kalpurna

shoemaster, the light of my life, got to the show hella early, and this turned out to be kind of the best possible thing that could have happened, because she got in LINE. She got there around... 2? Maybe? I was moving out of my dorm room, so I unfortunately couldn't get there until 3:30. The weather was lovely, couldn't have been nicer – except that she and I got a little sunburned. But mostly it was just kind of gorgeous, and there was a breeze off the lake.

iamtheenemy was supposed to be there somewhere, but when she called, Allison's phone somehow didn't record her number. So periodically, Allison or I would stand and shout "STEPH! STEPH FROM THE INTERNET!!" But alas, it was to no avail. Sigh sigh.

At 5 or so, they finally open the door and let us in. We decide to pass on the merch booth for now, and head over to the actual venue. And this is when things start to go so very, very right, because we got there and found that we could get the most INSANELY good spots EVER. And those spots actually got BETTER as the show went on and we got more packed into place. I was worried I'd lose Allison at one point, because she was being kind of shifted left away from me, but then one of the girls at the barrier got pulled over and she slipped into her spot. Meanwhile, I got kind of crammed into this notch between two girls who were on the barrier in the EXACT middle of the stage. Allison was next to the left girl of the pair, close enough that we could still touch if we tried. It could not have been better, honestly – I'd say that we were occupying two of the five best spots in the entire fucking concert.

Cobra Starship was on first, and MAN do I love them. Oh shit, I was really into it. I was really into GABE! He is hot as fuck in person, dancing around like a hotass, giving psycho eyes to everyone in the audience, wearing a purple hoodie and his Justin Timberlake necklace. And his voice is actually a lot stronger than I'd realized. He seriously loves having fans, too – he was super into the whole throwing up your fangs, singing along deal, and Allison and I were more than happy to oblige. To which he responded by making lengthy eye contact with both of us. Seeeriously, Gabe Saporta, take me to your basement. Gabe being fucking awesome was actually kind of a recurring theme of the night.

Also, Vicky T = very hot. And Pete came out at some point to sing with them, for some reason, and Bill and Paul Wall came out for Bring It, and that was cool.

Then there was Paul Wall. I was actually very charmed by the fact that most people weren't mean to him; all the scenesters in the front kind of just went with it, throwing up their arms and shit. Maybe they were trying to be ironic, but when you're doing the steering wheel motions to a song about driving slow, your sarcasm is kind of beside the point. There was even one really sweet guy next to me who was totally fucking psyched for Paul Wall – he was, like, shaking. He REALLY WANTED that grill they gave out for free! But he was equally psyched for +44 and FOB, so I guess he's the living proof that this was actually an ideal line-up for SOMEBODY.

(Some) TAI fans are craaaazy bitches. For the fucking record. They pushed me more, and with less friendliness, than anyone else, and a lot of them left after TAI was done playing, which is kind of, I don't know. I find it kind of bitchy, but truthfully, I was glad they were gone. This was about the time that people started to get pulled over the barrier because they were going to faint, which was a recurring theme throughout the show. Remember, these are still the OPENING BANDS, and this kind of insanity is going on.

William Becket is BENDY. And, like, I know people say that all the time, and obviously there are pictures, but – seeing it in real life is different! Because when he bends over backwards or folds up his legs like a spider to sit on the monitors, you never get the feeling that he stopped bending because that's the end of his flexibility range – he just stopped because that's where he felt like stopping. The whole time he was up there, vamping for the fans, all I could think was, "Bill Beckett, I would love to read some porn about you and your bendy bendy self." Possibly paired with Gabe Saporta, because midway through their set? Gabe showed up at the side of the stage to watch them. He was singing along with all their songs, and doing something with his sidekick, and having some kind of a moment with Mike Carden. Allison saw him over there and flashed him the fangs (I couldn't move my arms to save my life), and he WAVED at her. !!!

And guys, guys, Bill Beckett: DECIDEDLY not packing a vag. HOMG. At one point he pulled his (green, deep-v-neck, Ryanross-esque) t shirt down and flashed us some nipple, which was much appreciated. Sisky Business was seriously sexy, and so was New Guy (who is CUTE, you guys! I know we miss TomRad, but maaan, I could go for some New Guy porn), and so was Mike Carden, who always looks to me like he fell out of the 70s (in a good way) and so was the Butcher, who is a BADASS on the drums. I have such a drummer kink, y'all.

