you're my favorite lie

Wow where do I even start with this one- On April 2, I saw one of my favorite bands ever, As It Is, at Webster Hall in New York. Being part of their Street Team has its serious perks such as exclusive hang outs with the band so me and six other girls ended up having the opportunity to meet up with them a half hour before doors opened and by the time I got to the venue I could barely contain how nervous and excited I was. Since I was like an hour early, only two other team members were there and they were super cool and we took this lovely squad picture. (Also, we ran into Cody, all of Against The Current, and Ben Biss while waiting in line!!)

About a half hour later, the rest of the members came in and we made our way to the outer part of the venue (we were on the corner because the line wrapped around) and waited for their tour manager, Alex, to get us. Since this wasn't an official VIP, such as Against The Current and Set It Off's, we were low priority with the venue and had to wait awhile for the main band's actual VIP to come in. After that though, we got nothing from Alex and was half an hour late until Elliott, their photographer came out to get us because apparently Alex went out to dinner. I think the part where I really felt the coolest was when we were going past security and Elliott said, "They're with me." I felt like the non drug addicted, depressed, complete mess, Penny Lane. Since the main band meet and greet was going on inside the Marlin Room (where the show would be), we ended up in the hallway. I don't even know how to describe how excited and nervous and happy was when I first began talking to the band. Patty and I had a conversation first and we talked about Straightedge (since we're both) and Mystery Science Theatre and his day in New York and he was so sweet and considerate and genuine throughout the whole time (he gives the best hugs ever by the way) and when we took a picture he rubbed my back and oh my.

We then took pictures with the full band and I ended up on the Alt Press instagram because As It Is was doing a takeover that day!!

I seriously felt like Penny Lane (because of course I need to choose the most problematic Almost Famous character to compare myself to)

I then ended up talking to Ali, Andy, and Foley who were the nicest guys- our conversation mainly revolved around tourist traps, New Jersey, Warped Tour, and how a subway works. I loved talking with them because it didn't seem like there was a barrier between us. When I asked them if they could sign my docs, Ben turned around and said,

"Did you just ask them to sign your dogs?" and I had to explain that I didn't just ask three guys to sign a live animal and Ben joined in talking with us. Doors opened then and more people wanted to meet the band so I backed off a bit and waited for Samantha and Madison. Once they got in, they both met Patty and we got spots in the crowd. 

me and Madison being a cute, edgy, couple 

   Roam was on first and even though I didn't really know their music, they had such awesome energy (I think Alex did a backflip at one point) and had an overall fun set- I even joined in a circle pit for the first time! 

As It Is was up next and holy shit I'd been waiting years for this and it was exactly what I hoped for. The entire band was fun to watch and they did such a good job of getting the entire crowd involved. They played, "Dial Tones", "Concrete", "Horoscopes", "Bitter Broken Me", "Can't Save Myself", and two new songs that are off their album that's coming out soon. I was screaming so much and jumping and no matter how much I try and explain what was going on, it can never do these emotions justice. 

After their set, Sam, Madison and I hung back at Roam and As It Is' merch tables because the bands were hanging out there (I love that they sell all their own merch). We met two members of Roam and had a lovely conversation with their lead singer, Alex, about New York , the underground, pizza, and their ukulele cover. He was so sweet (and really really tiny) and I just love how laid back the entire show was. I mean Cody from the main band playing, Set It Off, walked by me multiple times and every time I waved, he always smile or wave back. 

The As It Is guys came back out and I said hey to Ben again and he was like, "Oh yeah! You're the dog girl!" I told him how good the set was and he talked about touring and eating a lot of pizza so there was no confusion this was a pop punk show. We also took this photo where I look slightly disgusting. 

Foley then came out and we also took this 

Before this, the best show I'd seen was Say We Can Fly's tour with Kingsfoil just because of how tiny the venue was and how the members would just be walking around and you could actually have a conversation with them. I brought this up with Alex and he was saying that he loves things like this just because there isn't a barrier between fans and bands. All in all, I met one of my most favorite bands ever and have horrible post concert depression.