usually "Our Lady"]... I think I would scream louder and harder than I've ever screamed in my life.
Here's where I go off on a tangent. When I first saw MCR [8 months ago today, in case you were wondering, and I know you weren't] I, as an extremely recent fan [try about a month] was hoping they wouldn't play any old stuff, mostly because I didn't know any of it. ;P Now over the months I've grown to love Bullets. I'm kind of glad they didn't play anything that night- I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it. But srsly, if they even played "Romance" next time I see them [whenever that will be], I would probably wet myself.

2. Frank needs a haircut; agree or disagree?
NOOO HIS HAIRS ARE SO PRTTY. Um... please ignore my hair fetish. It's kind of rediculous.

3. If My Chem were really superheroes, what do you think their Kryptonite would be?
Marilyn Manson records.

4. If you were to rec any one piece of fan fiction to the band, general or slash, what would it be?
"Boys of Seclusion" by boysxarexmessy [I believe her username was]. It's hands down one of the best things I've ever read, let alone one of the best pieces of fan fiction I've ever read.

5. Gerard tends to do a lot of things that generally make us ROFL/WTF/RUSRS? ie: here. What's one of your favorite ROFL/WTF/RUSRS? G moments?
mostly I love the stfugerard jokes, but there's also...
- the bird noise at the end of the making of "Teenagers"
- "This is a MAN'S shirt"
- anything with boas
- "I'M NOT WEARING ANY UNDERWEAR"
I'm sure I could think of some other things, but I haven't watched LOTMS in a while, so I kinda forgot. :P but you get the idea.

check it out :D

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:56:11 GMT

therumors

if you're as into the Umbrella Academy as I am...

Smashing Pumpkins - videos

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 07:19:39 GMT

and lots of them. :]

mostly good for listening, as I can't hold still. XD sorry that I'm a horrible singer, but you can still hear Billy. XD

"United States"

"Bullet With Butterfly Wings"

"That's The Way" [recorded especially for yellowdello2112 :D]

"Stand Inside Your Love"

"Tonight Tonight"

"Tarantula"

"Starz" [you can actually hear Ginger singing in this one... she's so adorable!]

"Zero" [this part for SP fans is akin to the "trust me" for MCR fans. XD]

"Thirty Three" [really beautiful song]

"the Crying Tree of Mercury"

"Perfect"

"To Sheila" [this was so beautiful live... I wish I'd taped more of it]

"Starla" [yay b-sides!!]

"I can't say anything stupid anymore because it'll end up on YouTube..."

"Cherub Rock"

"Today"

I was going to post my Muse stuff tonight, but I have to work later today and I am exhausted for absolutely no good reason. XD So, look for pictures, words, and videos later in the week. :]

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS - 18 SEPTEMBER, 2007.

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 06:46:06 GMT

Let me explain something first.
Seeing as I was not even thought of when the Smashing Pumpkins formed in 1988, I missed out on their impact in the '90's. I, in fact, only tried them because Elijah Wood was my celebrity crush at the time, and he said they were his favourite band... Being a good fangirl, I gave them a listen.

Long story short, the Smashing Pumpkins are my #1 favourite band of all time. Billy Corgan really is my hero, musically and personally. And for most of my four years as a fan, I thought I would never see the Smashing Pumpkins live. My mum always promised me that if Billy ever came anywhere near here- in whatever incarnation- she would take me. For four years I waited. And finally it was announced that the Smashing Pumpkins [albeit with two new members] would be coming here.

It is no surprise, therefore, that I started crying the second Billy Corgan walked on stage.
I have never cried at a concert before... twice I've seen the band that saved my life and didn't shed a tear. But this is a band I've waited four years to see. I didn't try to hold them back... they just came. Not for long, but they were there.

There were a lot of magical moments in this concert...

It was neat because in about the middle of the set, there was a mini acoustic set, starting with "the Crying Tree of Mercury" and ending with "To Sheila." For "Perfect," Billy was joined by drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who played tambourine as Billy played guitar and sang. Two songs really struck me during this set, "Thirty-Three" and "To Sheila." Neither are two of my absolute favourites, but as live songs, they were just so beautiful and powerful that I came away with a new appreciation for them.

After that, they came back into true rawk form with a big surprise - "Starla," which is a b-side from the rarities album, Pisces Iscariot, and is something of an eleven minute grunge guitar burner. And damn does it sound good! They later played one of my favourites off of Machina, "Heavy Metal Machine," but it was a different arrangement so I didn't recognise it at first, and that made it somewhat less enjoyable. Oh well.

