"hi, we're here to CRASH the party."

yes - i know i said i would update before we went to Crash Kings on sunday. and i realize that i did not update. i don't have a good excuse. i just didn't.

the weekend at home was great. arrived saturday around 12:30ish, maybe. i didn't stop at Old Navy on my way home. i left later than i wanted. and decided that i just wanted to get to maine. especially after my apartment cleaning extravaganza which took place into the early hours of saturday.

so, i arrived home and it was sooooooooooo sooo great to see my mom. she was in the middle of making my FAVORITE kind of cupcakes!!! that was awesome. we basically just hung around and talked all day.

oh, but then we went out. she had read this article in the newspaper about Neti Pots and how they are supposed to be super helpful for allergies and colds and general breathing. it's a nasal irrigation system that looks like a little tea pot. and you mix a little bit of this special salt with some warm water and pour it in one side of your nose, and then it's supposed to circulate through your sinuses, and drain out the other side - making your life generally better!

and she really wanted to go to this place called The Healing Garden to look at them for me. this place is right in Dover, NH on central ave. right next to Papa Ginos. it's a natural pharmacy.

so, we went and learned all about them. it was exciting and disgusting at the same time. and she said she wanted to get me one as an early birthday present. (IT'S FEBRUARY!!!!) so, i picked out a pretty green one.

and now i'm going to skip ahead to last night when i tried using the Neti Pot. i mixed the warm water with the salt and prepared myself. i was very nervous. but everyone swears by them that they have never had any cold or allergy medicine work as well as these pots.

so, i lean over the sink and pour the water into one side of my nose. and i'm standing there like that for a few seconds and thinking, "okay, now what?!" because, it wasn't draining out the other side like it was supposed to!!! and then i started to feel all this pressure build up and it started to burn really bad and hurt really bad. so, i stood up. and then my eyes started tearing. it was not a good first experience.

and i thought, "i wonder why it didn't drain out the other side like it's supposed to?"

i tried it again, with the same results. only this time the back of my throat also started burning.

then this afternoon i thought, "okay, i'll try this again." and i did. and i stood there again for abotu 10 seconds trying to get this water to circulate up in my sinuses. and it just wasn't!

i thought, "are my sinuses really that bad?" so then, i tried it on the other side. and then! i started to feel something. like, maybe the water was getting further up in my nose. and then my ears started popping!!!!!

but, it still wasn't draining out the other side of my nose. so i said, "okay, i'll try the other side again." and then i tried the other side. waited about 10 seconds AND THEN FINALLY, the water started draining out the other side.

and i tried it on the other side, and waited about 15 painful seconds and finally it started draining as well. but it was painful! and the back of my throat was burning.

and STILL, like, 6 hours later, it still feels like i snorted a bunch of chlorine.

i don't think i did it long enough. but it makes me think that something is wrong with my sinuses if it takes that long to drain, and there's that much pressure. i mean, my eyes teared up all these times. it hurt!

i think i just have to keep at it like, everyday. perhaps it will get better.

and that's my Neti Pot story.


SUNDAY was a big day in my life. i'm sure you can imagine. let's recap:

- super excited for the Rooney concert on 12/13/09
- had never even HEARD of Crash Kings before
- Crash Kings start playing. BAM. they freaking rock. and they totally steal the show.
- Julie buys their CD on iTunes the next day and hasn't stopped listening to it since

and now here's the happy ending:

- we saw Crash Kings play on SUNDAY, and we're seeing them again on THURSDAY.

here's how the day went down:

- kara and i spent all day being super excited
- then we gussied up

- we left the house at around 6pm.
- got gas. got ATM money.
- then went out for sushi!!!!! YUM. it was awesome. i had been craving sushi for a long time now.
- around 7:45pm we were finally on our way to boston. (we played 'shipping up to boston' once we saw the skyline and 'mass pike' once we got on the mass pike.)
- we were driving right to the club because with all the green line switchovers, and the concert not getting out until midnight, we didn't think we would be able to make it back anywhere. and my 'google map street view' skillz told me that it looked like there was, in face, plenty of street parking.
- and we found a spot almost immediately!!! right on Commonwealth Ave, across the street from the club, Great Scott.

