Here I am still coming down from my greatly anticipated two
nights of back-to-back concerts and VIP experience… I waited two years for this
and it was SO worth it. I kind of felt like I was on the road with them because
my schedule was just a tad hectic there in between. I’m just glad it all worked
out.
So where to begin my story… my best friend went to the first
show with me. Luckily, he lives about an hour drive from me and then from his
place it’s about an hour drive to the venue. So because of our abundant traffic
in this area it can take longer than that and it did, but I went up to his place
earlier in the afternoon so we would have plenty of time. He even had ordered
lunch waiting for me when I got there so I had a delicious poke bowl while he
finished up teleworking. Looking back on this, it’s actually even more
significant that I had a decent lunch at that time, because over the next 48
hours I didn’t really have a decent meal after that haha.
We headed to the venue which wasn’t too bad of a drive, just
a little rush hour traffic, but we were prepared for that. The parking
arrangement at Merriweather Post Pavilion is just a little confusing though so
we had to hunt around some and parked at least a few miles away. Later we found
out we could have gotten parking closer but oh well. I was concerned about stormy
weather in the forecast, because we have been having some fierce summer
thunderstorms lately, but mother nature was on our side thankfully. It did
start raining when we were walking from the parking garage to the venue, so we
got a little wet, but it wasn’t too horrible. It at least cooled us off a
little cuz it was very hot and humid. I’m glad my VIP wasn’t that night cuz I
looked like a hot mess haha. And I did decide to wear a dark tshirt instead of
a tank top for the rain which was a smart call.
We had no issues getting in and we got hot dogs and fries
for dinner. I got a big soda that lasted me the whole show (I needed the
caffeine cuz I’m getting old haha) and I had my bottle of water too, so I
stayed hydrated. We got to hang with another friend for a minute before the
show who had separate seats. And she got a shirt so I went with her to check
out the merch. I’m glad I did now cuz then I knew which shirt I wanted the next
night.
Then it was getting close to show time, so we decided to go
to our seats. So when I bought these tickets back in March, on the concert map
I knew we were pretty close to the stage, but I thought we were in the first
tier of seats, like raised up one level. When we get down there the ticket person
directed us down further and I was like, whaaaaaat? We were actually on the
ground level in the second to back row of the FLOOR seats. So immediately my
excitement went through the roof. I was like, I knew I got good seats, but I
did not know they were THIS good!
The first opening band was The Aquadolls, an all-female rock
band, and I really liked them. They had some fun originals and also did a cover
of The Go-Go’s “Vacation” and that song from the Lindsey Lohan movie “Freaky
Friday.” They were very fun and I also loved the singer’s pants. I’ll be
listening to them again, you gained a new fan.
Next up was Sublime with Rome, and I was curious how much I
would be into them since I really only know their hits, but they played ALL the
songs I knew, and a few others, so it was great. And I am such a sucker for
reggae-style bass lines, as a bass player myself, so I was feeling it. Also,
with how close our seats were, that bass was vibrating in our bones and I loved
it haha. At one point, I can’t remember if it was during Sublime or when
Incubus was getting ready to come on, but my friend was like, “I can feel the
air move.” HAHAHA! I was like, YESSSSSSS. That is how I like it! So I just recorded
some short clips of the songs I knew from Sublime with Rome, but I had fun
dancing to them and I forgot I knew all the words to “What I Got” till they
started playing it and it was like a reflex action, I just starting singing
along without even thinking about it. They have perfect summertime music, and
even the song to prove it, which is one of my faves. They were a great warm up
to Incubus.
