Taste Of Chaos - Sacramento

This was feb 23rd at arco arena in sacramento, CA.
Posted in my livejournal the morning after..

30 seconds to mars was not playing.

It's the morning after and my body feels like its going to fall apart. When I got out of bed my legs felt like I had run three miles -- not a muscle pain but just sheer exhaustion. It hurts to take big breaths. I'm dizzy, and my forehead hurts from where somebitch reverse headbutted me. My hip is in immense pain from pushing up against people. I've got a huge bruise forming on my leg. I think I strained a ligamnet. I feel like I have a 70 year old man's back.

It was wonderful.

We arrived at Arco about 4:10 and went right in and parked. 30 seconds to mars was canceled and I think Julie was a little bummed but I didn't quite care. The line was humougous. It made me want to cry. Eventually the kids behind us asked the partolling security guards about Will Call and they gave them directions to a shorter line and we followed. Somewhere in there we signed up for the Soasoin mailing list and got a free pin.

They let us in a few minutes after five. Ended up the whole arena was general admission. :D. Julie and I got spots on the floor and we took shifts getting tshirts. I went to the bathroom and when I came back everyone was standing. So I oh-so-rudley was yelling 'Julie raise your hand, raise your hand!' as I pushed through the crowd of people. We were in about the 8th row back. The girl behind us kept saying how they were going to push to the front. The first band was a local one, not quite sure what it was called, but they weren't very good. When Evaline came on the girls used me as a shield and I got separated from Julie and pushed up to the 6th row. By that time a tall ass guy was standing in front of me so I manuevered my way around him... I learned the art of moving up rows. You've gotta apply pressure (which is why my hip hurts so bad) and when the whole crowd leans side to side just squeeze in there. In the fourth row my feet weren't touching the ground and I couldn't breath. People kept asking me if I was okay. I just nodded. I tried to get out but Chiodos was playing and security thought I was just pumping my fist in joy. By the end of Chiodos I had made it to the 2nd1/2 row. Half of me was in the second row and half of me was in the third. Once I had made it fullyinto the second row the crowd lurched forward and the girl beside me crushed me. I had had enough, I intimately knew all my neighbors and had made it to the second row. Security pulled me out, the nice emo boy behind me helped. It felt so good to breath, and finally use my legs.

Somewhere during all of this my hand sanitizer and tampon fell out of my pocket. There has got to be a lot of interesting things on that floor. I even saw an eyelash curler.

I was walking up the stairs and found Julie. She had just gotten out of the second row on the other side. We watched Aiden and Saosin from seats, and it was nice because even in the second row I had to stand on my tiptoes or one foot on top of the other. When Senses Fail [speaking of, they were the only band that had an entire enterouge on stage with them] started to play I dragged Julie down on to the floor. This time our goal was to, not gain rows, but to have fun. So we did, it was so much better because we knew the words. We were pushed around by the crowd and at one point I was jostling this blond chick, she gave me a few dirty looks and then next thing I know *bam* the back of her head hits my forehead, she turns around and smiles. I shove her. Her boyfriend gives me a dirty look and they moved farther forward. If you can't handle the floor get off.

After that I continued to have fun shoving people and generally going crazy, I even made a new friend. She sang to me and we stood arm in arm for a slow song. Then she went away crowd surfing. Speaking of, by the time The Used came on crowd surfers were prime. They came out of no where and fell on me. Eventually I just gave up and blocked my face. When The Used first came on the crowd went into a riot, but after a song or two they really calmed down. After about three songs Bert McCracken mentioned peeing, which made me had to pee more so Julie followed me off the floor and in to the bathroom. We went back on and stood near the edge.

All in all Taste of Chaos was wonderful. Painful but so worth it. I loved how the whole arena was general admisson. I loved how all the sweat on me wasn't my own. How people smoked cigarettes and someone lit up a joint in the mosh pit. I loved how I smelled like ass when I got home.

♥
xoxo
St.