28 Sept 2007 Dashboard Confessional SOLO Show @ Rams Head Live
As soon as I heard that this show was scheduled, I bought a ticket. I invited my hermit sister, but she, unsurprisingly, cancelled. (She'll never know what life really is, I'm sure.) So I prepared for this show, I knew exactly what I would wear, my 16 year old Chucks & my 7 year old black hoody, so that I could look like I did 5 years ago when the last DCSolo show came through the area, which I missed. My brother said I failed to look like I did 5 years ago, but that was probably a compliment.
I had never driven to Baltimore by myself. My plan was to get there at 6 pm & wait in line, but plans are obviously made to be broken. I was nervous, you know. A date with Chris Carrabba isn't something that happens everyday. I left my house after 430 in the afternoon, & had a hell of a time getting there. People just don't know how to drive. They drive in clusters, which I'm not comfortable with, if there is so much room in front of & behind the cluster. This SUV was tailgating me, & ended up swerving to not miss me when the entire cluster for some mysterious reason stopped in its tracks. I got away from it, cos if you have to swerve when I was just going 5 MPH then there's something wrong with you. I also stayed away from huge trucks.
When I finally got to Baltimore, the directions were wrong, so I was driving around asking random people on the street or in cars how to get to the street. I eventually called the club & they got me there safe & sound. I parked underneath the club, conveniently. Not surprisingly, the fans were less than social, as almost all concert spectators I've encountered in the United States. But that was fine. I drank some cubatas & sat outside during the horrible opening acts. The Haitian lady with the bathroom store gave me some cigarettes. I gave her a hug & will probably give her a painting one day.
When the 2nd opening act was finishing, I noticed that the sheep in the audience left me a great spot in the front row, in front of the barrier, to the side. I went over there & hung out. Eventually, a secutiry guy creepily resembling a boy I had been in love with for years who most of the songs I could dedicate too stood sorta in front of me the entire time. I asked him was he Spanish, & we talked & stuff. Some girls tried to flirt with him but it wasn't happening. He was disgustingly like him. Even the gestures. Eyebrows. I knew it would feel good yelling the songs in his ear.
So, the actual concert was absolutely beautiful. I was standing there, with the perfect dreamed-of view of his oh-so-Spanish profile. He's really little, too. He started out with 'The Sharp Hint of New Tears' & I broke my voice by the time 'Vindicated' was played, even with the rests I took during the last album's songs. I felt so special cos I knew the new song lyrics. I was super surprised when he played 'El Scorcho' -- one of my favourite songs of all time, & he did it really well, too. The 'Best Deceptions' & 'Hands Down' encore was surreal, better than I had ever dreamed.
Before that night I had only seen the whole let-me-stop-singing-&-let-the-crowd-take-over thing on television. Experiencing for the first time elevated my soul. You become part of the show, with long periods of singing by yourself, right back to him, saying hey buddy, I've felt this, too. I got out so many emotions by screaming melodically at the top of my lungs those songs that mean so much to me. Love, heartbreak, my mom, my art, my life .... everything. It felt so damn good. It was really an amazing experience, &
On the way home, Henry heard my confessions once more.
Chris Carrabba, your words mean so much to me, & your energy boosted mine that night. Thank you SO MUCH for creating those songs. They've gotten me through a lot & still help me through things. Revelations through pop music don't happen to me much very often, & to have someone keep writing things that affect me so much as well is so special. Please never stop, & good luck in everything you do. Gracias, grazie, efharisto!!!!!
I had never driven to Baltimore by myself. My plan was to get there at 6 pm & wait in line, but plans are obviously made to be broken. I was nervous, you know. A date with Chris Carrabba isn't something that happens everyday. I left my house after 430 in the afternoon, & had a hell of a time getting there. People just don't know how to drive. They drive in clusters, which I'm not comfortable with, if there is so much room in front of & behind the cluster. This SUV was tailgating me, & ended up swerving to not miss me when the entire cluster for some mysterious reason stopped in its tracks. I got away from it, cos if you have to swerve when I was just going 5 MPH then there's something wrong with you. I also stayed away from huge trucks.
When I finally got to Baltimore, the directions were wrong, so I was driving around asking random people on the street or in cars how to get to the street. I eventually called the club & they got me there safe & sound. I parked underneath the club, conveniently. Not surprisingly, the fans were less than social, as almost all concert spectators I've encountered in the United States. But that was fine. I drank some cubatas & sat outside during the horrible opening acts. The Haitian lady with the bathroom store gave me some cigarettes. I gave her a hug & will probably give her a painting one day.
When the 2nd opening act was finishing, I noticed that the sheep in the audience left me a great spot in the front row, in front of the barrier, to the side. I went over there & hung out. Eventually, a secutiry guy creepily resembling a boy I had been in love with for years who most of the songs I could dedicate too stood sorta in front of me the entire time. I asked him was he Spanish, & we talked & stuff. Some girls tried to flirt with him but it wasn't happening. He was disgustingly like him. Even the gestures. Eyebrows. I knew it would feel good yelling the songs in his ear.
So, the actual concert was absolutely beautiful. I was standing there, with the perfect dreamed-of view of his oh-so-Spanish profile. He's really little, too. He started out with 'The Sharp Hint of New Tears' & I broke my voice by the time 'Vindicated' was played, even with the rests I took during the last album's songs. I felt so special cos I knew the new song lyrics. I was super surprised when he played 'El Scorcho' -- one of my favourite songs of all time, & he did it really well, too. The 'Best Deceptions' & 'Hands Down' encore was surreal, better than I had ever dreamed.
Before that night I had only seen the whole let-me-stop-singing-&-let-the-crowd-take-over thing on television. Experiencing for the first time elevated my soul. You become part of the show, with long periods of singing by yourself, right back to him, saying hey buddy, I've felt this, too. I got out so many emotions by screaming melodically at the top of my lungs those songs that mean so much to me. Love, heartbreak, my mom, my art, my life .... everything. It felt so damn good. It was really an amazing experience, &
On the way home, Henry heard my confessions once more.
Chris Carrabba, your words mean so much to me, & your energy boosted mine that night. Thank you SO MUCH for creating those songs. They've gotten me through a lot & still help me through things. Revelations through pop music don't happen to me much very often, & to have someone keep writing things that affect me so much as well is so special. Please never stop, & good luck in everything you do. Gracias, grazie, efharisto!!!!!