and Allston, MA is full of cute hipster people. and the club was super cool. really tiny and also full of lots of people that were way cooler than me. i felt like i was in Prescott. (hampshire college reference)

ANYWAYS. it wasn't very crowded and people were just kind of milling around. kara and i debated about whether or not to get drinks. we decided yes.

for some reason, i was channeling Aliya and ordered vodka with orange juice. my under 21 year old sister tells me that is called a "screwdriver." i don't know these things. but, it reminded me of Aliya for some reason. kara got a sprite.

and then we made our way over to the stage area. which was about as big as my kitchen. SUPER tiny. but a good kitchen size. and the stage is super SUPER tiny and immediately i say

JULIE: HOW are they going to fit SEVEN guys up there?!!

i was very concerned for Paper Tongues.

so, we got to the club about 9.15pm. and only had to hang around for like, 45 minutes. and then PAPER TONGUES came out!!!!

now, i had heard via anonymous comment in this blog that the lead singer was full of energy. and i had seen via youtube that it looked like there set was pretty insane.



THEY WERE FULL OF CRAZY ENERGY.







they managed to fit all seven of them on stage. and it ROCKED. i'm pretty sure the kid playing bass is Danny, and i think he is the one who just turned 21. he changed his outfit like, 4 times.



that hottie was the guitar player slash backup singer. he semi-reminded me of Taylor Hanson.



where's the lead singer?



oh, there he is!!! he jumped down into the crowd and kara snapped this killer shot. during the first song he grabbed as many people's hands as he could. yes, kara and i were among those people due to our close proximity to the stage. it was awesome. it was less like a "grab" and more like a "hold." i guess i should say, "he held hands with as many people as he could." it was great. Aswan, is his name.




once i got a few good glances of the drummer, i realized he absolutely totally reminded me of Chris Gallot. who was my date to high school prom. strange, because Chris Gallot was also a drummer. only less tattooed.




other guitar player to the far right. and also Aswan goes crazy.




he borrowed someone's hat from the audience to wear for this song. it was great. he doesn't play anything while he sings, which gives him all the time in the world to DANCE AROUND. he was the best dancer ever. and he just kept moving. it was so insane. for real. he was so awesome.






LOVE this shot. great hair.





it looks like he's doing my signature move, the robot, in this picture. but i don't remember him ever doing the robot.

their set was so good. and they mentioned like, 4 or 5 times that Boston has always been their favorite city to play in. and they said that still definitely holds true. they were so awesome i can't even describe it. ENERGY. so crazy. so good.


AND THEN. it was time for Crash Kings to come out.

so, Paper Tongues is unhooking their stuff and moving it all off the stage, and i happen to look over to kara and see a familiar face in the crowd.

MIKE. super hottie bass player for Crash Kings. just standing around, talking to someone, drinking a beer.

JULIE: OMG IT'S MIKE.
KARA: Where?!
JULIE: The hott one with the beard.
KARA: Whoa!
JULIE: OMG he's right there! How come nobody is freaking out about this!!? Does anybody know it's him!?!? Wow, he's so beautiful.

he is quite a beauty. and he was just hanging around for a while and then,

JULIE: OMG IS JASON.
KARA: Who?!
JULIE: Standing behind Mike. OMG.
KARA: Wow!
JULIE: I can't believe nobody knows it's THEM!!!!!

Jason is the drummer. him and Mike were just hanging around drinking!!! it was GREAT. and then Paper Tongues cleared out all their stuff, and Crash Kings set up.

this made me very happy. even though this was their first headlining tour, they still set up all their own equipment. i mean, they had help. but, Jason brought out all the drums. Mike set up his pedals and ORANGE amp. Tony set up his keyboard and the clavinet. it was nice to see. especially because they're so gorgeous...




Jason set this right in front of us while he was moving other things. kara got this awesome shot.