There was a really cute moment before "Cherub Rock." Billy was talking to us [the most talking he did all night - he has the cutest little chuckle by the way], and he said that he couldn't say anything stupid any more because it would end up on YouTube. Then he told Ginger Reyes [the adorable bassist that I would go lez for] to say something stupid in Spanish... the most we got out of her was "hola," haha. XD But then Billy said to her, "This song's for you *points to Ginger*" and then started to play "Cherub Rock." It was so adorable. XD

After two encores, the final song was "Today" - which was probably the best song they could have ended on, because it did very much feel like "the greatest day I've ever known." What was really amazing, though, was when Billy let the entire crowd sing the first verse. I'm a sucker for big crowds singing lyrics together, and this was really powerful. To be in an auditorium filled with people like me [and still unlike me] singing the same song- my own mother included. I can't imagine anything that I could compare it to.

There were some noticeable omissions from the setlist: "1979" [much to the great disappointment of several people around me], anything from Gish ["Siva" would have sounded amazing live], and, my official #1 favourite Pumpkins song ever, "Disarm."

That aside, it was still amazing, and definitely one of the concerts i will never forget, as long as I live and as many ticket stubs litter my bedroom walls.

United States
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
That's the Way [My Love Is]
Neverlost
Stand Inside Your Love
Tonight, Tonight
Tarantula
Starz
Zero
Glass and the Ghost
Thirty-Three
the Crying Tree of Mercury
Perfect
To Sheila
Starla
Hummer
Bring the Light
Cherub Rock
Heavy Metal Machine

Superchrist
Doomsday Clock

Today

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 03:31:58 GMT

I've been so busy this week, as you can imagine! Here's the first of my concert posts...

SMASHING PUMPKINS!

videos and words to come... also, stay tuned for MUSE! :D

little darling, welcome to the show

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:21:35 GMT

woohoo! time for the mcr_fridayfive!

1. So. Frank goes batshitinsane when faced with spiders and Mikey and Ray loose their shit around large bodies of water. What are you scared of?
Failure and being alone.

2. What are your top three bands NOT including My Chem?
OH JESUS. Well, my favouritest of all time is the Smashing Pumpkins, hands down. I've been listening to MSI a lotttt this week, but as for all time bands... SP, Franz Ferdinand, and... probably... Pink Floyd. or Muse. or Led Zeppelin. or... shit. XD I love too much music to rank most of it.

3. Would you rather see My Chem support Bon Jovi or MSI support My Chem?
MSI+MCR. I would give both my metaphorical testicles to go to one of those shows, because 1. that would mean I'd be in Europe, someplace I've never been. [well, until next summer] and 2. I saw MSI at Projekt Rev and they're definitely one of the best live acts I've ever seen, and now that I like their music, I can't wait to see them again.

4. Can you rock out on any instruments?
haha, well I've been playing violin for eight years now, but I plan to stop playing hardxcore after I graduate. I do play my bass occasionally, though. :]

5. Do you support Bob's Solo Project?
Who, I ask of you, does not?

I CAN HAS ICONS COMMUNITY?

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:42:39 GMT

emokidapproved

oh, we're so miserable.

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 23:43:35 GMT

[7 - blanks/bases]
[9 - wtf is burn thinking?]
[1 - srs icon bsns]

Requiem For a Projekt That Was Revolutionary: Part Four

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 06:30:51 GMT

These are the good ones I took... and by good, I mean have the least amount of my singing and jumping up and down. I apologise for whatever strains of my voice you can hear [I'm terrible and even worse when I'm screaming my lungs out] and for me randomly covering and uncovering the microphone on my camera- I didn't even know I was doing that. >.<

This is how my dignity disappears.

I apologise for this one. I missed the "trust me" at my first show and as I'm sure you can tell I was very determined not to miss it this time. XD

Heaven Help Us - I stopped taping when I realise I didn't know half the words. :P I was kinda hoping for "Kill All Your Friends."

