Finally... I am sitting down and finally ready to re-cap the very intimate, very amazing details of simply one of the greatest days of my life. If you know me, you will know that I take my favorite music and the love I have for my favorite bands very seriously. If I claim to love a band, I never ever half-ass it. I'm 23 now, and I began going to shows alone, by myself, when I was... 16? Maybe younger, I can't remember. But it never mattered to me; if I loved the band that much I would try my best to go.
The Academy Is... is a band that I have been a fan of since early 2005. I missed them back in 2007 when they came here, simply because I didn't have anyone to go with and didn't want to go to the city by myself. I regretted this so much afterward; and vowed never to let the lack of company stop me from going to a show ever again. I was redeemed in 2008 when I finally got to see them, and my beloved Cobra Starship when they rocked the House of Blues in New Orleans. I swear to God, seeing William Beckett in the flesh for the first time ever was a very life-changing moment. I was never the same again; and the Academy Is truly marked their spot into my heart ultimately as one of my favorite bands ever. Their music heals the broken pieces of my heart, their lyrics speak to me and make sense of whatever the fuck is going on in my head... so yes, when I found out that this band was to be playing Lakeside mall's Hot Topic, I immediately freaked the hell out and made plans to try my best to go.
You see, the catch was, only 30 people would get to watch this very special, very intimate acoustic performance. 150 people would get to meet them; but there was no way I would let 30 people get one of those coveted 30 spots before I did.
Now, I work for Hot Topic. I work at the store in the mall just 15 minutes from the mall TAI would be playing, and I absolutely love my job. I crave the energy I get off of working there, working with such wonderful, vibrant people that make me excited about music and excited about living. They share the same, ubridled passion for music that I do, and clearly understand what it's like to have a band completely own your heart; to completely clear your schedule to make sure you can be there at 5AM to ensure a spot in line because seeing this band, this special private performance, means the absolute world to you and you won't go on living if you can't make it.
My manager Sara saw this in me, and helped make my dream come true. She arranged it so that I could not only be there, but work the show. I tell you, the moment she told me that this would be possible, I felt like crying. I'm pretty sure I did, I can't remember. I do remember shaking like a leaf, and the way my heart was fluttering, like this literally was my dream of seeing one of my absolutely favorite bands up close and very personal about to come true.
The whole way up until that day I was on such a cloud. I would be flying at work, every few moments squeal and go "OH MY GOD THE ACADEMY IS IS 4 DAYS AWAY"; and freak out some more. I remember stressing over what to wear, how to wear my hair, all because I knew William Beckett and Adam T Siska from one of my favorite bands would be there. Sara and everyone was so sweet about helping me, and trying their best to calm me down in anticipation of the big day.
I remember a moment like, the day before the show, where I was positively shaking, because I realized that the day was almost here. I looked at Sara and told her, "I am so afraid of tomorrow, because good things like this don't ever happen to me without a price. I am so scared that something will go wrong."
And she looked at me and smiled, and said the sweetest words I will never forget to me. She said, "Sweetheart; you are amazing and you will knock those boys out with your amazing personality tomorrow. You will be fine; don't look at it as if you've been given this, look at it as if you're going to work. Because you did earn this." -- or something along those lines. But it helped me calm down so much, and I'm pretty sure I cried then, too. I know I had tears; but in all honesty, that whole week was spent on a cloud and floating in anticipation of the Academy Is coming to Metairie, LA's Hot Topic.
I was scared to death, but most of all I was excited. Purely excited, I have never had an opportunity like this in my life before... and knowing that so many people out there were in my corner and supporting me through this, it made the occasion so much more special.
[["If this is a test, I'm losing my shit.."]]
On Saturday, January 31st, the morning of the show, I remember waking up [on my own] at like, 8AM. I wasn't scheduled to go in until 1, and the band wasn't scheduled to play until 3 -- I had so much time to get ready but was simply too excited to sleep. I remember taking my shower and absolutely having a breakdown. I was scared to death; I truly was. I was fearing that something would go wrong; that I'd get a traffic ticket on the way there, or in an accident, or something ridiculous like that to ruin my day. I remember the camera being out of batteries and the memory card not working, so I was freaking out about that... I was so flustered that I broke down and simply cried. Everything was so overwhelming, all I wanted was for the day to work out smoothly.