I don't have much to say about +44, because I wasn't a Blink fan, and I don't know any of their songs. But they played "Girl at the Rock Show," and that was fun! And oh, oh, this was awesome: Mark, who was having a fantastic, athletic time running all over the stage, decided to lay down on his stomach next to a stone-faced security guard and sing part of a song to him, kicking up his feet behind him like a little girl. Allison got a picture, I think. The dude was adorable about it, he started cracking up and hiding his face and stuff. Awww. Also, Travis seems to be something of a badass on the drums, and we all know how I feel about THAT.

Vicky T came out and sang with them. Me/Vicky T, you guys! Please?

By this time, I was in pretty huge physical distress. I was being CRUSHED by the crowd, so badly that the blood in my face started throbbing, and I was really glad I hadn't eaten much. I honestly felt like I was getting a mammogram via this one kid's elbow. And it was hot, and sticky, and my arms were trapped, and I was sweating clean through my shirt, and my feet felt like they'd been flayed, and it was highly unpleasant.

But then. But then, you guys, it was time for Fall Out Boy. And Patrick Stump's voice? Has magical healing powers. I'm not even joking. I felt no pain during their set, for serious. They popped out of those toasters, and my heart soared. Ohhhh, I love them most.

Pete seemed very happy, grinning at us and running all over the place. He didn't glare at the audience when he took off his belt, either, and he didn't say anything too angry about girls. Apparently his parents were in the audience, which might explain part of that, but mostly he just seemed psyched to be home. I didn't have that much attention to spare for Pete, though, because I was too busy checking out Patrick Motherfucking Hotass Stump, who was, I am not kidding, SIX FEET IN FRONT OF ME. I don't know if any of you guys are aware of this, but his voice is AMAZING! He's so much more confident and powerful as a singer these days, for real, making little vocal flourishes constantly and really belting it out. It was awesome. Whenever he could get away from the mic, he would, no joke, ROCK THE FUCK OUT, headbanging and strutting around like he knew EXACTLY how much everyone in the audience wanted to bone him. And he did these, like, little dance moves from the hips, and OMG I almost stroked out from sexy. Every so often he would come play right in front of us, on the projection that was in the center of the stage, and all I could think during this was "HIS MOUTH!!!!!" and "I WANT TO SUCK HIS COCK." Ugh, he is too sexy for fucking WORDS.

At some point, Pete started talking about how he and Gabe first met at the Metro in Chicago, and then Gabe came out and sang part of some song I couldn't identify, maybe a Midtown song? Also, there were a couple of dudes who showed up on stage and screamed with Pete, although I have no idea who they were – presumably some guys Pete knew from the hardcore scene. I felt like a bunch of the show went over my head, and I was actually very much okay with it – this was a hometown show, and I love that. Yay Chicago!

Joe Troh was HILARIOUSLY AMAZING. He is really rocking the Jew look these days, 'fro and beard and all, and I am digging it. He's pretty hot! And tiny; I forget how tiny he is because he's always next to Pete and Patrick, but he's got these little hips, and okay, Joe Troh, I would tap that. He was constantly coming up to the front and playing to the crowd and jumping off of shit and being generally awes. He spat a huge mouthful of water out on the crowd, and it was all over our faces, and we LOVED it. Joe Trohman, date me!

ANDY HURLEY OMG. Andy is very much not my type, but when he came down for the solo? He was right in front of me. I could feel the air from his kick drum on my FACE. And y'all, his little waist is twice as absurd in real life. It was tremendously wonderful, and he is a fucking GOD on the drums, and I really genuinely like him. When he sat down and the crowd went nuts for him, he gave us this little smirky wave like a princess, and took off his glasses and stashed them in a little pouch, and then proceeded to rock the fuck out. The crowd got kind of quiet during his solo, just out of AWE, until he stopped playing for a second and half stood up, staring out at us, and we fucking SURGED up and screamed at him as he sat back down and blew our fucking minds. Andy Hurley for the WIN.

But the best was yet to come. Because as they near the end of the set, Charlie comes over to the front, where Allison is, and tells her she has to move her bag to the other side of the barrier. And then Saturday starts up. Ohhh, I need to do a post about what I think this song means, especially paired with Thriller, because oh my Jesus do I love it. The screaming part starts up, and Pete throws his bass to a tech, takes off his hoodie, and grabs a mic... and comes over to where we are, where Charlie picks him up and holds him around the waist right against the barrier so the crowd can touch him. I have had my hand around Pete's thigh, y'all, and it was rock fucking solid! I have touched his tiny little hip!! And then, and then, as Patrick belted out the song, I reached up blindly at Pete Wentz, and he grabbed my hand and held it for a long second, and a million pieces of glittering silver foil exploded from the ceiling and fell around us.

It's going to be hard to top this one.