Beginning of WTTBP

Beginning of Helena

ALL of Mama

ALL of Cancer [well, sans the last note, but everything else is there]

Requiem For a Projekt That Was Revolutionary: Part Two

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 05:26:08 GMT

After TBS left the stage, the excitement I had built up ever since I got the tickets in May was near its boiling point. I kind of let go a little when an announcer guy came on stage and told us about the upcoming acts, and mentioned that Cricket would be hosting the return of my favouritest band of all time, the Smashing Pumpkins. I squealed. Very loudly. I got stared at. I didn't care. My mum said that she thought her ear drum broke as a result. I didn't care. I also flipped out when I saw Ray and Frank's guitars on stage. When I saw MCR in March I thought it was silly that people would get excited over such a thing, but I was a young MCR fan at that point. It makes more sense now.
Finally the lights went down and the smoke machines started. I pulled out my camera and started recording. I wanted to capture the moment they all came out on stage. What I ended up capturing was me jumping up and down and squealing "IT'S RAY IT'S RAY IT'S RAY!" and then "IT'S BOB IT'S BOB IT'S BOB!" [I blame it on the power of the fro and the power of Bob's all-encompassing awesomeness.]
At that point I kind of had to take back my comment about HIM's appearance, because Ray was wearing an AC/DC tshirt and jeans [aww it's like the Revenge days all over again], and Cortez + Frank were rocking similar looks. But Ray has amazing pecs, and tshirts were built for Frank Anthony Iero, so I don't really take it back. Gerard was dressed up, though. He had on a Black Parade jacket but it was a new one- it wasn't as sparkly. But I am happy to announce that he got rid of both the scary old man hair from the Norway gig in June and the mad scientist/secluded comic book artist hair he had at Comic Con. Yes, ladies and some gentlemen, Gerard Way remembered what a comb was, and that is a wonderful thing. Um, the man is pretty. I can't help that.

RANDOM THINGS I REMEMBER. DON'T EXPECT COHERENCY HERE.
- Gerard instructing all the guys in the audience to take off their shirts during "Prison." Several of them did, actually. One shirt was thrown on stage and Gerard picked it up and said, "This is a man's shirt" all seductivelike.
- According to Stacie, somebody threw a tiara on stage and Frank put it on. I missed it entirely. D:
- THERE WAS NO FERARD ACTION. D:
- Gerard was wearing the pants with the hole in the crotch, and Stacie swears she saw skin [READ: no underwears].
- Gerard told us that we were the best crowd so far on the tour. :] Some people think that he's just sucking up, but according to my Rmy lieutenant, he actually means it- she's been to some other shows out of state and he doesn't say stuff like that at every show.
- You might have heard about this already because Gerard's been doing it a lot lately, but if you haven't, there's this bit at the end of "Mama" where Gerard goes: "First baaaseee... second baaaseee... *grabs boobies* thirrrrdddd baaaaaseeeeee... *slides hand towards crotch, I go crazy*" It's brilliant. You'll see it when I upload the video.
- BEST PART OF THE WHOLE SHOW: you know how in the live version of "Cancer" they've been doing lately, where Gerard holds off on singing "you" at the end of the song? Before he sang that last note, he stood on stage by himself, listening to us go crazy- and he put his hand on his heart and smiled the most genuine smile I've ever seen. Ever. It was so amazing. It was one of those "they really like me!" smiles- like he couldn't believe he was so loved, like he was overwhelmed by it. I can't really describe it. I only caught a split second of it, but it was incredible. Yes, I realise I just spent a paragraph talking about a smile, but this wasn't an ordinary occasion.
- Gerard looked at me. I know it sounds fangirly, but I could care less.
It was more than just a look, though. My seats were at the very left end of the row, so I could kind of stand out in the aisle a bit to get a better view. This kind of put me out in the open. There weren't a lot of people near me. There were a couple of MCR lovin' girls in front of me, but other than that, it wouldn't have been hard to see me from the stage. I don't remember during what song it was, but Gerard was on my side of the stage, and I had my arm raised like I was reaching for him, and at that moment he mimicked me, as if we'd been any closer we would have been holding on to eachother for dear life.
It was, without exaggeration, a religious experience. Or at least as close to one as a heathen like me can get.

Most amazing night. Ever.

SETLIST
This Is How I Disappear
Sharpest Lives
I'm Not Okay
Famous Last Words
Give 'Em Hell Kid
House of Wolves
Heaven Help Us
Welcome to the Black Parade
Mama
Prison
Teenagers
Helena
Cancer

like a bullet through a flock of icons

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 06:44:08 GMT

*sigh* I'll get my Projekt Rev shit up eventually. One of my videos isn't cooperating and that's frustrating. In the meantime... holyshiticons. all MCR related, of course.