I remember my boyfriend's mom coming to me and hugging me (I live with him and his parents), and telling me to simply relax because once I got there it would be everything I had been waiting for. I remember his dad hugging me, and smiling at me and he was just so happy for me that one of my dreams were finally coming true. They know how hard these past few years have been for me, so knowing that they were happy that something good was finally happening, they were happy through my happiness.
And my boyfriend. I remember him hugging me, and telling me how wonderful I was going to be at the show, and how excited he was that this was happening for me. I am crying as I recall it all, it was simply a beautiful moment that he understood how much this one band and them coming to play at Hot Topic meant to me. It was a lovely moment.
There were so many outfits debated for the occasion; but the simple choice was my favorite purple Cobra shirt, because I always wear it to work and knew that the boys are good friends with them. I wore a simple pair of jeans, and my little black flats. My hair was rockin that day too, which I was extremely grateful for. I had my black HT sunglasses on my head; the black ones like the Ray-Bans that the boys were wearing throughout the tour. Note; I had those from way before, they just so happened to match my outfit the best and yeah, I thought it would be cool. ;)
I was alone right before I left. My boyfriend had a thing to go to, as did his parents, so I got ready alone, left with my Zune on top volume as William Beckett sang words of encouragement for me. I remember the drive there, my fingers frozen to the steering wheel and my heart simply beating ridiculously fast within my chest.
[[Anticipating their arrival]]
There was a ton of people in line for the show and the meet and greet, and my heart was simply beating like crazy. I walk in the doors and I am instantly met that lovely sign, and with "Summer Hair = Forever Young" blaring through the speakers at HT. I smile instantly, and go up to the store manager Lydia and hug her for allowing me to be there. She and my friend Colleen who also works there were super supportive that day; they knew what a big deal it was for me to be there, and were simply super super sweet throughout the entire day, hugging me and reminding me to breathe every time something amazing would happen.
A few minutes pass, and the store is shut down. We got all of the customers out of the store, and I knew the moment we had all been waiting for would be happening very soon. There was such fire and adrenaline pulsating throughout the air, it was very electrifying as we awaited their arrival. I will skip to that part now, because it is one of my favorite moments of the day.
After the space was cleared for the crowd, I remember waiting toward the front of the store, off to the side. That's when the absolutely breathtaking William Beckett walked through the doors.
He walks in, and I freeze. He took my breath away, I had honestly forgotten how fucking beautiful he is and how... tall he is. Me being only about 5'1 and wearing my flats made him seem even taller than I had remembered :)
But he walks in, and turns to me and puts on this absolutely beautiful smile and says, "Hi, I'm Bill."
He sticks out his hand for me to shake it, and I do, and I introduce myself and we have this amazing conversation. He thanks me for being there, for helping make their performance happen; and I was simply blown away by how sweet he was. I'd met him before, and he was an absolute angel then. But I was the first person he spoke to upon entering, and he didn't leave me for a few minutes. We just kept talking. And it felt so natural. It was wonderful being around him, and instantly I knew that everything was going to be okay.
The crew came in then, consisting of Johnny Cupcakes and Danny, who I believe is known as The Korean Tom Cruise. Anyway; so he sees them carrying in their guitars, and he smiles at me and says, "Well, that's my cue. I'll see you in a bit." and waves and walks toward the back of the store to begin warming up. I let out the breath I had been holding, and in comes Lydia. She hugs me, and says to me, "I am so happy that you got that experience with him just now. My day is now complete knowing you got that moment with William Beckett."
It was amazing.