Y’all, when Incubus came on… I know I saw them in March, and
that was a great show. But this night, I don’t know if it was the long
anticipation, the hot and humid summer night, being with my best friend, or
just the energy of the crowd was on point, and being so close to the stage and
feeling the sound waves bouncing, the drums in my chest, the bass in my bones,
and the vibrations pulsing through my veins, but I was so pumped. I was rocking
out and singing at the top of my lungs. Everything was perfect. And I had
looked at a setlist from the previous two shows so I already had certain songs
in mind that I wanted to get on video. I was sad that they didn’t play “Aqueous
Transmission” but they threw “Echo” in there unexpectedly and that ending they
did to that song was TRANSCENDENT. It was amazing, all the feels… Otherwise I
tried to video a few different songs that the show I went to in March for
variety. I was also happy they played “Mexico.” They did a great cover of “It
Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over” by Lenny Kravitz, who I also love and still want to
see in concert someday. I thought Brandon’s voice sounded great singing that
song. Then, “Vitamin.” You guys… that is one of my absolute favorites, especially
that drum break, cuz I was a band nerd, like Lizzo said in her show “Watch Out
for the Big Girls” that I watched recently haha. I was captain of the drum line
in high school, so besides bass, drums and percussion are my second love. I
have always enjoyed Brandon jamming on the djembe and I think Jose is an awesome
drummer overall. In the video you can hear my excitement because I am “Woo”ing before
many people could even tell which song was coming. I knew it by those first few
teaser notes and I was so ready. I loved every second of it. Then came my
all-time favorite Incubus song right after that, “The Warmth.” Those whale
sounds, that bass, and those smooth, sultry vocals and poetic lyrics… I was up
on cloud nine the entire time. And no, I don’t do drugs, and I don’t usually
drink at concerts either because I want to absorb the full experience of the
music, and boy did I. Also, on a random note, since some people are against
doing pics or videos for that reason, I will just say for me, when I do record
I hold it above or below my face so I don’t actually “watch” the show through
my phone. But I also like to preserve some of the memories that way so I can go
back and relive some of those moments afterwards.
Oh and a funny moment during the show, was when DJ Chris Kilmore
did this really loud, funny sound effect in between songs and Brandon imitated
it vocally like, “Beh beh beh bowwww.” We cracked up about that! I was still laughing
about it on the way home. And my friend was like, “That is like a sound I would
make with my mouth.” And Brandon also said, “Someone on the lawn is tripping on
acid right now like, “What is going on…” And fun side note, toward the end of
the next show I went to I caught Brandon signaling to Chris about it again and
he make that sound effect again but not when it was as quiet. So only if you
were at the Friday night show at Merriweather, would you have caught that
inside joke moment on Saturday haha. But I laughed.
So I crashed at my friend’s place for the night since we
knew it would be a pretty late night. And I had to set my alarm pretty early
Saturday morning because I had to be at the other venue at 2:00 for my VIP
package. So referencing the nutrition factor again, my friend made me an
espresso shot and I ate some weird little healthy mini muffin type thing he gave
me haha. I don’t remember what it was called or what was in it. Then I drove
about an hour home so I could get a shower and change into something a little
nicer for meeting a band and getting my picture taken. I had maybe a 2-hour
window to chill and get ready at home before needing to leave again to drive
about another hour to the next venue in Doswell, which by the way, has like
several names so I don’t even know which one to go by haha. After Hours? Meadow
Event Park? Something, something, Doswell, Virginia. This was my first time
going to this venue and I wasn’t that impressed honestly… I think the sound
quality was better at Merriweather myself. And they also did not seem organized.
Perfect example, was getting to my VIP experience. It said I had to arrive between
2:15-2:45 for the Meet and Greet and Pre-Show Jam. So I left early in case
traffic was bad. I got there around 1:30. First off, there are at least three
different gates to a farm/field area right on the main road. So the first entrance
I saw said Fairgrounds so I was like, ok that’s not it. I go to Gate 1 which is
literally just a gate across a private road surrounded by grass. That was closed,
so I saw there was another gate on the other side of the main road if you
crossed the median. I drove over there to Gate 2, which was also closed. There
were no people around anywhere to ask anything. So I decided to just go and sit
in my car at Gate 1. I tried calling the phone number for the venue several
times, never got through to anyone. And then other cars start lining up behind
me. I mean they were in the main road, so blocking traffic, nowhere to park.
Luckily this road didn’t have a lot of traffic going through I think except for
events for this place and a few other places nearby. A few different times cars
would drive toward the gate but then make a u-turn and go back. I kept
thinking, ok maybe they’re here to open the gate, but no, turns out they were
people who got in a different way and were lost too. A few other fans came up
to my window and we were all on the same page, clueless and getting antsy. I
was getting to the point where I was worried I might miss the VIP experience and
I was going to be so upset if that had happened. So thank you to the random man
who took matters into his own hands and said, “Well I’m gonna open the gate.” I
honestly assumed it was locked so I didn’t think to try that. But he just
opened it right up haha so me and this other woman who had gotten out of her
car to ask me if I knew what was going on were like, ok if you open it we’re
going in. God bless you sir. My foot was on that gas pedal and I just drove around
the windy road until I saw the stage area and there was a fence. I noticed a
person behind the fence so luckily they walked over to me and I rolled down my
window and was like, “Is this where I go for the Incubus VIP?” And they were
like, “Yeah, park right over here.” So then I was relieved. From there it was
just a matter of checking in to get my VIP items and waiting. I think it was
about 30 people or so that ended up doing VIP, and some of them just did the Pre-show
Jam without the Meet and Greet. For some reason I thought the Meet and Greet
was first, then the jam, or I think that’s how my email confirmation made it
seem, but it was reverse. They also did say they were running behind, so I don’t
know if that’s the normal order of things or if it was different due to timing.