[16 - textless]
[5 - icons I actually photoshopped]
[5 - hoenoes! macrospeak!]
[4 - animations]

should you want to yoink these credit is appreciated. textless CAN be used as bases, I'm not that fussed about it. probably a bazillion people have made the same icons already.

001	002	003


004	005	006


007	008	009


010	011	012


013	014	015


016	017	018

Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

001	002	003


004	005	006

001

002

003

004

005

Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

001

002

003

004

Image credit for the last three goes to r_g_word, which if you haven't read it, you should... one of the fandom's best webcomics. :]

so I really suck at the whole icon table generator thingy. oh well. "/

it's still Thursday here, but I was late last week, so...

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:20:49 GMT

1. How far have you gone to see My Chemical Romance?
all of an hour's drive away. XD someday I want to follow them around the west coast for a few dates, I think that would be amazing.

2. Exclusive ticket access to events. Good thing or bad thing?
mixed blessing for me. I had the presale code for PR but didn't get pit tickets, but my seats ended up being almost as good.

3. Do you write fiction about the boys? Or if you don't do you read it?
Mostly I write hetero but I did start writing some slash as of late. And I'm pretty much addicted to slash. After Ferard I think my favourite pairing is Mikey/Ray. [Rikey?] And just for whisperingtome , I do like Gerob as well. :]

4. Mikey, is he coming back or not? Why do you think that is?
You know, it's funny, at PR last night, it didn't really occur to me that Mikey wasn't there. It's only been a few months but I've gotten used to Cortez being there... then I watched LOTMS today and realised what a big hole there seems to be without Mikey. :[ I hope he's coming back, I really do. I think he wanted to be in a band more than anybody else in MCR, but it wouldn't surprise me if he just quit. I think the combination of his mental health and his marriage would be enough to make him quit... as time goes onit seems more and more likely that he will leave, especially because he was supposed to be back for PR but wasn't. :[

5. Do you have an MCR tattoo? If not do you want one or are you like our Gee and scared of needles?
As I'm only 17, I can't get tattoos yet, but I am definitely going to get something MCR related. I have a couple of ideas in mind but I'm not sure about them. I really want to get Gerard to sign my wrist and then get it tattoed over [I saw a picture of a girl who did that and thought it looked amazing], but as he's not been into meeting fans after shows lately I don't know if that'll ever happen. :[ I want to get the Black Parade logo on me somewhere [where it's all on one line like on the album cover], but the only place I can think of to do that is on my lower back... problem is I'm not skinny enough to pull off a tramp stamp XD but I've got a while to think on it so I'm not too worried.

mcr_fridayfive

Requiem For a Projekt That Was Revolutionary: Part One

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 09:29:14 GMT

1. the trip

Soo around 10:30 my lovely friend Erlich picked me up, and after filling the tank and getting sustenance [Erlich got a Mexican raisin bread thingy. way to not perpetuate stereotypes there, haha. and it tasted like shit too.], we headed off for Cricket Pavillion... okay, that was AFTER missing our exit because I was trying to take a short cut, but whatevs.

2. the line

After parking and being thankful that the air outside was actually cooler than the air inside Erlich's car, we headed to the front of the excruciatingly long line to find the lovely and amazing and cream filled [ROFL]
staceonaplane who let us in line with her. I'm sure people were >:[ about us cutting, but Erlich and I weren't getting lining up for the pit or anything, so I didn't feel too badly about it.

3. the swag

Soo, after being violated by the security guard [who grabbed my ass and decided that it was necessary to yank on my bra... from the FRONT O_o], I headed for the nearest merch tent. I got two shirts [um, because I really need more MCR shirts, yeah?] and the "Revolution Unseen" book, which features art and photos from some of the people on the tour... like Gerard Way, who happens to be the only reason I dropped $30 on that thing. I got a pleasant surprise when I looked at the credits in the back to see that none other than our favourite be-froed guitarist, Ray Toro, had contributed some of his pictures... which are GORGEOUS in case you wanted to know. I liked Gerard's contribution but not as much as some of his other stuff, but I do like that it reminds me of the Master and Margarita, although I've yet to hear that Gerard reads anything by Mikhail Bulgakov... Passed on the MCR poster becaue, um, I really don't need five MCR posters, but it was so pretty... however, I didn't want to schlep it around all day because I knew it would get destroyed. Ended up not getting it anyways, but I figure Hot Topic will have it in a few months.

