CRASH KINGS ROCK WEST CHESTER (15 april 2010)

hi friends. and loved ones.

may i just say first, that i think Facebook is taking a 'longer than normal' time to upload these blog posts. so, for all you Facebook readers, i don't know when you are reading this.

but currently, i'm writing and it's 12:47pm on sunday, 18 april 2010. hopefully the whole world will be able to read this entry soon, because it's going to be awesome. and amazing.

it will be much like the first time i met Tony, Mike and Jason at Great Scott. and i could barely form words or sentences. that's how excited i am. STILL. and the show was on thursday.


SO, the last time i left you, i was very excited. and kind of spewing all these excited words. it was a hard time getting to sleep on thursday night. let me start further back.


THURSDAY MORNING:

i woke up in Boston. Ryan was at class. her roomie, Brent was working on a paper in the kitchen.

i went online to check the normal things, email, facebook, twitter, etc. THEN! i sent a Tweet to Crash Kings saying this:


dear @crashkings, [ryan's twitter name] and i are driving down from boston for the show tonight. please don't start without us. love, ryan and julie.


yep. that's what i said to them. i was very excited that i wrote to them. and then when Ryan and I were finally on our way, she said something like, "oh i hope we make it in time." and i said, "well, i tweeted to them saying 'don't start without us,' so hopefully we'll be okay."

we made it out of Boston fine. hit rreeaallyy slow traffic on the Mass Pike for a while. got minorly lost while getting off the exit for I-84. semi-quickly found our way back.

then Ryan had the brillz idea of DRIVING IN THE CARPOOL LANE!!!! so, yeah, we did. we were two people who were carpooling to a concert. made total sense. we did that until Hartford.

then we got on I-87, i think. and did that for a while. we were taking a route around NYC. then we got into New Jersey. on either 202 or 206. the exit was for both roads. i don't remember which one we ended up being on.

but it was supposed to take us 19 minutes. and it took us like, an hour. SOOOOO SLOOOWWWW. omg, we were freaking out. we figured out that Crash Kings were probably going to go on at 9pm. it was like, 7pm, and we still had an hour after we got off this road, which never seemed to end. and was jam packed full of cars.

we drove through Princeton, which was a beautiful, fancy looking part of NJ, but seemed to be semi in ruin due to all the trees and large branches down EVERYWHERE.

FINALLY, we got onto 95 and ENTERED PENNSYLVANIA!! my first time there.

and then it got dark. and later. and it was time to SPEED. we were going like, 80mph for the last leg of the trip. we finally made it to West Chester and found the parking garage i had marked on the map. a short couple blocks away from 'The Note,' where they were playing.

as we are getting closer to The Note, we see their van "Ol' Blue" parked out front. this is very exciting because now it's real. NOW we're here and we're going to see Crash Kings.

so, we see some guys hanging around the van and notice that one of them is their drummer, Jason. who plays drums barefoot and is awesome. and we get closer and closer.

and then, HE recognizes US and says,

JASON: Hey! You guys made it!!

let me make clear that neither Ryan nor I said anything to Jason before he said this to us.

SO, NOT ONLY, did they totally read my Tweet to them, BUT, Jason knew who we were enough to recognize us on the street. not even in a music setting! ON THE STREET. it wasn't like, he waved at us during their set cause he recognized us in our normal spot in the crowd. nope. ON THE STREET.