But at least they let us wait under a tent so we had some shade. I was happy
they weren’t calling for any rain or storms that day but then on the other hand
it was sunny and a little hot. And guess who didn’t think to bring sunscreen?
But somehow I didn’t get burned thank goodness. I did get a cool tan design on
my shoulder from the shirt I was wearing though haha. And I’m glad my face wasn’t
red in the pic with the band, cuz that’s what usually happens when I’m in the sun
and heat.
I really love the Incubus totebag I got with the VIP package.
I love the colorful design and will use that a lot. And they also gave us a VIP
laminate with an Incubus lanyard, a cool little tour poster that was
autographed by the band members ahead of time, a few drink koozies and a patch.
I bought a tour tshirt with all the dates on the back and I love the colors in
that too, purple and green on black. I love contrasting colors so the black
with neon colors is just my taste. Mike also gave me a guitar pic during the
Pre-Show Jam.
So back to the story, the hostess escorted us all to the
stage to sit in the front row for the Pre-Show Jam. I really enjoyed it. I
would do that again. I like seeing behind the scenes stuff and the vibe was
very relaxed. The band members gradually came onstage one by one and waved and
said hi to us. I was almost directly in front of Mike and Chris. Unfortunately
there was a piece of stage equipment that was kind of blocking Brandon from my
view for some parts but that’s ok. I snapped a few pics and got a few video
clips, but I didn’t want to record the whole time because I wanted to be in the
moment too. I did have to record them doing my favorite drum break from “Vitamin.”
I couldn’t help myself on that one haha. And then I got them jamming “Circles.”
They also jammed “Monuments and Melodies” just instrumentally without vocals,
but I loved that. That’s such a beautiful song. And Brandon did look at me once
and smile. Chris and Mike made eye contact with me several times and smiled and
Chris was like goofing off making me laugh. A funny thing I remember Brandon
saying was, “It looks like we’re about to play the coolest wedding ever.” He
was referring to the style of chairs they had at this venue. They did look like
outdoor wedding chairs haha. And Mike gave Jose and Brandon some constructive
criticism on an element of the drum part they do on a song and then Brandon was
like, “Did we just have a band fight?” It was funny, and in all seriousness
they were perfectly calm, just talking through changing something.
When that was over, the hostess took us to a tented area
over to the side of the stage to wait for the Meet and Greet. Oh and somehow,
not really intentionally, I ended up being first in line for that too. Haha I
was the first car in line and the first in the Meet and Greet line. So after
waiting some more for the band and photographer to get ready, the hostess came
out and told me to start. So I walk up the steps and into the tent and I was
trying to get my bearings for the pic. I knew they were still doing it social
distancing so they were behind a table and then there were two chairs in front
for us to use. So I picked a chair and was preoccupied trying to put my purse
and water bottle in the floor behind me, I also had to focus on not tripping on
those steps and making a fool of myself haha. I immediately got super shy and
just said, “Hi…” and like sat down haha. But then Jose was like, “What’s your
name?” So I did turn around for a second and look him in the eyes and said, “Kristen.”
Then the photographer started snapping pics so I turned back around and I heard
a few of the guys say, “That’s a cool name.” “That’s a great name.” “That’s an
awesome name.” But my back was to them so I’m not sure who said what. I think
they were trying to make me feel comfortable cuz I’m sure they could tell I was
nervous and I felt like I had no idea what to do or say haha. So then when I got
up after the picture, Mike asked me if it was hot outside sitting in the sun
during the jam, so I looked at him and I think all I said was, “Yeah, it’s hot.”
Like an idiot hahaha. That was a great response! So he asked the hostess to try
to bring the others in the shade while they waited. And then I know I said
thank you and I think that was it. They were like, “Nice meeting you.” And I
walked out the other side of the tent and did not know what to do with myself.
I was kind of standing around awkwardly waiting for the rest of the people to
finish since I was the first one. And then I was thinking to myself, what happened?
I like totally dodged Brandon. I mean I love the whole band, but I have the
biggest crush on Brandon, and for some reason it was like I couldn’t look at
him directly that close up haha. I saw him like out of my peripheral vision
while I was up there, but the only ones I really looked at were Jose and Mike I
guess because they spoke directly to me. So apparently that one little moment
of eye contact and smile from Brandon when he was onstage during the jam was
all I could handle. Maybe one day I’ll do a Meet and Greet again and actually
be able to speak and LOOK at them haha. I realized I’m much more comfortable
with them onstage.