4. the rmy

Erlich and I waited with Stacie in the line for people with pit tickets [lucky bastards] for a bit until we saw people putting up promo posters and got a bit stir crazy. Stacie and I were like OMG MCR POSTERS WE WANTS SOME, so Erlich and I set off to find the Street Network booth, because I was told that there would be one... on our excursion we found the Revolution stage and where all the buses were parked, but no MCRmy stuff... we did eventually find it, right next to where we came in O_o Stacie and I headed over to see if we could get some promo shit, and what did we see on the way but Black Parade adverts featuring everybody's favourite vertically challenged guitarist. And of course we yoinked them. We were standing around trying to see where to get said promo shit when somebody from the Rmy [I think it was Tameka25? she had the new Demolition Soldiers shirt on... either way her pants are in LOTMS] saw us in the line and was like "Oh no, that's supposed to be for promotion... *disapproves*" and we were like um, sorry but it's too pretty. The booth was showing LOTMS and I impressed [READ: amused] Stacie by quoting along with it. There were a bunch of kids in line to enter a drawing for a guitar signed by the guys. I got all tingly being near something with Gerard's signature on it. I kind of have an obsession with his handwriting. No, I have an obsession with Gerard, period. Anyways, we did get a big ol' stack of promo posters from a nice lady named Laura [might've been Lauren, I don't remember] as well as tape and instructions not to give them out to people and not to tell them where we got them from. Oh, and we got some leftover Black Parade promo stuff- like balloons with the logos on it and those creepy-ass skull masks.

5. the promo

While the first four bands of the Revolution stage were playing, Stacie and I ran around the entire place putting up posters, and we learned pretty fast that we both really suck at using that tape thingy. We got pretty creative with where we put them, like on advertisements and in the bathrooms [OMG FRANK'S WATCHING YOU PEE!], etc. Stacie got so happy with the Frank posters that we created a new verb: Franking. Which apparently has the double meaning of putting a Frank poster on something, or buttsecks [YOU GOT FRANKED IN THE ASS... I WISH]. We usually put the Frank posters on trash cans, for some reason... Stacie said it had something to do with Frank's height. :P We put one on a traffic cone, too. [anybody get the reference? Y/N?] After a while we went to the Monster truck and indulged ourselves in some free energy drink, although neither of us had ever had a Monster. It actually turned out to taste a lot better than I thought, but I'm by no means addicted. I think. I kind of had a craving for one earlier. Anyways. We got mobbed like crazy for the posters, though. I felt kinda bad saying that we couldn't, but it's not like they couldn't have pulled down the ones we'd just put up [which most people did]. We did almost get in trouble, though. We were setting up to put up a bunch of Black Parade posters, when a security guard asked us if we had a pass to be doing this... which of course we didn't. I pointed out the Street Network booth and said we were with them. He checked and of course it turned out we were okay. After we covered the whole pavillion a few times, we turned in the last of our posters to Laura/Lauren who thanked us for our work and gave us water [THANK GOD] and told us to come back right before MCR went on to get some stickers to hand out after the show.

6. the revolution stage

After promo-ing, Erlich wanted to go see Saosin, so the three of us headed over for the Revolution stage. Erlich wandered off [as she tends to do] and Stacie puked a little then went to find a bathroom. That was the last I saw her, kind of a lovely image haha XD She got back in line for the pit afterwards so I found Erlich and went to go see Mindless Self Indulgence, partly because they were the last band to play and because yellowdello2112 told me that I should. I tell you what, I was very glad that I picked that one band to go see, because they are one hell of a show. Jimmy Urine, the vocalist, is a fucking riot. He snorted pixy stix right off of the stage, shoved his microphone down his pants [then proceeded to hump the nearest amp], used a sock that somebody threw onstage as a puppet [eww and bwahaha at the same time], drew a moustache on his face with a marker that was thrown onstage, and ordered us to throw sacrificial cigarettes onstage because a storm was coming ["THIS ISN'T A MENTHOL STORM"... bwahahahaha]. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the rhythm section was female. Lyn-Z, the bassist, I could totally go lez for. Or at least yoink her look if I ever join a band, haha. And her talent, too. She was a lot of fun to watch [and has some really weird but cool drawings in the "Revolution Unseen" book]. They ended with Jimmy Urine lip synching to "There's No Business Like Show Business," which hardly seemed out of place, especially after he had earlier said that he would keep safe the crowd's secret love for musical theatre by posting it all over the internet. The only disappointing thing about MSI was that they relied to heavily on their backing track that contained the electronic blips and synths that make their sound so distinctive. It almost seemed like they didn't really need the band there- the guitar and bass didn't seem to be the important parts of the song, so much so that at one point Lyn-Z abandoned her Fender and jumped into the crowd for the last half of the song. But other than that, I enjoyed them a lot. They're a good jump up and down kind of band, even though most of the crowd was dead. Only a few people at the front were really into it, which was disappointing.