Jason also said that they were all very excited that we had driven down from Boston. we said that we were very worried that we would miss part of their set, but he told us that the opening band, Bloodfeathers, was just going on now, and that we should totally get in to see them, because they had a saxophone in their band, and he thought they would be pretty good.

so we go inside. the night is off to a SUPER GREAT start. we get our hand stamped and head to the stage area. on our way back, i am apparently in a 'Jason infused daze,' and totally smash right into Tony, who is 'in the zone' walking in the opposite direction as us.

yep. smashed into Tony. i didn't even realize it was him until after the smashing. we were both in the 'Crash Kings are about to perform' zone.

anyways. then we watched Blood Feathers. i guess their name is actually two words. i don't really know why they are called Blood Feathers. they sound like a band who would like to go to Owl concerts. they sound like a scary band.

but no! they are a band i would like to be BFF with. especially the main guy. who i said to afterwards at the bar,

JULIE: Hey, you guys were great!
BLOOD FEATHERS GUY: Wow, thank you! Thanks for coming!

they were like, rock-country-blues-retro ish. Ryan does a good comparison in her LJ and says they are, "a six-man combination of Bob Dylan and the Doobie Brothers." i think that works.

and the main guy, who was really a co-main guy, the one who i talked to for one second afterwards, was a super good dancer. he was constantly moving his feet around. but not like, picking them up off the stage. like, sliding around. kind of like something one might see on Charlie Brown, or something. perhaps. he was awesome.

anyways, yeah, check out Blood Feathers, if you get a chance. i think they should swap band names with Owl. Owl should be called Blood Feathers because they are a creepy band. and Blood Feathers should change their name to Owl, but only not a scary red-eyed owl. a friendly one.

or, they could combine their bands and be called, Bloody Owl Feathers. but, i don't like that. and i don't think anyone else would either.

ANYWAYS. the whole time we're listening to Blood Feathers, Jason and Mike are standing right in front of us. Mike's hair has gotten longer. he's drinking a beer. and oh, he's pretty.

then Blood Feathers ends and Jason and Mike head backstage. i assume to start getting ready to set up their equipment on stage. like they've done at every other Crash Kings show. even at their other headlining shows in Providence and at Great Scott. they set up their own stuff.

so, the guys that work at the place are doing most of the setting up. and they're up there for a while. i figure they're doing the basics. like, getting out the plugs and stuff so Tony can come out and set up his clavinet.

and then one of the guys sets up the keyboard. and then the clav. and now i'm getting confused. has Crash Kings really become a super famous band since the last time i saw them?!? so much so, that they can just walk out onstage and all their stuff will be set up for them?!!?!

NO, it can't be possible. this is our tiny, secret, awesome band that nobody else knows about.

but then, most of their stuff is set up. the stagehands even put out towels and bottles of water for the guys. and tape their set lists to the floor for them. even their set lists have gotten more fancy. they had the Crash Kings "logo" at the top. the set list that i have is just a list of songs.

and Ryan and i keep looking at each other in amazement.

CRASH KINGS DO NOT HAVE TO SET UP THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT. they had other guys do it for them.

um, holy crap. are they a famous band now? ah, yes. yes they are.

because they start playing, and MOST EVERYONE knows all the words to all the songs. like, non-Mountain Man songs. like, '1985.' and 'Non Believer.'

this was the first Crash Kings show where like, 3/4 of the crowd came to see THEM. it wasn't like a bunch of people who just happened to be there, plus me and Ryan who are the super fans. NO. not at all. our super tiny secret band had become not-so super tiny and secret.

(which made it even more awesome that Jason recognized us on the street.)


and now.... the super famous, super rockstars - CRASH KINGS::







so, Tony walks out onstage and immediately i think, OMG he's wearing the red plaid shirt! but then he comes to the front of the stage, and i see he's not wearing the red plaid shirt. it's like, a red plaid shirt, with strangely placed white spots. and it's lighter red.

and then i immediately think, OMG THERE WAS A LAUNDRY MISHAP AND THE RED PLAID SHIRT IS RUINED!!!!! it was a very stressful time. his signature red plaid shirt - RUINED!?!?

and i was studying the shirt he was wearing and trying trying trying to remember exactly what the other one looked like.

after the concert was over, i immediately asked Ryan what she thought. she ended up getting out her laptop in the car and doing a comparison. it was very hard at first to tell if it was the same shirt or not.

