Metal Crush

I went to a Metal concert last night, hoping to see the boy I've been, like, majorly crushing on. He wasn't there, though I didn't really expect him to be. Still had a good time- the first part of the concert was awkward, but I spent one set powering through Gauntlet Legends with my friend Jameson, and another getting filmed being hurt in a mosh pit. At the end of it, I had been punched in the nose, 2 bleeding feet, and a badly sprained finger, not to mention the sore muscles and bruises I would discover the next afternoon (which is when I woke up the next day).
A while after I left the concert, I hooked up with Kyle & Ben, returning to the After Dark. We then went back to Fire Department, for lack of ideas on what to do.
I ate chicken noodle soup out of a fancy tea cup while we hung out and talked. Then Ben made me hold his hand. Then he unbuttoned his pants. Then his pants were around his knees.
Then I left.


Then I got stopped by a cop, and asked for I.D.
Then I went home and didn't sleep.
No More Rock N Roll.


*Photo by Jameson Diedrich

Nationalized

The Jetty Boys came to the Borg Ward in Milwaukee last week.
I never found the Jetty Boys particularly amazing, but a lot of my friends do, so I decided to attend the concert to hang out with three of them.
My stepfather dropped me off on National Avenue at 7 PM in front of an unmarked brick building that matched the other near-derelict structures on the block. National Avenue is lined with cross-streets of bars, nail salons, and more dives, but mostly empty, boarded up buildings. It is a street that my father's friends (Milwaukee natives, all) refuse to come to after the sun goes down because they fear their cars being broken into, and possibly worse. Outwardly, it is not a friendly place. However, it does look like too many streets in my hometown.
Inwardly, the Borg Ward was three rooms of empty walls, dust, and large men I did not recognize (save one- who was in and out of the space over the next couple of hours). Granted, the two front rooms are normally used as gallery space for artists, and there used to be a rather prominent sign on the building marking it as the Borg Ward.
My friends finally showed up, and I introduced myself to someone that was alone and had been there as long as I had. The music still had not started, and not many people were there, so I could sympathize with how he must have been feeling.
The five of us talked for a little while, and I eventually went to use the Borg Ward's bathroom. It was terrifyingly dirty- and not just in that old-building kind of way. It was the second time in my life I peed standing up out of fear of making contact with that bathroom, and not just for fun. By the time I was done, the guys had moved into the show space. They had, however, left the loner out of their circle. After talking to them for a little bit, I walked over to my 'new friend' and talked to him.
The guys walked up to me, and informed me they would "be right back." 8:30 PM rolled around. The concert was supposed to begin at 7 PM. The sound guy was not even close to finished setting up, and a total of 6 people were standing in the audience space. My friends had left me alone on National Avenue, in a dirty, empty building at night.
This was not a neighborhood I could catch a bus in and be okay.
I called my stepdad and got a ride home.
No More Rock N Roll.

#2

Birthday Show

Last year, closer to my birthday, a birthday show was thrown for me. It included a couple local bands, and one from Milwaukee.
After the show, a friend of mine threw a comic-book-themed costume party for me. I went as Black Canary. I left pretty early, as I finished off two bottles of champagne myself.
The next morning I returned, to grab some of the stuff I had left the night before, and to hang out with my friend. One of the band members from Milwaukee was sleeping on the couch, so I made myself a cup of tea, sat down next to him, and read a book until my friend woke up.
Instead of her, however, the other band member emerged from the room in his underwear. He looked sheepish when he saw it was not just his bandmate in the living room, but strutted past us just the same. He went back into the room, and they had sex. I assume- from the noises.
Couch mate and I tried to make small talk, but mostly sat in silence.
Finally, the lovebirds got up. Both band members drank some beers and smoked a bowl. They dropped their weed on the floor, and gave me a bowl's worth for my birthday. I don't smoke, however, so I gave it to the guy I was sleeping with at the time.
Oh, and apparently the guy propositioned my friend by just straight out asking her if she wanted to sleep with him. Her legendary response was, "I think that would be okay," also, she was dressed as Jet Girl.
Mostly this was just a singular experience. Not really bad or good. Kind of hilarious.

There's a show scheduled today for my birthday. I have to try and top last year.

Endnote:
I lived in the dorms, and I knew my roommate would freak out if she knew I had weed, so I rolled it up in some cloth and shoved it into one of my combat boots until I could give it away.

Hardcore K.O.

Once, I went to a hardcore show in an old VFW post in Bayview, Milwaukee.

Some of the bands were "post punk" or "punk Nouveau" but whatever.

It was one of the better shows I've been to- the hall is a great space for big crowds, and there was a big crowd. There was a small mosh put at the front of the stage with a moat around it created by 3 guys fight dancing by themselves. I got more than a few bruises trying to cross that space. Beyond them were the nodding hipsters and then the pretty girls in their heels and make up.

While in the pit, a guy jumped on stage in front of me and attempted an intense stage dive. Instead of being caught by the other moshers, he landed chest-first into my face, and I went down like lead. Some people pulled him off my head, and somebody dragged me to the tamer crowd, but I was back in it again in another song. A band later, however, somebody threw an excited fist into the air, and somehow landed it somewhere in the vicinity of my temple. I think it was one of the angry short red heads that always seem to run around at hardcore shows proving what a man they are. Anyway, I blacked out for a second, then was really dizzy, and went down.