Soon after, the rest of the guys make their way in. Alex Deleon and Ian Crawford from the Cab came in, who both are simply too beautiful for words. Alex wore his shades and this really tight leather jacket, that had all of us girls fanning ourselves. Later on he showed off his sweet tattoos [on his chest mind you, *faint*]. They introduced themselves, shaking all of our hands and being incredibly sweet. And then, Adam T. Siska walks in. Oh God, he is also ridiculously gorgeous. He wore this bright blue shirt that was stunning, and he was also super nice and shook all of our hands and thanked us for having them. He introduced himself to me as Sisky. It was amazing. They are all such lovely, lovely boys.
[[Pre-Show]]
Everyone is hanging around, and having a great time. I remember being able to hear William and Sisky warming up with their guitars, William singing out random parts of "The Test" and I remember my heart simply soaring, because that song is so important to me. Then a crew guy comes in with McDonalds for everyone, and Alex sits next to me and begins eating his McDonalds french fries. I took the opportunity to chat with him about when they had gotten in town, and we discussed how their tour has gone and that he's sad that it was the last day of their tour. He was amazing to talk to.
A while later, I remember having to go and grab something from my purse. My camera, perhaps? But I was nervous about having to go to the back room, because... that's where the guys were. I felt like I'd be intruding, but went back there anyway. I was instantly greeted with Sisky and Alex, warming up with their guitars. In the bathroom was William, warming up his voice and I literally melted. I apologized for intruding and Sisky says, "No, it's okay you can hang out!" So, I was like "okay", and got my camera and asked if I could take a picture of them. They were both like, "of course".
Here is the picture:
We chatted about Panic at the Disco, Cobra Starship how amazing the Academy Is was when I saw them at the show last year, and how I was able to work the show. They were so easy to talk to; I won't go into detail here, but we did have really amazing conversations. I even asked Sisky for a request, for them to play my favorite song "Seed". He said he'd talk to Bill about it ;)
I then thanked them for letting me hang out, and didn't want to intrude any longer but DAMMIT I decided to leave too soon, the second I did William comes out of the bathroom and he's like "Hey, what's up?"
And I smile goofily because he was talking to me, and stayed for a second longer to explain that I was headed back out, just needed to grab a few things from back here and he smiled and was like "Well, we'll be out there soon." and smiled and it was lovely. I loved being able to interact with all of them, they were the sweetest guys ever. Sisky surprised me by how talkative he is! He initiated most of the conversation, which simply ruled.
[[The Show]]
Once I headed back out, it was time to let the 30 lucky people in. Once they were situated, the boys came out... and it was pure magic.
It's blurry, forgive me.
But anyway, the way they were seated was Ian, Alex, William, and Sisky. They gave a brief introduction as to who each of them was, and explained what band they were in and they would each take a turn doing a song from each respective band. You may have noticed in the title, it says the "a-CAB-emy Is". They explained that they were doing it Brangelina style and today, they would be considered "the a-CAB-Emy Is." It was so cute.
The Cab played first. Alex said it would be "Risky Business", and me being the TAI nerd that I am instantly shout out "Sisky Business" and they all smile and Alex says "Yes, today it's Sisky Business". AHHH. So they play it, and it is beautiful. Honestly, I'd never heard the Cab before that day. I downloaded a few of their stuff before the show, but was on such a TAI high I couldn't listen to anything but them. But Alex's voice is simply gorgeous, especially acoustic with only Ian's guitar backing him up.
Click for video:
[you tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYrrxpmDvb4[/you tube]
Forgive me for my horrible taping skills, half of it is on the fucking wall above them. Trust me, if I'd have known their songs to begin with choosing between Sisky Business and One of THOSE Nights would have been extreeeemely hard to choose. Damn it for not knowing them beforehand, they are truly gorgeous. And the song cuts off, because I didn't want my batteries dying before TAI even got to play. :(
Bill and Sisky listening intently to the Cab play <3:
Then... comes the moment I had been waiting for. It's time for the Academy Is to play. William explains that the song will be "The Test", which makes me shriek because that song is fucking gorgeous, and was on my list of songs I was hoping they would play. It was simply beautiful.