7. the sun

It was while watching MSI that I got sunburned. I did have on sunscreen [unlike Erlich, who is already brown and can get away with it, and Stacie, who is whiter than me and should know better] but most of it had been sweated/rubbed off when I was going bat shit crazy with the promo, so now one side of my face is burned. The other side is fine. O_o But I have to kind of laugh at the stupidity of some of the kids there, or at whoever decided it was a good idea to host a concert in the summer for a crowd whose main wardrobe component is BLACK. Now, I've worn at least one thing black every day for the past four or five years, but I decided it would be better to wear light colours for once. D: it wasn't all bad, I painted a white shirt especially for the concert and prayed it wouldn't rain because I would become a one woman wet t-shirt contest. Well, except for the part where I was still wearing a bra, although that security guard almost pulled it clean off of me. O_o

8. the main stage

After MSI, there was only ten minutes until the main stage opened, which turned out to be not enough time to get back to see Stacie before she went into the pit. After getting [rediculously expensive] water and frozen lemonade, I tried to sneak Erlich into my seating section, but the whole "oh she's with me" thing didn't work [athough it's worked every other time I've been there... except I was with my mum and I actually had a ticket in the proper section], so I went to spazz over where my seats were. It has been a great cause of grief for me that I could not get pit tickets even though I had the presale code, but I did manage to get tickets in the section behind the pit... and when I found my seats, I was practically IN the pit. Like, so close I could almost sneak in there [and I really wanted to, but I didn't]. I was a little more to the right than I would have liked [there were very big speakers in the way], but I was happy about being on Ray's side of the stage, because Ray is the shit. Then I went to go find mayghaen , whose seats were the next section over from me. I was kinda mad because she was in the middle, but whatever. Yes, I have major issues with seat envy, I know that. We talked for a bit and I screamed every time somebody texted something MCR-related to the screens by the stage, until it was time for the bands to start.

9. the bands

julien k

They had, by far, the sweetest stage setup. Each band member had a platform of their own, and the backdrop was black, grey, and red, and there was lots of torn up red drapery-type stuff everywhere. It was kind of funny, the roadies had to start taking down the set in the middle of their last song. But anyway. Julien-K is a great live band. Their sound is amazing. They themselves descrbe it as "live electronic music that rocks," which is really accurate. The thing that I found most interesting about them is how each band member had at least two duties. Ryan Shuck does vocals, guitars and synths; Amir Derakh does guitars and synth; Brandon Belsky does synth and vocals, and Elias Andra does drums and vocals. It was neat to see them switching between instruments, and it was also a nice change to see guys in black leather and eye makeup rocking out on keyboards. I imagined them as kids learning "Ode to Joy" on the piano and thought about how far they've come, both in musical style and taste. Although they really did turn me off when they dedicated a song to all the strippers in Arizona. Also, those bastards hit me with their drum stick. They threw it into the crowd and it hit me in the shoulder while I was colouring my fingernails with Sharpie [which I never do, but my nail polish had pretty much melted off by that point]. And I let everybody know that it hurt, let me tell you.

placebo

I tried getting into some of the bands on the tour months before the concert date, but I really couldn't stand most of what I heard. I like some of Placebo's stuff, so I thought it would be neat to see them. I was actually disappointed. Although they sounded great, they were really lacking in energy, and Brian Molko's voice really started to grate on me after a while. When I first started listening to Placebo I liked his voice for the novelty; he has a very distinctive voice. But as a live act, it got old really fast. And that's saying something, because I have a history of liking whiny-voiced singers [Gerard, Billy Corgan, etc]. He introduced the band as the "ladies and gentlemen of Placebo," and, judging by his voice, I tried to figure out whether he was just British or if he just listened to Depeche Mode, and by that I mean "he's gay." After some research I found out that he is, in fact, Scottish, and bisexual. [He is actually a fan of Depeche Mode, as well. ] I don't know the whole Placebo set but I do know they played: "A Friend Indeed," "Every You Every Me," "Meds," "Special K," and "A Song to Say Goodbye."