BUT IN THE END - she thought they were different shirts. and in doing further investigation, i think the same thing.

i have posted a photo of THE red plaid shirt below the next pic so you can do your own comparison. you're welcome :)



(Tony's hair had gotten really long since i had last seen him. did you forget what a hottie he was?! and look at that great tattoo shot! he's got the number '13' on his inner wrist. either that or, '1,3.')


(super sexilicious red plaid shirt.)



this set up was not ideal for photos of Jason, which is usually the case.



HOT SWEATY MIKE!!!!!




for the previous three shows we had seen, Tony had been playing on this amazing folding piano. he said that the reason he was playing on the keyboard tonight was because they couldn't lift the piano up onto the stage. :) that's okay.

i really love those two above photos. because you can see his face, which was mostly covered by his hair in all the other pics.



UM, WHOA, right?! Mike, oh Mike. he was having a bit of an off night. he was mostly flat on all his harmonies, except for 'Carry On,' and during 'Non Believer' when he sings the days of the week at the end, he got the order wrong pretty much every time. SUNDAY TUESDAY MONDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY?

also, remember at Great Scott when he told me and Kara and he wrote 'Carry On?' and it made me super excited because it's probably my favorite song? well, when Ryan was talking to Tony in Austin when she saw them, she mentioned that Mike had told me he wrote Carry On. to which Tony replied something like,

TONY: Mike didn't write Carry On. I wrote Carry On. Mike helped a little in the beginning...

i told my mom this story and she said,

MOM: Well, clearly he was trying to impress you by telling you he wrote it!!!!

perhaps. i do remember thinking that Mike and i had a bit of a connection at Great Scott. and i decided that maybe the reason Mike is always in tune on Carry On is because he thinks that he wrote it, so he puts in a little extra effort.

OKAY, so me and Ryan were kind of hating on Mike during this trip, but we made sure we ended by saying that Mike is an excellent bass player and does super sexy bass lines on 'You Got Me' and '1985.' and listening to 'You Got Me' and watching Mike sweat is like the hottest, sexiest thing in the world. true story.




BRO SHOT!!!!!!



During 'Come Away' Tony forgot the lyrics during the chorus, and it was super adorable. he kind of all flustered looked at Mike, and kept shaking his head. hey, even super famous rock stars forget the lyrics sometimes. this made me happy, because it reminds you that they are normal people.




loved his rolled up jeans and boots. and he thinks he's not a hipster?



"HOTTIE ON THE KEYBOARD."

OH, it was such a great show. they totally rocked. the whole place was rocking.

and now for the videos? yes. that sounds good.

so, i took four videos which i have uploaded to YouTube. i will post the links for you to enjoy. i might also post you links to the videos that Ryan took. she got some different songs than i did.


IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY. this is a great video because you can hear the crowd singing along really well. and then A HOTTTTTT BASS SOLO by Mike, for which the crowd goes wild. you should watch.

NON BELIEVER. great song. "don't forget about the things that make you feel free." oh, i love it. and this is the song where Mike gets the days of the week wrong. about 2:50 in.

CARRY ON. the song that Mike didn't write. possibly my favorite song. this is the song they opened with the VERY FIRST time i saw them. i heard Tony sing the opening words, "carry on," and my mind had already been blown. just watch the first 20 seconds. you'll see what i mean. also featuring: hott bro rocking sesh around 2:55 and a really hott scream around 3:48.

SAVING GRACE. the very beginning of this video features something i like to call, 'A Beliveau Brothers Hott-Off.' where Mike and Tony are both totally working the crowd at the same time!!!! "a hott-off." yep. and during the slow, gorgeous, romantic, sexy part of the song which happens around 2:13, someone screams, "YYEEAAAHHHH TOONNNYYYY!!!!!"

"stay with me late into this night...and lay with me and i promise to make you feel...oooooooOOOOoooooooo..."