The boys about to play: <3
And if that isn't enough, video footage of "The Test":
Note: I didn't sing out loud because I hate taking video and having some asshole singing in the background ruining the perfect moment. I am always that asshole, and I didn't wanna be that day ;) Make sure you catch the HT plug Bill does in the beginning ;)
I did mouth the words completely though, which got some fun stares. What can I say, I love that song. And I do apologize for the shaking 'cause I couldn't help but sway. But you can hear Bill's voice beautifully, and that's all that matters. <3
Anyway, afterward... I get tapped on the shoulder by the big manager that had come to HT for the very important day. You see, there were several stations lined up that each HT employee had to do. There were the lucky ones that got to be inside, and three outside guarding the line of people waiting to do the meet-and-greet. When the DM taps me, it was to go outside to switch with the three people so they could get to watch the show, too.
Right about now, I feel my heart breaking. It was during the Cab, but I knew I would potentially miss the Academy Is and this made me so unbelievably sad. But, it was my job, it was the price I had to pay for getting to be there. It was my job, after all. It seemed like a lifetime, but eventually I got to go back in and trust me, I flew back inside to see the Cab singing again. I realized that I had missed two Cab songs and one TAI song, but I was just so grateful I got to go back inside and catch what I could of the rest of the show.
Believe me, it was so well worth it. I got back just in time for "After the Last Midtown Show". Wow. There are absolutely no words for how fucking beautiful that song is, especially when it's being done acoustic. William held so much emotion, his voice was flawless and it was fucking gorgeous. He smiled at me so much during his performances because I sang right along with him, and he saw me going off and appreciated it so much. It meant the world to me to be there.
It is simply the most beautiful song on "Fast Times". It was amazing to see this sung live and so God damn perfectly. I have no words for how amazing it was to see Bill go off like he did toward the end. See for yourself:
Next came "About a Girl", and this saddened me so much because I knew this was the end. But, they only had a half hour to play, I knew this going into it so I couldn't be too upset. William was so hilarious, commenting on how he wanted the people across the hall at Jean Therapy to hear us while they were in the backroom folding their jeans to hear what fun us folks at HT were having. The song was so much fun, everyone was singing and dancing and it was a lovely time. Bill also thanks HT here and thanks the people for coming.
Trust me, had I not been lucky enough to work the show, my ass would have been there camped out forever to make sure I got in to see the show. Those 30 people truly earned the right to be there; I appreciate them so much because I know what it's like to wait for hours and hours for just the glimpse of your favorite band.
Check that video out, too!
I couldn't help but sing for that video, so forgive me in advance for being so dancey and for my horrible voice. ;)
That day was full of some of the most heart-breaking moments of my life (when I had to leave and go outside to guard the M&G line), but making it back just in time to hear one of my absolute favorite songs was more than enough to make up for the one set-back of the day.
[[Meet and Greet]]
My job was to direct the people in the M&G line out of the door and to thank them for coming. So that's what I did; and luckily, my position was right on the side where the boys were set up, so I had the absolute perfect view of them the entire time. The Cab/TAI playlist kept playing over the speakers, which absolutely ruled because I got to sing and dance and act a fucking fool like I normally do at work, especially when rocking Viva la Cobra, and allowing everyone to see that yes, this is one of my favorite bands, and yes, I did deserve to be there.
During the M&G, Alex calls me over to come and talk with them. He asks me, "Where did you go?! We played your song for you, and you weren't there!"
And my eyes go wide and I literally want to cry. Sisky cuts in and says, "Yes, we played Seed, just for you, and we couldn't find you. We did it just for you."
I was completely crushed that the one song I had missed happened to be MY song, but I was so honored that they had done it on my behalf, that I tried not to be so upset about it. Instead, I thanked them endlessly for it, and hope that I can find a video of it someday. He promised me that next time, they would play it again, just for me.