TONY TONY TONY!!!!!!! setting up the keys!!!!! note the hottttt tattoo.




i REALLY wanted kara to get a shot of Mike with the Orange amp. because DARREN also played with an Orange amp when he was in Phantom Planet. and i remember the first time i saw Darren's orange amp. it was very exciting. and it was also exciting to see Mike play with one. he also uses some special thing to split the bass guitar so it also sounds like an electric guitar at some points.




the full set up. see how tiny the stage was? Mike is at the end of the stage, and the clav is right at the other end. and there's Jason. it was not an ideal set up to get a good picture of Jason. that symbol was right in his face.

in these photos of Mike, please notice the "sweat progression" on his t-shirt. it's intense. they were all gorgeous and sweaty by the end.



notice how Tony isn't wearing the black sweater anymore? that's because he took it off. i saw the whole thing.



ROCKING the clavinet. he is the best rocker out on keyboards EVER. it was the best to watch him. he was jumping around all over the place. but still at the keys. like, jump playing. hardcore. also great tattoo shot.



HOTTIE. (no sweat)

there was this GREAT 'tony and mike' moment during like, the first or second song. they were rocking so hard and they just looked over at each other and smiled SO BIG. it was totally the best out of anything else happening in the world at that moment.





HOTTIE.





BROS!!! i said to kara, "make sure you get a good brother shot."





love Tony in this.




CLAV ACTION!!!! there was one part about 3/4 of the show where they were just ROCKING OUT. and Tony was going crazy on the clav. and after they finished Tony was like,

TONY: And that's how you rock without a guitar.

because, the clav sounds like an electric guitar. and so then he explained it to us. and, what i didn't know, was that there are actual guitar strings INSIDE that top wooden part. and he took off the whammy bar and opened it up. crazy. it's like an electric guitar inside a keyboard. only 12 in existence.




(note Mike's chest sweat)
(also note Jason's chest sweat)
(also note Tony being hott)





(drenched!!!!)

there was one part where it was just clapping,

TONY: Hands up!
(everyone clapping with their hands up)
MIKE: Hands up Mom and Dad! Come on Mom and Dad, hands up!!!!!

that was very sweet and exciting. he named some other people too, which made me very excited because obviously all their friends from home came to the show!!! so great!

and then Tony was like,

TONY: So, Mike and I are brothers, we grew up in Andover, and our parents are here tonight. (crowd goes wild) I mean, really, without them none of this would be possible....(crowd goes wild)....and that one special night....
JASON: Two!!!
TONY: ....those two special nights.....






totally hott and sweaty.





ROCK.

yeah, there was a lot of rocking that night. OH MAN, it was the best. it was just so awesome.

so, then they leave the stage and are just standing around by the side. and, i look up on the stage, and nobody has grabbed Mike's set list yet. "um, hello! there's a set list right there!" so, i go up and grab it. YESSSSSS.

i guess because even though they are making a name for themselves, they're not quite there just yet. and me and kara were really the only super fans there. (oh, and this boy next to me.... that's another story....)

so, we got the set list and then kara says,

KARA: We should have them sign it!!!!!!

um, brillz.

so, we're hanging around in front of the stage while the guys are talking to a bunch of people. and it seems like they are mainly friends from home. i got this feeling by the number of instant hugs these people got. but there were a few non-friends talking to them as well. and then we see their parents come up. Kara actually recognized them from the Rooney show. how awesome is that? (or creeper....?) (no, awesome.)

so then Tony is free and me and Kara inch up to him. my crazy insane excitement level goes from 100 to 1,000 in about one second.

JULIE AND KARA: Hey!
TONY: Hey!
KARA: Awesome show!
TONY: Thank you!
JULIE: You guys rocked so hard.
TONY: Thank you so much. Thanks for coming out!
JULIE: It was so good.
TONY: Great, I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
JULIE: We're actually seeing you guys again in Providence on Thursday.
TONY: Oh, wow! Great! That should be fun.
JULIE: I really wanted to hear 'Carry On' again.
TONY: Oh yeah?
JULIE: Yeah. That's such a good song.
TONY: We'll play that on Thursday.
JULIE: Will you play it twice?
TONY: Twice?
JULIE: Yeah!
TONY: In the same set??!!
JULIE: Yeah!!!
TONY: (laughing and smiling so beautifully) No!! (laughs) Why would we do that!?!
KARA: Back to back!
TONY: (laughing) Just keep doing encores.
JULIE: Yes!
TONY: This voice can only handle so much!
JULIE: (laughs)
KARA: (laughs) Hey, do you have a pen?
TONY: Umm...let me see.....
(and then he went looking for a pen and eventually got a sharpie.)
KARA: We stole the set list.
TONY: Great. (signs the set list) Well, thanks for coming!
JULIE AND KARA: Great show! See you Thursday!

and then Tony walked away. no tequila shots. and he went to go talk to his parents. and then we waited for Mike, who was talking to another fan.

me and kara were totally hyped up.