him

After Placebo was spirited away, I went to join Erlich on the lawn to watch HIM and Taking Back Sunday, because I don't particularly like either band and figured I wouldn't be fussed if I didn't see them up close. HIM was an even bigger disappointment. I'd always seen pictures of them and they're always dressed really cool, but they came out and it was like Lollapalooza '94, only the Smashing Pumpkins were nowhere to be seen. They looked frumpy, when I was expecting quite the opposite. I was kind of into watching them for a little bit, but then I realised they were putting me to sleep, so I sat down with Erlich and awaited the end of their set, by which time I needed to go see if my mother had arrived yet and use the loo, and possibly see if the Rmy would give me any stickers. By that time it had started to rain. A lot. It wasn't too bad, actually, but I was wearing a white shirt and glasses, which are two things that you don't want to be wearing when it's raining out. We sought solace in the bathroom and I decided against buggering the Rmy for stickers [found out later from my lieutenant that Cricket was threatening to ban the Street Network if they passed out the stickers anyways]. My mum arrived with my camera and Erlich left soon after in order to beat the rain, because her Volvo doesn't exactly roll well with puddles out.

Also, Ville Valo is a lot hotter in pictures. When he's not wearing a "Jesus Saved Me" t-shirt.

taking back sunday

I wasn't in my seat for most of TBS's set, so I can't say much here, although I liked their blinky sign thingy. I took a few pictures for my friends who like TBS, and gathered that they're a decent live act, although I was only there for about two songs, and spent most of that time catching my mum up on everything that had happened that day. And if I wasn't talking to mum, I was sitting there wishing TBS off the stage so that MCR could finally come on. So, okay, not much of an opinon of TBS as a live act.

COMING UP NEXT... MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE.

OH MY FUCKING GOD BEST DAY EVER

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:32:45 GMT

MY FACE IS BURNT [only half of it so it looks wierd "/]
MY PORES ARE CLOGGED
MY THIGHS HAVE HEAT RASH
MY VOICE IS GONE

BUT I HAD THE MOTHERFUCKING TIME OF MY MOTHERFUCKING LIFE.

anndd....

I SWEAR ON MY OWN LIFE THAT GERARD WAY LOOKED RIGHT AT ME.

I'M NOT BEING FANGIRLY. I'M NOT FUCKING KIDDING.

detailz and picturez and videoz to come sooooon :D :D :D

PS. THEY PLAYED 'HEAVEN HELP US.' UH HUH YEAH.

PROJEKT REVOLUTION ARTZ PROJEKTZ :D

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:44:33 GMT

front of shirt

butt of shirt

me wearing shirt and trying to look badass

butt wearing shirt

side one of bag

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arriving two days late... IT'S... the MCR Friday Five!

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:35:48 GMT

questions from mcr_fridayfive

1. How much of your (real) life time have you dedicated to My Chem?
OMG. Wayyyyyy too much. Try, like, all of my free time. Listening, watching, downloading, reading, creating, writing, etc. After breaking up with my boyfriend of two years in November I was the most depressed I've ever been, and MCR became my distraction- I filled every moment I could with the music and eventually the fandom. I'm not as depressed as I was [almost entirely thanks to them], but my love and obsession hasn't gone away. :]

2. Are any of your closest friends into My Chem? If not, do they at least respect you and the band?
Quite a few of my friends are into MCR, but none of them as much as me... although Amber comes close, if not even. ^_^ Mostly all of my friends understand what they've done for me, but I had one friend who didn't at first... she thought I was becoming "faceless" for liking such a popular band and that I was essentially weak for needing MCR to get over my exboyfriend... she did eventually apologise but it hurt a LOT, especially because I used to consider her my best friend. But I have met a few lovely people through the fandom [and plan to meet more at Projekt Rev], so I'm not totally starving for MCR obsessed friends. :]

3. Have you ever been singled out/mocked/prejudged for being a My Chem fan?
Not so far. I don't think I've been a fan quite long enough. I expect that when the new school year starts, I'll get quite a bit of shit for it, mostly because I totally plan on going to Hot Topic and getting MCR school supplies XP not to mention all the other MCR stuff I have. In the 6th grade I got a lot of shit for having Harry Potter school supplies, but this time, I'm gonna let my freak flag fly and not give a fuck what people say. :]