"yeah tony!" is right. Ryan and i had fun with that part on the drive home. he PROMISES. he promises to make you feel that way. YEP. soooosexxxyyyyy.


this is a video that Ryan took:

MY LOVE. "all the little pieces of the world come together so well... you're taking me home." yep. and at the end when they do the "ooo oo oo oo ooo oo oo oo" part with clapping, Mike starts clapping on the off-beat until he realizes he's doing it. it's funny and adorable. perhaps he had a little too much to drink before the show? i don't know.

Ryan also took a SUPER HOTT video of "You Got Me," but i can't find it on YouTube. when i find it, i'll post it for you. because if you don't watch ANY of these videos - you're gonna want to watch that one.

ALRIGHT, so that was the music portion of the evening. AWESOME MUSIC. oh, they were so good.

so, after the show, Ryan and i stuck around to have a chat with the boys. the really drunk girls who were obnoxiously obsessed with the band stuck around for a while too.

Jason came out first and came right over to us. we talked again for a minute. told him that in our listening to the record all the way from Boston to West Chester, we noticed that there is a ton of tambourine in almost every song! he seemed really pleased that we noticed and told us that it was something their producer suggested they do. Jason totally kills on the tambourine. and, he's totally the nicest person ever.

then a little while later, Mike came out. he started to walk past us, but then noticed us, and came over. I JUST WANT TO TOUCH HIS FACE ALL THE TIME. ohhhh he looks so soft. like a teddy bear. Mike Bear. love it. Mike seems like a very shy person. a man of few words. we told him how great the show was. i mentioned that it was awesome that they didn't have to set up any of their equipment. Mike said that was really nice to not have to do. we told him we'd see him at Earth Fest in Boston, and then he was on his way. to the bar, i think.

OH, he did say that the sound was weird onstage. which led Ryan and i to come to the conclusion that that's why maybe he was a little off tonight. BUT, he rocked the bass and looked good doing it. all that matters? yep. i still want to touch him all the time.

and then we stood, waiting for Tony. he took a little while to come out from backstage, and when he did, he came out onto the stage. (this next part is probably the second best part of the night. after Jason recognizing us on the street.)

so, Tony came out onto the stage. he had changed into a red t-shirt which made me think that he was shirtless backstage. which made me happy. so, he's doing something on the stage, and then he sees us standing on the floor.

he SMILES AND WAVES at us, and then JUMPS OFF THE STAGE to come over to talk to us. did he stop and talk to any of the other people waiting for him first? nope. he walked right over to us and was very happy that we safely made it from Boston.

and then we proceeded to talk to him FOR TEN MINUTES.

Ryan has been giving them transcriptions of their songs ever since we saw them in New Jersey. she gave Tony a transcription of 'It's Only Wednesday' and Tony said it was the coolest thing anyone has ever given him. or something awesome like that. so, on this night, she was giving him a corrected transcription of 'Come Away' and also 'Saving Grace.'

she hands Tony 'Saving Grace' and he immediately starts studying it. intensely. now, Ryan had the time signatures go: 7, 7, 5, 4, 4. Tony saw this and said, "no, i think we count the whole song in 7."

this was very confusing, because every time Saving Grace came on in the car, it made sense that it was counted 7, 7, 5, 4, 4. but now he was saying it was ALL in 7? really?

so Ryan says that she doesn't think so.

AND THEN, Tony stands there, counting out the song in his head. it was the most awesome thing ever. he's like, staring up at the ceiling, hearing the music in his head. AAAAHHHHHHH SOOOOOOO COOL!!!!!!

in the end, they disagree on the time signature. Tony says it's all in 7. Ryan says 77544.

we also talk about how awesome the show was. Tony said something like, "Yeah, but I forgot the lyrics!" (referring to Come Away.) we assured him it was still awesome. he said that they are so focused on going home in a few days, that that's all they can think about. he said they haven't been home since February and that everyone is really looking forward to it.

