(Come On) Let's Go!

I'm pretty sure I was high for much of last night and not from the massive amounts of weed that were obviously around, but perhaps partly from the two Frequent Fliers* I quickly drank on an empty stomach soon after I arrived at the Virgin Festival. Yeah, that's right, at 6pm I was leaving work and by 7:30pm I was looking for parking in Baltimore. It was a crazy turn of events!

Turns out my brother's friend, who is the tour manager of Crystal Method, hooked Jesse up with three (3!) tickets and VIP passes and as soon as Jesse and Jobeth realized this, they called me. Have I mentioned they are the coolest? So that's why you may have seen the blur of a blue Elantra speeding along 95 towards the music last night around 630pm or so.

I wouldn't let myself feel confident about the evening until I was actually there and inside the fence speed-walking with Jesse and Jobeth towards the artist area where the free drinks were. I kept expecting there to be traffic, or for me not to find parking. Or for the hydroplaning/skidding I did at a stoplight to have effed up my car. Then, as the sky darkened and the rain drops started falling, I imagined them announcing that the Smashing Pumpkins would not be playing after all. I was a tense, yet optimistically excited girl from the time I heard about the extra ticket until I heard Billy Corgan's voice from the stage.

The show was hella good. They played a lot of older stuff, which actually surprised me: 1979, Tonight, Tonight, To Sheila**, Starla, etc. I think my favorite moment of the evening was when Jobeth and I heard the beginning guitar part of Today and just started running through the crowd to the area where we were going to watch. I almost lost a shoe and had a few people push me when we tried to find the opening in the gate to get to the grassy area we could get into. I haven't read any official reviews of the show, but anything negative would be a lie. They kicked ass. I can't wait to see them again in October with Ali and Serena!

The Smashing Pumpkins closed the festival, but that wasn't when our night ended. First I talked up a roadie wearing a hard hat and asked him if all it took was said hard hat to get wherever he wanted. He pretty much confirmed that fact, but even though I actually have a hard hat in my trunk, I didn't think my skirt and button up shirt*** would help with the disguise. I texted Serena and told her I had a moment. A moment where I probably could have been a super slut in the effort to try to get even further backstage, but homey don't play dat. Mostly because I am not delusional enough to think that some random guy waiting by the porta-pottys can get me any farther backstage than I can get myself. It does make me laugh to think that there are girls out there, though, who probably believe that.

From there we met up with Jesse/Jobeth's friend and he took us to the Crystal Method trailer where we hung out until about midnight. Hilarity ensued in there, my friends. Scott, from TCM, is a funny, animated, random guy who kept telling me to stop texting and then talked with me about recorders after J+J told him I'd played at Carnegie****. He also taught me how to open a bottle of beer with a lighter, but I didn't pick up the skill as easily as he would have liked. The beer was good, though. I asked him if it had roofies in it.

We didn't leave until midnight or so, but before leaving I ran around to the last few remaining trailers and stole the Explosions In The Sky and Smashing Pumpkins signs. Just a lil' souvenir:) I don't even know what time I got home. Thank the heavens Serena was up and texting me as I sped home because without that, I'm not sure I could have made it without a little driving shut eye.

So a 1000 thanks to Jesse and Jobeth and their quick thinking to call me. I love the Smashing Pumpkins!

XO,
SVR



*Red Bull, Vodka, Cranberry.
**One of my favorites!
***Seriously came straight from work.
****I told him I play the clarinet, but that made him think of playing the recorder in 4th grade. I told him TCM should use the clarinet in their music.