4. Frank once said, "It's [our fandom] like a community now, where kids are finding people just like them, and that's what the message is." Do you feel that his observation is correct?
Yeah, definitely. Whether we know eachother that well or not, we have a sort of bond, and we're there for eachother... it's kind of hard to explain. But I'm sure most of you understand it anyways. :]

5. What is your take on Elitism and My Chem, and how do you, personally, handle it?
haven't run into a lot of elitism, which I guess is odd because I've only been an MCR fan for almost 6 months. "/ But then again that's not something I really advertise. I think it's a load of bullshit, of course. There's always going to be the assholes who have loved the band from the beginning [trust me, I wish I could be one of those assholes... without the assholery] and think they're better than people like me. I honestly feel, though, that I love the band as much as anybody else. There's a fucking REASON why I became an MCR fan on February 1st of this year and, barely a month later, I was at their concert on March 9th screaming every fucking word at the top of my lungs.
I think the Tenth Commandment of gerardism says it best:

10. Thou shalt not speak ill of any other MCR followers or those who you deem to be "not a real fan", for there is no such thing. If they follow MCR, they are a real fan, be they 5 years old or 105 years old (It'd be cool to meet a 105 year-old MCR fan, wouldn't it?). In the words of the almighty Bill and Ted: "Be excellent to eachother".

And, really, we all love MCR, so what the fuck does it matter anyways?

MCR Friday Five!

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:00:14 GMT

1. What is your absolute favourite My Chem song?
I think I would have to say, hands down, "Mama." To me, it's not just a song, is a composition. [sorry, I'm an orch dork. XD] I can't think of another song that has so many different elements to it, so many different parts that you can't wait to listen to. It's one of the weirdest songs ever- Russian polka guitar, Gerard's the Wall-esque solo, Liza Minelli, and the end, fuck!! The end!! It gets me every time. That chorus of Gerard, Liza, and a few parental units... it really sounds like they're crying out as their being dragged down to hell. That's what I've always thought. And I'm sure now you all think I'm thoroughly insane. But I can't help it. I. Love. This. Song. [But "The Ghost of You" is a close second.]

2. If you were given the creative freedom to re-make any My Chem video which one would you do? What would be your premise?
I honestly don't know! I love all their videos. I honestly think [and all my friends will tell you this too] that hell will freeze over when MCR makes a bad video. You know what, wait, scratch that, I forgot about the Bullets videos. I would definitely remake "Vampires Will Never Hurt You." [can't say much for "Honey," because I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it.] I don't know what my premise would be [I'm half asleep and haven't had my coffee yet], but I know I wouldn't put them in a badly lighted room and show random clips of stuff in red light. Although I kinda like the concept of making them perform in a tiny space. I'd go off on a Smashing Pumpkins tangent right now, but I'm sure I've said enough. Goodness, I'm boring.

3. Have any of their songs ever made you cry, even for the silliest of reasons?
No song has really ever made me cry to begin with. Well, maybe "The End." But I was on the verge of tears to begin with. I think I've listened to MCR while crying, but none of them has moved me to do so. Which is odd.

4. What is your favourite My Chem music video?
Okay, this is much harder. I love them all. [again ignoring the Bullets videos.] I think they're all brilliant and original in their own way- you don't see many rock bands doing what they're doing. Then again I don't really watch much for music videos these days, but whatever. Anyway, just to spite my friend who thought it was crap, I'm going to go with "Famous Last Words." It's really powerful to watch ~~and it's total Gerard porn~~. The band is completely crazy and energetic, and I love Gerard's facial expressions, I always have. That's half of what makes the performance for me, I think. But really, I love all the videos, and I could go on about them forever.

5. If you could pick any song for My Chem to cover, which would it be?
"ZERO" BY THE SMASHING PUMPKINS. I know they play it at soundchecks and stuff, BUT I WANT TO HEAR IT. A couple of months ago I popped in the Pumpkins' greatest hits after not listening to them for a long time, and when "Zero" came on, I flipped, because I could totally picture Gerard singing it. So if it ever is released, don't expect to hear from me for a while, because I will have died and gone to SP/MCR heaven.

I've also entertained ideas of Gerard singing "Everyday I Love You Less And Less" by the Kaiser Chiefs. I don't know why. I think it would be amusing.

hm, I guess I should put a link in hurrr. mcr_fridayfive