Another piece of my youth has died a really sad death.

So, you remember on Saturday how I mentioned I was going to a super great concert? Yes, well that happened last night.

I left home around noon figuring that puts me in Minneapolis around 2:30, so I could eat and hang out with Amy and Brian before the show, since gates opened at 4:30. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and I ended up getting to the bar closer to 3:30 because as it turns out, it was bumper to bumper traffic the entire way and I was surrounded by RV's and boats. Oh yes, and the one random asshole driving a SmartCar, which apparently cannot do 70 mph, so it holds up everyone.

I shake my fist at you, SmartCar driver.

Anyways.

So I get there, end up parking kind of far away and having to walk past a few sketchy businesses to get to the Whisky Junction where Amy and Brian were. Thankfully they ate before I got there, otherwise I would have felt terrible. I ended up not eating, I wasn't feeling it and figured worst case scenario, I'd stop on my way home if I got hungry.

After hanging out in there, watching the rain and winds pass by, we went outside to see the bands. Augustana was first and they were actually really great. I've never seen them play live, but I'd see them again. Unfortunately, they only played a short set, but it was good anyways. The next band to play was Dashboard Confessional, who was the band I wanted to see the most.

And it pains me to say it, but they were terrible. Absolutely terrible.

Here's the thing. If you haven't been around for awhile, there are a few things you should do before you come out on what is basically a comeback tour, so you don't look like painful has-beens:

• You need to practice. And if you have a band who hasn't played together in awhile, or new members, you need to practice a LOT together. Otherwise you sound like a really bad garage band where nobody knows the material and you sometimes sound like you're playing different things, or the same song at different parts of the song. 
• If you're the singer, re-learn the words. Seriously. I know you wrote them and you feel confident you remember them, but you don't. A really terrible cover of this is when you ask the overly drunk crowd to sing for you. We don't pay for a giant sing along, we pay for tickets to hear YOU sing. Try it. 
• I know when you were at the height of popularity, your main crowd was ages 13-20. Well, we've all grown up. Which means we aren't all throwing f-bombs around to sound cool anymore. The nice thing is that we've all aged with you, we all know we're cool without swearing like we would when our parents dropped us off at the mall. 
• STOP TALKING SO MUCH. This isn't VH1 Storytellers, this is an actual concert in which we want you to play your music. 

It was like an hour long set and easily, the longest hour of my life. I couldn't even tell you what songs were played because the sound system was so terrible that when Chris Carrabba did sing, you couldn't really hear it if you were in the back avoiding the drunks. The really sad thing is they did play two classic Dashboard anthems, "Screaming Infidelities" and "Vindicated" and he wanted the crowd to sing and literally, I heard one person. Oh, and "Hands Down" was supposed to be this epic sing along and nada. Nothing. 

The other thing that made it special was being surrounded by a crowd of hippies who forgo showers and basic grooming. Normally, while unpleasant to look at, I don't care. You want to look like a homeless person? Cool. On a day where it's kind of warm and we're under direct sun? I really don't want to smell you. Seriously. I bath frequently and take every grooming practice so I am not offensive to other people. But nope, that's not common anymore, apparently. All I could smell was sweat, body odor, and the unexplained smell that comes from dreadlocks. It makes for an unpleasant fun night out. 

We didn't even stay for Third Eye Blind because I didn't have it in me to stand there and listen anymore. A large amount of people around us must have felt similarly because as we were leaving, quite a few left with us and I saw even more as I pulled out of my parking spot. Also, on Facebook I'm seeing equally terrible reviews and it's sad. It's sad when  you realize bands you adore and were a critical part of the soundtrack of your youth age as well and not always gracefully. 

Flawed, but cleaning up so well

Once upon a time, the high school version of myself, had quite the crush on Chris Carrabba. If you don't know that he's the lead singer of a super amazing band known as Dashboard Confessional, I question our friendship. I really do.

I used to listen to all of their albums fairly religiously. I  haven't ever seen them play live, but I purchased the MTV Unplugged album and it was the next closest thing. 

They went on some weird hiatus and I just assumed that was it, I would never get to see them live and I wouldn't ever get to see Chris in person. My little teenage emo self was sad. 

BUT THEN!

Then, on an absolute fluke, I heard second hand that Dashboard Confessional was going on tour again. Wait, what? Is it 1997 and I don't know it? Has Britney done it again? Is Christina trying to get rubbed like a genie in a bottle? Do they even sell VANS sneakers to moms in mini vans anymore? 

I obviously went online immediately and YES. YES, they were going on tour. Not only were they going on tour, they were coming to Minneapolis at the end of June, and come hell or high water, I was going to go. You damn right. 

Thankfully, my friend Amy loves Dashboard Confessional as well and so the plan was in place. 

THEN! 

I see they are going on tour with Third Eye Blind and Augustana. Just... just shut the front door. My little inner teenage emo can't even handle what is going to go down on Sunday. Yeah, this Sunday, folks. 

Because anyone who knew me in 10th grade knew that I had a thing for Stephen Jenkins as well. 

You knew that Stephen was just a little bit unhinged and if you ever really went out with him, you'd end up at a really sketchy party, he'd wind up drunk, and you'd convince yourself he really DID love you and then you'd cry for months when you never saw or heard from  him again. Stephen is that guy. But my favorite Third Eye Blind memory was 10th grade gym class, just before the school year was done. I am not athletic in any way, so if I could get out of doing actual activity during gym class? All in. This particular day it was super nice out, so we had gym outside and I was in the group that was supposed to walk the track. Instead, we laid in the field with dandelions in our hair and sang "Semi-Charmed Life". But later in that year, when the boy I liked got a girl friend and totally stopped talking to me, I would sing "How's It Going To Be" while riding the city bus with my Sony Discman in my lap. Thankfully, the only people riding the bus on the weekend were a schizophrenic guy who didn't seem to hear me and this other guy who always slept so I'm not sure what his gig was. Needless to say, they never seemed to mind my random singing. 

Chris, though, is the guy who would totally write you angsty love songs and convince you to shave your head because bald is beautiful and tattoo song lyrics all over your body. I mean, I'd totally do that. 

And Augustana? My word. I absolutely love the song "Fire" and I have been known to bust that out while walking through my neighborhood. My lungs cannot do that last note though, and everyone on East Fourth Street can confirm that. 

So on Sunday, I am going to skip out of my house, leave all three kids in Matt's hands, and drive to Minneapolis. I'm meeting up with Amy and her boyfriend Brian, and we're going to watch Dashboard Confessional, Third Eye Blind, and Augustana play. It is going to be glorious. I can't even handle my excitement right now. 

Even if I'll likely be wearing my maternity jeans with the stretched out belly band thing and a shirt that doesn't quite fit because it's all I have. But by god, I shall dig out my black and white VANS for the occasion.