After that we were allowed to stay inside the gates and shop
merch and basically just stand around and wait awhile until show time. I did
take the opportunity to buy the shirt I wanted before everyone else came in so
that was nice. But it was a little hot just standing around in the afternoon
sun. Then back to that food issue haha. I ate a granola bar in the car when I
was driving, so that’s all I had to eat after that mini muffin thing earlier
that morning. I realized I should probably get some kind of sustenance. They
were opening the food trucks so I found smoothies and I was like, oh that is
perfect. I got a yummy strawberry smoothie so that cooled me off some and at
least was fruit I guess haha. Most of the food options looked like bad/greasy
ideas for my sensitive stomach, so I went with a hot dog and fries again like
the night before. This hot dog was not very good so I don’t think I even ate
half of it. The fries were decent so I ate most of those. Then I got a little
thing of Dippin Dots because ice cream seemed like a good idea to help cool me
off too. I finished my bottle of water earlier so I bought another one to try
to stay hydrated. And that was all I had until the end of the night. Oh except
I did try to buy a bottle of water when the show was over and the guy was nice
enough to just give it to me for free since they were closing up. So I had
water to drink on the way home.
For the show, I heard some of The Aquadolls set from the
picnic tables where I was finishing up eating. I will say the picnic tables
were a nice touch, maybe the best detail of this venue in my opinion. So then I
made my way up to my seat. I knew I got the third row for this show and it was
kind off further off to the side of the stage. So the advantage was I had
plenty of room to dance around because the second row cut off right near my
seat. I lucked out with that at the Friday show too because were on the end of
like a corner row so we had a little extra space on the side to move around. My
stepdaughter and her mom met up with me for this show so that was nice. They
were more excited to see Sublime with Rome so that was the highlight of the
show for them. I didn’t do as many videos this night for a few reasons. I think
where my seat was, or the way the sound system was, the sound wasn’t as good as
Merriweather to me. It was still good, but I felt like Merriweather was just a
better venue to me. Plus I got the songs I wanted to get the night before and I
was also kind of tired from rocking out hard Friday and probably traveling and waiting
and standing in the sun and heat for several hours. So I still got a few video clips
of Incubus just to have some evidence of the show later and I tried to get a
few I hadn’t gotten before like “Megalomaniac” and “Karma, Come Back.” And I
had to get that wonderful ending to “Echo” again. I also tried to get a few
pics since I was a little closer this time. I got some ok pics Friday night and
my friend got some decent ones. A lot of mine still come out blurry though so I
don’t usually take a lot.
Also, I’d like to acknowledge two taller guys with good concert
manners. One was at Merriweather when I was recording, “The Warmth” you
actually see him near the end coming back to the row in front of me but then he
realized he was blocking me so he was nice enough to move over so I could still
see. And Saturday the guy in the seat next to me held up his phone to record at
the beginning of Incubus and he looked back at me to check if I could still
see. You can hear me in my video telling him, “You’re good, you’re good.” So as
a short girl who many times gets her view blocked by tall people, I appreciate
both of you guys for being considerate of me. That is good concert etiquette
and I didn’t run into any negative types either night. The energy was very
positive. The only part that was rough was trying to get in for the VIP but it
ended up working out so it was a great experience.
So overall I had a wonderful weekend of concerts and special
moments. At Merriweather they also advertised my next concert, which is Duran
Duran shortly after my birthday soon so that will be my next adventure. As for
Incubus, they’re not playing nearby the rest of this tour but maybe on their
next go-round I can catch another show. I can get the cheaper VIP package for
just the Pre-Show Jam, which I wouldn’t mind doing again. The Meet and Greet is
more expensive so I’m not sure if I will try that again or not… since I didn’t
have the nerve to even talk to Brandon or look at him directly hahaha. And here
I was thinking I would ask for a hug if there wasn’t social distancing. HA! I
was a chicken. But who knows? Maybe one day. Also, I know my Meet and Greet pic
is not the best picture, Jose and Mike were distracted by something, but at
least Ben, Brandon and Chris were looking at the camera. I wish the venue hadn’t
had a white background and I would prefer standing instead of sitting for a pic
just personally. But I understand the way it was set up to be safe and all. And
I’m still happy about it because that’s freakin Brandon Boyd behind me! ;^p
Also, as usual, you can always watch my videos on my YouTube
channel outside of the blog at www.youtube.com/user/mewzak
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