My First Concert Experience.

(FOR THE RECORD, IF YOU DON'T CARE, DON'T READ, DON'T COMMENT, DON'T SAY ANYTHING FUCKING STUPID, BECAUSE I WILL DELETE IT, YOU SCUMMY LITTLE WHORE BAGS!)

So, some of my friends on various websites wanted to read about how my first concert experience on May 12th, 2009 went. Yes, I'm fifteen, and it was the first concert I've ever been to. I know that's lame for a huge music lover like myself, but that spawned from not having anyone to take me, so, yeah. Anyway, onto the most eventful night of my teenaged life.

Yesterday, my family (my mom, my brother - Phillip, my uncle - Derrick, and his wife - Ashley) went to a concert starring Shinedown as headliners, with Saving Abel, Halestorm, and 10 years. We went into this expecting it not to be somewhat okay and just a fun day to get out of the house. We arrived at eleven AM at the venue, with a few other concert goers in the parking lot along with us. But, turns out, we had to leave for a while because we weren't allowed to be at the venue - which is resting on the parking lot belonging to several schools - until four PM. We left as they told us to and went to a parking lot down the street to sit and watch... until four when we ran (actually ran) to get in line.

We had floor standing spots, and we ended up standing right in front of the stage, close enough to be near all the action. My little brother and I were standing directly behind the metal barricade, with the rest of our group making a semi-circle around us, because no one wanted us to get touched or squished.

First up was Halestorm, a band that I had no experience with and knew nothing about. The lead singer is a girl, and she is possibly the coolest fucking girl I have ever seen in the music industry. She came out dressed in the coolest outfit and had the strongest, most amazing voice I have ever heard. She hit every note, low and high, never fumbled, never messed up. It was fucking awesome. As well as the rest of her band was. The second song they played was actually a long drum solo, and, let me tell you, their drummer was insanely good. Weird and hyper and had a lot of personality, but very good. All in all, they came in second on the show rating for this concert.

Next was Ten Years. I knew about their old music and I wasn't a huge fan of them, but they still sounded pretty good. Their drummer was the best of all of them; he drummed so loud and did the bass pedal so fast, the notes coming through the speakers blew our hair like we were standing in a breeze. And he could play guitar as well. Awesome, yes. And, the bassist was a tad cute. Then, during their slow song, So Long, Goodbye (I think) a woman - one of their girlfriends, I'm expecting - stood sidestage with one of the band member's toddler daughters, who clapped whenever she saw her father. I think it might have been the lead singer, but I have no proof. Either way, the baby was cute, the bassist was cute, the drummer was brilliant. Loved it.

Saving Abel was third, and I was really looking forward to them. They put on a great show and sounded so Southern on stage, since they're from Mississippi. The best part was when the frontman said, "Finally, back in the south! You can't stay away from the south for too long!" Three songs into it, while they were singing Out Of My Face, I had to be dragged out and upstairs because people were cramming my family against my and I got hot and claustrophobic and I had been standing for four/five hours, and I almost passed out. Had I not drank water, I certainly would have, and it was a good thing, too, because when we got back into the concert area, we stood at the back, next to the sound equipment.

Shinedown was last of the night, and when they got on stage, the volume went up about 110 notches. It got LOUD, even where we were standing in the back, with a wide gap between us and the rest of the audience. There were only a few stragglers around us.

Finally, the headliners started singing after the most hilarious and dramatic light and smoke show opening. The first song was good, of course, but it wasn't my favorite of their music, so I didn't pay any attention, until he started talking at the end and said that he wanted everyone to turn to the people on your left and right, and shake hands and hug those people. I ended up hugging some extremely hot guy with amazing hair. :] That made my entire day.

Their next song, equally amazing. It was one of their old songs, Burning Bright, and it was... wow. They sound so great live. I loved it. Then, it was I Dare You, and then... it was the most important part of the show, the rise, where everyone jumped on the count of three. Brent Smith, the frontman, said, "I don't care if you're sitting in the chairs on the balconies! Rip the chairs up if you have to, just jump!" And the sound guy beside us in the booth started waving his hands around and saying, "No, no, no!" It was funny.

The first time, my family and I did not. Then, the second time, Brent Smith said, "If you did not jump last time, jump this time! And, if you saw someone who was not jumping, I want you to grab them by their hair and make them jump." Then, he pointed to the back where a few stragglers and my family were standing and said, "Even you guys in the back. I can see you because I'm looking right at you." Yeah, that was great. :D

They played Sound of Madness and the Crow and the Butterfly, and a couple of other songs. Brent Smith brought his grandmother along and she sat in the sound booth just inches from us, then introduced her during one of the song breaks. She was an awesome grandmother, let me tell you. :D

We left early to escape all the traffic.

But, the best part of everything about the concert were the funny little things that happened in the audience. The hot guy I liked took off his shirt. When Ten Years came on, they introduced a song called Beautiful, and Derrick said, "He must be talking about me." Dork.

Some guy in the balcony threw beer bottles into the crowd and one of the security guards scaled the back wall like a fucking monkey to attack him. There was a blonde chick in front of us who was dancing to her own music... because it didn't match the Shinedown songs. A dude threw up in a trash can five times, and it was a lot of puke. This guy brought his little girl and she had the best time in the back; she threw her hands up into the devil horns and yelled and jumped during the rise. Mom and Derrick shook hands and high fived the bassist of Saving Abel.

It was pretty much the best thing I've ever been to. I loved it and can't wait to go back to another.