Then I got fussed at for socializing and had to get back to my post, but still... it simply blew me away that they had recognized me in such a beautiful way. They understood that I was truly their fan, and played my favorite song, all for me. <3
[[Post-M&G]]
Once the meet & greet was over, it was the time we'd once again, been waiting for. It was the employee's turn to get things signed, and trust me, I couldn't wait. Before that though, we took pictures as a giant group, all of the employees with the guys. I made sure to get right up front by William and Sisky, it was AMAZING!
I got a poster signed by both bands. My TAI one is very special to me, and it reads: "To Lizzy Lizzard! <3 TAI." And then at the bottom says: "Thank you for all your help, Sorry you missed your song.... next time! <3 Adam <3<3<3
Words could not even begin to express how special I felt, knowing that Sisky understood how important it was to me and was truly upset for me that I had missed something so important. They all were, really. Bill signed my phone, and they both signed my TAI magazine from June of '07...
And after the signing came the FUN PART! We got to take pictures and hang out with them, truly hang out with them. I walk up to Bill and he's like hey, I saved this for you. And he hands me a guitar pick. I was floating. He and Sisky signed that for me as well, it was so amazing.
So then we talk. He apologized for me missing Seed and explained that they did in fact play it for me, after Sisky explained to him how much it would mean to me he was so happy to do it. It made me float soooo much! I told him why it meant so much to me, and thanked me so much for understanding his lyrics so much. He said it's fans like me that make everything worthwhile, people like me keep him doing what he does and fuels him to go on. We chatted for a bit more, and he said it was a pleasure to meet me... he was just too sweet.
I then ask him for a picture and he smiles and agrees, and this is the result:
Afterward I realized that others are waiting to talk to him and he hugs me, and I go on to Ian Crawford.
Ian is lovely. We discussed Hand Grenades and Mardi Gras Mash's, my favorite alcoholic beverages native to New Orleans -- and that's when he told me that the Cab would be back full band to play at Family Gras, a local festival that's held every year during Mardi Gras. I asked when it was, and he told me it was Valentine's Day, and I should be there to be his valentine. I was like, oh definitely, I wouldn't miss it for the world. [Pictures from that day are on my profile!]
Ian Crawford:
I then spy Sisky and head over to speak with him. And I hug him and thank him so much for being so wonderful, and he's like no problem sweetie, it's all about you and making you happy. People like you are the reason we do this. You made us very happy today and it was the least we could do. AHHH. So we basically chat for a moment, and of course I need to take a picture with him <3
Sisky Business:
I then have to hunt down Alex because I couldn't let him escape without a picture as well. He makes sure to tell me about Family Gras, and that he expects to see me there. I told him I'd already requested off and wouldn't miss it for the world.
Alex Deleon:
So then Bill is by himself again, talking with the crew dudes but basically alone. So I approach him again, and... we have the best conversation to date. I can't tell you what it was about, because it's special to me, but basically let me repeat what I've repeated so many times before.... William Beckett is truly an angel.
They left soon after that. I remember clocking in at about 2:05, about 5 minutes before they got there, and clocking out at about 5:15, about 5 minutes after they left. All in all, it was an incredible day. I was still on such a cloud that I went to MY HT, because I was bursting so share my excitement with everyone there. My lovely co-workers Lesley, Mikelle and Kristy were working, and I was jumping and showing them my stuff and my pics and they were just so excited with me. It was amazing.
[[Stuff I got signed]]
My nametag; by Sisky
My nametag; my William
My phone; now dubbed the "Bill Beckett phone" [previously g.way phone, but Gerard's sig got wiped away :( ]
I made it home safe and sound. No accidents, no tickets like I had been afraid of. The only bad thing that had happened was I missed my song, but the apologetic demeanor that Bill, Sisky, Alex and Ian shared for me was enough to make it worth missing. Getting to be there the entire time, before they got there and after, getting to hang out with them and take pictures with them and have memorable conversations was more than worth missing my one song. It was lovely.
I really hope you guys enjoyed this very long recap... but yay! That was one of the greatest days of my life, and I'm so excited to share it with you. <33