Rockin' On
There are few things that get me going as good as when I'm listening to a good punk song on my iPod Nano. Particularly, Rise Against. Last night, Mike and I had a chance to see them live in concert at JPN Studio Coast in Tokyo. Our good friends Doug and Darlene watched Josh overnight (really a sleep over with his buddy Zelig) and we took the 2 hour train ride up to Odaiba to rock out to the Taste of Chaos 2007 tour.
This was my first concert in Japan. Mike has gone to several concerts since we've been here but nothing really interested me until I found out that Rise Against would be playing along with several other great punk bands. If anyone reading lives in Japan and is into punk, they should definitely save up their yen and experience a concert here. Never have I seen more considerate moshers in the pit. Having the mommy instinct, I am now too responsible to risk getting hurt and participating in the circle but it was really fun to live vicariously through all the youngin's. A great band from the UK called The Gallows was one of the opening bands and stopped their song because they thought someone might have been hurt. Come to find out, the guy had lost a contact lens. The lead singer then exclaimed,
The whole night, Mike kept on looking over at me to see a smile plastered across my face. I was way too psyched to put on the punk/super cool image. We took a break outside and had some time to get drinks and buy t-shirts before going in to see the guys we were waiting for, Rise Against. They were awesome... as to be expected. I danced the whole time, and by danced, I mean jumped up and down and screamed like the white girl I am!
Now, I interlude with a proposal story. When Mike proposed to me years ago he had all of these wonderful things in his head of what he was going to say, but when it came out it went like this, "urrr, yurr really pretty" followed by "will you marry me?" on one knee and presentation of the ring. I never understood this. Now, for the most part, I'm not one to show my excitement much about things. I can usually pull of the "cool as a cucumber" image. I never quite understood the whole deer in headlights tongue tied feeling until last night.
After Rise Against's set, we stood in line to meet the band. I was so freaking nervous but Mike (with alcohol induced courage) convinced me to be the true groupie that I am and get a poster signed. I filed on down the assembly line of band members with the same wide eyed grin across my face while they signed their names on the poster. When finally I got to the lead singer and he looked at me with brief intent and said "So, what are you doing out here" I stood there absolutely stupefied. He talked to me... HE ACTUALLY TALKED TO ME! All I could do was stand there with my eyes wide open and nothing to say. Finally Mike saved me and said what he does and I was his wife and how we have a 4 year old son. He then said he had a 3 year old at home and I then said, "Wow, congratulations". WTF?! 'stupid stupid stupid!' I was ridiculously star struck. There were all these things I wanted to say to them. I wanted to ask him if his child inspires him the way that Josh inspires me everyday. I wanted to say how before I discovered their music I was unmotivated to run and work out and that they've changed my life in a big way from how I function to how I think about issues. I wanted to say how while listening to them live the drummer had reprogrammed my heartbeat, how the lyrics and raw voice of the lead singer reached into the very bottom of soul and pulled out all of what made me mad, sad and happy in the world and just displayed it out in the room and how the guitarists just brought everything together into one neat package and how every once in a while would break out with their own expressions.
The show and the night was just incredibly awesome. We met some very cool Americans from surrounding military installations in and around Tokyo and it was a fun time to just feel this bond between fans.
The whole ride up there, I kept on fretting about how I just didn't look "punk" enough but when I got there it just didn't seem to matter. I'm happy in my own skin and no longer worried about what some 19 year old kid thinks of me because I have a husband (who just happens to be my rock star) and a 4 year old that think the world of me. I was just there to rock out and have a good time. (In closing, to throw a little humor in there) The 2 gin and tonics helped loosen me up too.
This was my first concert in Japan. Mike has gone to several concerts since we've been here but nothing really interested me until I found out that Rise Against would be playing along with several other great punk bands. If anyone reading lives in Japan and is into punk, they should definitely save up their yen and experience a concert here. Never have I seen more considerate moshers in the pit. Having the mommy instinct, I am now too responsible to risk getting hurt and participating in the circle but it was really fun to live vicariously through all the youngin's. A great band from the UK called The Gallows was one of the opening bands and stopped their song because they thought someone might have been hurt. Come to find out, the guy had lost a contact lens. The lead singer then exclaimed,
Hilarious. At one point, someone in the mosh pit lost a shoe. Folks in the pit were holding it up until the owner could be reconnected with it. Quite Japanese.
"You've got to be f***ing kidding me! We stopped our song because of a f***ing lens?! Alright well, did you find it man? ...No? Well everyone look around and if you find them, smash 'em! Man, quit being a f***ing p***y!"
The whole night, Mike kept on looking over at me to see a smile plastered across my face. I was way too psyched to put on the punk/super cool image. We took a break outside and had some time to get drinks and buy t-shirts before going in to see the guys we were waiting for, Rise Against. They were awesome... as to be expected. I danced the whole time, and by danced, I mean jumped up and down and screamed like the white girl I am!
Now, I interlude with a proposal story. When Mike proposed to me years ago he had all of these wonderful things in his head of what he was going to say, but when it came out it went like this, "urrr, yurr really pretty" followed by "will you marry me?" on one knee and presentation of the ring. I never understood this. Now, for the most part, I'm not one to show my excitement much about things. I can usually pull of the "cool as a cucumber" image. I never quite understood the whole deer in headlights tongue tied feeling until last night.
After Rise Against's set, we stood in line to meet the band. I was so freaking nervous but Mike (with alcohol induced courage) convinced me to be the true groupie that I am and get a poster signed. I filed on down the assembly line of band members with the same wide eyed grin across my face while they signed their names on the poster. When finally I got to the lead singer and he looked at me with brief intent and said "So, what are you doing out here" I stood there absolutely stupefied. He talked to me... HE ACTUALLY TALKED TO ME! All I could do was stand there with my eyes wide open and nothing to say. Finally Mike saved me and said what he does and I was his wife and how we have a 4 year old son. He then said he had a 3 year old at home and I then said, "Wow, congratulations". WTF?! 'stupid stupid stupid!' I was ridiculously star struck. There were all these things I wanted to say to them. I wanted to ask him if his child inspires him the way that Josh inspires me everyday. I wanted to say how before I discovered their music I was unmotivated to run and work out and that they've changed my life in a big way from how I function to how I think about issues. I wanted to say how while listening to them live the drummer had reprogrammed my heartbeat, how the lyrics and raw voice of the lead singer reached into the very bottom of soul and pulled out all of what made me mad, sad and happy in the world and just displayed it out in the room and how the guitarists just brought everything together into one neat package and how every once in a while would break out with their own expressions.
The show and the night was just incredibly awesome. We met some very cool Americans from surrounding military installations in and around Tokyo and it was a fun time to just feel this bond between fans.
The whole ride up there, I kept on fretting about how I just didn't look "punk" enough but when I got there it just didn't seem to matter. I'm happy in my own skin and no longer worried about what some 19 year old kid thinks of me because I have a husband (who just happens to be my rock star) and a 4 year old that think the world of me. I was just there to rock out and have a good time. (In closing, to throw a little humor in there) The 2 gin and tonics helped loosen me up too.
posted by Unknown | 9:19 AM
1 Comments:
Sounds like you had an awesome night! I went to a concert last nite, too. My fave band, They Might Be Giants rocked a little club here in Memphis. At first I was a bit concerned with "Oh- what will I wear- I dont want to be OLD!", but that was short lived. We just rocked out and had a great time. And Luke loved the t-shirt we got him- a No! shirt- like the album cover. This morning at school he was walking up to everyone telling them to check ou his "Robot Hooray" (parade) shirt.
Anyway- here's to a night of great concerts!
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