MIKE: Hey, do you guys have the set list?
JULIE: (ohmygod Mike just walked up to US)
KARA: Yeah! We're stealing it.
MIKE: What was the first new song we played?
(the other fan walks up too)
MIKE: Oh, 'Carry On.'
OTHER FAN: That was awesome.
MIKE: Thanks, man.
JULIE: That was my favorite. I love that song.
MIKE: Really?!
JULIE: Yeah, I wanted you to play it again.
MIKE: Wow!
JULIE: I totally love it.
MIKE: I actually wrote that song!
JULIE AND KARA: No way!!!
MIKE: Yeah! That's awesome.
JULIE: It's such a great song.
MIKE: Thanks so much! Thank you for coming!
JULIE AND KARA: Sure! We loved it!
JULIE: You guys rocked so hard. We'll see you in Providence on Thursday, also.
MIKE: Cool!
KARA: Do you have that sharpie?
MIKE: Ummm....no....(looks around)
ANOTHER FAN: I have a sharpie.
JULIE: Oh, wow! Thank you!
KARA: We have one.
MIKE: Great. (signs his name. sees Jason.) Hey! Come sign this.
JULIE AND KARA: Thank you so much!
MIKE: Have a great night!
JULIE AND KARA: You too!!
JULIE AND KARA: (to Jason) You guy are so awesome!
JASON: Thanks! Thanks for coming! (signs his name.) Oh, let's do this. What's the date? (checks his watch) (writes the date on the paper.)
JULIE AND KARA: Thank you so much!
JASON: Sure! Have a great night!
JULIE AND KARA: You too! Take care!


and THAT was when we met Crash Kings.




YEP. their signatures are way more "autography" than i would have thought. Mike is the one on the bottom "MB." Jason is above that, also in purple, "JM." he also wrote the date at the top. and then Tony is in black on the left. i have no idea how to read his signature. i can see the "B" but nothing else. it almost looks like an "A," which would make sense since his first name is Antonio. but, why wouldn't he just write a "T" if everyone calls him Tony.

SUPER COOL, RIGHT?!?!? we have the set list!!!!!! "Mountain Man" is their single. the one that they play on some alternative radio stations. "It's Only Wednesday" is the song from the movie Zombieland. which is out on DVD yesterday.

so technically, it's Wednesday today. which means we're seeing Crash Kings AGAIN TOMORROW. omg. i'm so freaking excited.

we realized that Kara's camera is better at taking pictures and my camera is better at taking videos. so, we'll both have important jobs tomorrow.

it was the best. such a great time.

and then the people at the Merch table were super awesome! it wasn't crowded at all, so we got to talk to them a bit. and every time we asked to see a shirt, the guy would hold it up to me and say, "let's see how this one looks." in the end, he said, "i think the darker colors look better." thanks, man! he was cool. and very excited when Kara bought a Paper Tongues t-shirt.

both bands were great and sooo much fun to watch.

okay. thanks for re-living the concert with me! no GO CHECK OUT Crash Kings. if you haven't yet. i promise they are awesome. if you like piano ROCK music. emphasis on the rock.

and it's taken me 3 hours to complete this entry. the first hour was spent waiting for pictures to load. so now i'm going to go eat supper. it's 12:35am.

i'll update again later!! i have no plans today. except hang around.

have great days!!!! great wednesdays. hope your weekend rocked just as hard as mine. although, it's doubtful.

OSCAR NOMINATIONS CAME OUT TODAY!! i'll talk about those later too. promise!


if there ever was a day that you should get away
i feel it in my bones, i think today's the day


<3