The Rock ShowMoments in Grace, Vaux (NOT Vox as previously spelled), Poison the Well and Thrice were all pretty great. Thrice was the best, and unfortunately PTW's vocalist was kind of losing his voice. But all in all it was a great show.
Couple of observations:1.) When in the world did a word for having sexual relations with your mother become a common adjective? Yes, I'm talking about motherf_cker. . . I know it no doubt started as an insult. Really that's a pretty horrible thing to call someone -- think about what it really means. Think about YOUR mom, think about . .. well you get the picture.
But now it's just thrown around just when you want to put emphasis on something. The vocalist from Vaux said today was "His motherf_cking birthday." Now I don't think he meant that his mom was waiting backstage for him with her special present (at least I hope not). So I think what he meant was "it's really my birthday, isn't that crazy?" or "isn't that great?" or something like that.
But if you look at the word he said, he said it was the day of his birth, upon which he was planning on having sex with his mom?! I mean, what if he had said "It's my sister-raping birthday" or "It's my dog-screwing birthday." It's just strange how that word has lost it's original meaning and now it basically means "the word which I will say to show I'm cool and I'll just throw it in any phrase and you cheer when I say it because we're all cool."
2.) Collin and I decided to move up front for Thrice. Honestly, I haven't seen a rock show from the hot sweaty pit in a LONG time. No room to move at all, no use trying to control things. At times we would just let ourselves go and get moved along like Jellyfish, so packed in tightly that we couldn't fall over. It's kind of cool with the music, like you're not only hearing it, you're feeling it shove you around.
And it's strange, because here in America personal space means so much to us, but at this moment and at this place everyone is pretty much surrending their right to it. Is this a subculture's way of saying we don't subscribe to the social mores? A way for a group of people who maybe don't get a whole lot of affection to get their dose of human contact? Or is it the fact that the TLA shoved 2K people into a place that looks like it should fit 500? Someone should do a study.
Also weird, by riding the wave of people and turning sideways at the right time to get pushed through another line, but the end of the set, we were all the way up to the barricade without even walking towards the front at all. It was all just getting shoved.
The strangest thing of all, though, has to be in between songs when the music stops. It's one thing to be packed up against a group of (mostly) guys, all host and sweaty and close, when music is playing. But then when the music stops you're just kind of packed up against them close, and the context is gone and you just realize, my goodness I haven't been this close to another human being in a long time. . . and you can tell that they kind of realize it at the same time, and everyone tries to wriggle back to a place of personal space. Until the next song starts.
3.) Is there anything sadder then watching a mosher who clearly doesn't know the music? So it's a slow part building up to a fast part and he starts his fast music twirling too soon because he thought it would break into the fast part a measure to soon, and then he has to stop and look around sheepishly? Or the fast part sneaks up on him so he's doing his sway back and forth and isn't ready for the fast part and then has to make up for lost time and pray noone say how stupid he looked doing the sway when he should have done the fast twirl.
In my day, moshers didn't kick and push blindly. I don't like this new trend.