(he means Los Angeles, not Boston.)

and he talked about eating healthy on the road and how it's very hard not to eat junk food all the time. he said they just go to Whole Foods and stock up on light food things to eat. he made it seem like he has to watch his weight. but, he doesn't. we like him just the way he is.

then we again bring up the awesome tambourine track on almost every song.

TONY: It's even in 'It's Only Wednesday!'

he was very excited to explain to us that they recorded the tambourine throughout the whole song, but muted it every half measure. then he demonstrated for us the sound of the tambourine. AWESOME.

AND THEN, we were talking to him, and this other random fan came over and said,

OTHER FAN: You guys can keep talking, but can I just get a picture real quick?

and so Ryan and I stepped back so this guy could get a picture with Tony. um, HE'S SUCH A CELEB. i couldn't believe it was happening when it was happening. and then Tony picked right back up in our conversation.

something else we noticed in listening to the record the whole way from Boston, is the sound at the end of 'My Love.' it's the "clapping part" that they do live. but, on the album, it doesn't sound like just "ooo oo oo oo," it sounds like something else. Ryan and i discussed whether or not it might even be the clavinet. so, we asked Tony.

AGAIN, he seemed very happy that we noticed this little thing. and he said that it's actually him singing, but vibrating his bottom lip kind of like a trumpet. AND THEN HE DEMONSTRATED. and i was standing like, a foot away from him, staring at his vibrating bottom lip. OOOHHHHH it was amazing.

you could really tell how much he just loves talking about music. and thinking about music.

AND OH, he's so pretty. and he smiled a lot when he was talking to us. and i could feel my heart melting. it's like he smiles and you are paralyzed and everything else in the room goes dark.

and he thanked us again for coming all the way from Boston. and told us to have "safe travels" back. and we told him we'd see him at Earth Fest.

and as soon as we walked away, he was mobbed by other fans. other fans who he did not smile and wave at from the stage.

and that was when we talked to Tony for ten minutes. standing a foot away from him.

my euphoria from that night is still continuing. we're in day 3. Euphoric Day 3.

and then we stopped by the bar for glasses of water. that's when i had the one second conversation with the Blood Feathers guy. and then we were on our way!


i would like to post one more video for you. it's a video of a radio station gig they did a few weeks ago. on Mike's birthday, actually. and Tony is playing 'It's Only Wednesday.' and i think he sounds SO GOOD, i can't get over it. his voice sounds perfect. like they haven't been on non-stop touring since the fall.

you want to watch that video for these reasons:

1. um, me and Ryan are BFF with this band. and we talked to Tony for 10 minutes. we can kind of say, "yeah, we know those guys."
2. our BFF Jason who could recognize us on the street, is sitting behind Tony and you get some good shots of him.
3. Tony is playing in front of some windows. you can see the trees blowing in the background and also cars driving back on the road. this is a good video because it reminds me that other things in the world are still happening when Tony is singing. it's not like, he sings and the whole rest of the world stops, like sometimes i think happens. the wind still blows and people can still drive cars.
4. super hott close-ups in the end.

there's some other CK footage from the radio station that lasts like, 30 seconds in the beginning. but after that, it's all Tony. and Mike and Tony are both wearing plaid shirts. and they totally look like brothers.

ok, so go watch that video.

it's a strange thing to listen to Tony singing on the record after talking with him for a while. because, sometimes i think that his singing voice sounds much different than his speaking voice. but, if you hear the two close together, they don't sound so different.