No More Rock N Roll.

Too much metal for hands..

Thursday night after work, I went to a metal show with Jimmer, Katie, and Reck. While there, Paddy, Emily, and Eddie showed up. So at least a good part of the whole gang was there.
During the show, Jimmer called me out of the venue space to help out a band that was frantically looking for an opener for a show they had booked at the university the next night. Luckily, I know a couple bands that are good to go at the drop of a hat. (One of my bands would've done it, but I was working.)
Unfortunately for them, this was not one of the times any of those bands were good to go.
Still, they sang 2 songs accapella for me (with scatted instruments), and informed me I was their favorite person. So that was cool.
After the concert, we were all going to meet up at fire department. Instead, however, Emily came to meet me from the bars (where Paddy & Eddie had gone to meet Kyle), and with her and Reck we went back to fire department. Before we even got in the door, Ben drove up, him and Reck ditched for the bars, and within 15 minutes everyone else went to bowling alley. (Well, they weren't trying to ditch me, but I didn't want to hold everyone up because I'm the only one under 21.)
And then I walked home alone 30 minutes after the show ended.
No More Rock N Roll.

Time to Learn

I went to a party last night, and got pretty drunk. Then I cried all the way home.
When I got home, I was pretty abusive via the internet to a friend of mine. (If we're even still friends.)
Now, I'm dealing with the realization that I somehow got a broken heart, and need to learn to grow up and deal with it.
I think it's time to quit the booze.

No More Rock n Roll.

Dull Straight Edge

For a little under 2 years I dated a boy that identified himself as "straight edge." Naturally, this meant that I was straight edge, too. (In the same sense that I stopped using eggs and cooking with meat or dairy when I later dated a Vegan.) One night, as boyfriends are wont to do, mine really T'd me off. I don't remember what he did, but whatever it was, it made me angry enough to finish off 4 glasses of champagne in a half hour at Doll House.
We headed over to this hippie party in the corner apartment of a lovely, large white house. There was dancing, and so I danced. Within 5 minutes, I was grinding on some girl hardcore. This went on for a little bit. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I did not know where I was, nor remembered how I got there. Also, I did not really know anyone in the room well enough to trust my safe keeping to in my muddled state.
Somehow, I found my boyfriend, who drove me home to his parents' house (he went to school elsewhere, and was only visiting), where I passed out whining at him to leave the light on, because I was scared of the dark.

Rock N Roll No More

21 in the 21st Century

This and the end of last year is the time the majority of my close friends are turning 21. My friend Ben van Dreel was one of these. The night of November 17th, I planned to go to bed at 9:30, so I could get up refreshed for the second of 2 tests in Astronomy before the final (these were the only tests we had in that class). However, there was a best-of Ghost Hunters marathon on that night, or something to that effect (I could have been watching the Deadliest Warrior, too), and so I wasn't in bed until midnight. This I figured was okay, because I could still get 7 hours of sleep before my test at 8 AM.
However, those things never work out as planned, do they?
3:20 AM, I get a call on my phone (which was on, because I had my alarm set for 7) from Bryce. It was Ben, drunk,* and screaming,
"THIS IS BRYCE! IT'S BEN'S BIRTHDAY! COME OVER!"
Figuring saying no to "Bryce" in this instance was not an option, I rolled out of bed, went into the hallway to spare my sleeping roommate, and made plans to have Jimmer drive with Ben over here to get me.
Ben sat in the back on the way to Fire Department, screaming, and laughing at things neither the sober Jimmer nor myself could make out.
We got to Fire Department and had a mini party, with my friend Miranda loudly having girl talk with me. Around 4 AM everyone else left. Ben put in a movie, and his two roommates and I watched part of it, while Ben went to bed.
I passed out on Bryce's floor around 5 AM, and went to breakfast in the Dining Hall at 7.
I did not do well on that test.
No More Rock N Roll.

*This became a favorite game of Ben's. I got several texts and calls while asleep or out of town for holidays and family events- all around 2 AM on Bryce's phone. The most common being a text around 1:30 saying, "I sleep naked."

40 Boys in 40 Nights

Sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you get 2 Hardcore bands of hot Minneapolis* boys staying at your friends' house for the night. And then there are the times you get both.
This is not one of those times.
I picked a boy out at the concert, and he was promising. We went back to Fire Department to hang out and drink beer, while my friends supplied the bands with some floors, couches, and a futon to crash on.
I introduced myself to the guy there, and he definitely got the hint. However, as soon as I was in a room with him for a while, he became unbearably obnoxious. The guy would not stop making comments on things no one was talking about, and trying to show off how witty he was. He was nervous, I got that. But he just kept going.
Then I thought, "What if I get this guy home, and he won't shut up?"
I would have definitely told him he couldn't talk, but I realize how demeaning that is, and I would definitely feel bad about it. Later.
Anyway, in the end, I went home alone.
No More Rock N Roll.

On another note:
After reading my blog, a [totally rock n roll and not at all quiet] boy in my class made the point that I should've learned by now.

Yep.

*Trust me, there is definitely something foxy goin on up in Minneapolis. Hot people mate there.

FAME!

I have decided to become wildly famous in an underground sort of way so that I can party like a rockstar with other people famous in an underground sort of way and name drop the hell out of them.
Or maybe I don't want to live like that. I don't know.