ANYWAYS. that was the amazing night we had in West Chester. so awesome. because they have turned into totally famous rock stars and also our BFF. and it's so great that both of those things happened on the same night.

now, i know this is getting long, but i have to continue. just a little further. can you make it? do you need something non-Crash Kings for a minute?

ok, hold on.

let's NON-CRASH KINGS for a quick break:

these pictures were taken on the day last week when Ruby Tuesday slept on her back everywhere she went:




first she slept on her back in the sun on the window sill. this makes me very nervous. but, she was super comfortable, very warm, and very cute.




then later on in the day, i caught her sleeping on her back on the couch. look at her belly!




her evening nap was spent on my craigslist chair, on her back. i don't think she looks comfortable at all, but she stayed there for quite a while. she loves being on her back so much.

all in the same day, mind you.




and this precious gem of a photo was taken just a few hours ago. today! that's right. we're both sitting on the couch. i was blogging and she took a nap. she is so happy i'm home. she's been nonstop cuddly ever since i walked in the door. oh, i missed her so much.

she's so cute i can't even stand it. right now, she's sleeping completely under that blue blanket with her head resting on my foot. yep. that's happening right now.


OK. great break!!!!


now, to continue on with the night.

we get in the car to drive back north, and after the plaid shirt comparison saga, we put on Saving Grace many times to try and figure out if the whole thing was actually counted in 7, like Tony said it was.

we tried. Ryan tried way harder than i did. but, it didn't seem to make sense that it was all in 7. IT COULD, HOWEVER, be counted, 7, 7, 7, 6.

so, Ryan tweeted to them that the closest we could get was three bars of 7 and one of 6.


and then we arrive in NYC to stay with one of Ryan's friends who lives in the West Village. great apartment! we slept on the sofa bed.

and we immediately go onto the internet to catch up on other thing that have been happening in the world, that are non-Crash Kings related. (less cool things, obvi.)

and i go onto Twitter....

JULIE: Um, have you been on Twitter yet?
RYAN: No..
JULIE: Ok, go there immediately.

THEY RESPONDED TO RYAN'S TWEET AND SAID,

"you're right! We like 3 bars of 7 and 1 in 6. That's how we count it at least. Great job!!!"

please note the 3 exclamation marks at the end.

THE AWESOME EXCITING TIME CONTINUED!!!!!!! not only are we real life BFF with Crash Kings, but we are Twitter BFF.

amazing. oh-so-amazing. and it was very hard not to freak out in loud exciting screams at that moment. we couldn't because it was like, 2:30am and there were people sleeping in the apartment.

i would say that the Twitter convo was number 3 of the highlights of the evening. shall we recap?

(in order of awesome, in my opinon)

1. Jason recognizes us on the street.
2. Tony smiles, waves, and jumps off the stage to talk to us.
3. Tony (presumably) responds to Ryan's tweet about the time signature. Aanndd, she's right.

and then there was all the amazing things that happened in between each of those moments.

and remember how super famous this band is now? YEAH. and how their song was the number one alternative song in the country? YEAH.

so, also while in NYC the band posted another tour date at The Mercury Lounge, which, happens to be in NYC the day after Earth Fest. SO, we were proactive about this and decided that we would probably end up going to this show. and rather than pay the lame internet fees when you buy a ticket online, we should just go over to The Mercury Lounge and buy the ticket there.

SO WE DID.

and now we have another Crash Kings Adventure Weekend planned for May 22nd and 23rd. Boston and NYC.

and things are wonderful. and i think this is going to be a good summer. Rooney is also coming back to Boston which i'm very excited about.

THANK YOU ROONEY, for wanting to tour with Crash Kings.

i knew that Robert Schwartzman would somehow better my life, not just through Rooney music, but through something else. and perhaps (unless we have some sort of romantic encounter), that something is Crash Kings.

ALRIGHT! i'm going to end this now before i start talking about too many other things. i will update you on all our NYC happenings later. i'll give this entry some time to sink in. it's a big entry. an epic night in my life.

hope you all are enjoying this weekend. it's sunday afternoon. with all the video watching, snack getting, coffee making, and more video watching - this entry has taken me like, 4 hours to complete. i don't mind. my plan today was to write this entry, and i am pleased with it.

ENJOY your night! be well. take care.


♥ ♥ ♥



They don't even know what it is to be a fan. Y'know? To truly love some silly little piece of music, or some band, so much that it hurts.