A Night with the Band (with Twitter along the way)

44 Replies

Friday, 22-April-2011

22:03:12 On my way to see the band The Boxer Rebellion that started at 10. It’s 10 now. Am nowhere near Double Door the bar/concert venue. Panic attack

22:04:58 I’m going by myself again. [I went to see them for the first time last September]. With extra tickets. Maybe I’ll give the ticket 2 some random passerby, reassuring them that they don’t have 2 talk 2 me

22:06:38 Forgive me 4 tweeting you sweet nothing nonstop. Going 2 see band by myself. Not yet used 2 it. Started having panic attack early on.

22:09:11 Tweeting helps calm my nerves. Like I have someone w me. Anybody write an academic paper about social media? Invisible Strangers as entourage?

22:11:27 I almost didn’t. Panic attack. Would’ve been easier 2 just stay home. I kept on delaying till husb said, Why are you still here? Get the F out!

22:13:59 It’s just a band. Not a big deal. After the last time [and the first time when I went to see them also by myself], I now know there’s no risk of me having to struggle to say no if a band member asks me to elope with him [because it did not happen and it will never happen, of course.]

[I actually felt quite embarrassed going all gaga when I met them last September for the first time. I think I managed to keep my excitement under wrap, appearing to be nonchalant. Not that it would have made any difference, but all four band members are married. More importantly, they don’t seem to be that kind of band attracting crazy psychotic screaming fans.]

[Fine. I guess telling people that their song “Flashing Red Light Means Go” saved your soul is by no means being nonchalant… How pathetic it was to have failed at being nonchalant in front of your favorite band?]

 

22:42:21 @SunnySingsBlues Thanks! I’m in! One vodka cranberry down and I’m one cool kitty. Inside my head at least!

22:46:47 @SunnySingsBlues Thanks!!! I am on 2nsd Vodka cranberry! [Less than 5 minutes. I was rather impressed by myself too!]

22:59:22 At the Boxer Rebellion concert! Sold out bitches!  [From “OMG I don’t know what to do. I am so scared I don’t want to go!” to rubbing it in people’s faces. All in under one hour…]

 

The Boxer Rebellion at Double Door

 

[From @deathbydonkey: Hope you’re having fun. Solo concert outings can rock if you just go with it. It beats dealing with a non-fan companion, anyway.]

23:14:02 @deathbydonkey OMG. Totally agree!!!!

[And that’s why when The Husband said “Go and have fun by yourself!” I did not cry. I would have been so worried about him or whichever person I managed to drag with me not having fun and unable to fully enjoy the experience]

 

23:14:57 @melme thank you. Tweeps are the best people to go to concert with!!

[From @melme: Damn right!! Woo! Take it off!! 😉 ]

23:28:42 @melme Ok! Let’s just say I did! LOL

 

[Tried not to tweet too much during the concert. Most of the time I had my eyes closed and it felt like I was there all alone, with the band. Just the music pounding, pouring, seeping into every fiber. The most gratifying thing to witness was how much fun they’re having on stage. It almost made me feel jealous. I wish I could play an instrument, or sing, or paint, or sew, just anything really.]

 

Saturday, 23-April 2011

00:24:50 @doubledoor Here’s a shout out to Mark the bartender who loves his job and Andy who’s adorable!!!

[Here I was sufficiently buzzed that I became extremely friendly and talkative, in a non-slutty way, at least I hope so… I was even able to talk to Mark at the bar. Probably because he called me Sweet Heart. I wished him a happy weekend, to that he replied, “I will be working though.” I asked, “But not bad if you love your job, right?” A pause. “Yes, I do love my job.” “Well, that’s more than what a lot of people could say.” He nodded somberly.]

[Regarding “Sweet Heart”: I knew not to get carried away by terms of endearment such as this. That’s merely a sign that I have aged. When you reach a certain age, people start being nice to you and calling you “Sweet heart” “Young lady”, thinking they are doing you a favor. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate that.]

00:25:44 I’m at the “I am lucid but I care no shit” stage. 5 vodka cranberry later.

[See? Tru dat!]

 

00:29:50 It’s endearing when the band is small enough that they are at the mercy table to talk to the fans

[It’s supposed to be MERCH, for “merchandise”, table. But the typo was kind of correct in the way that the bands are at the mercy of their fans when they are on their way to make it]

 

 

[They’re really really awesome and sweet. I did tell Todd the lead guitarist (See? I am hinting that I am on the first name basis with the band!) that I am a psychotic fan. ZOMG. I really should have kept my mouth shut. But I cannot control what comes out of my mouth whenever I am nervous. Perhaps next time I should preemptively put my foot in my mouth… He asked me what my Twitter handle was. “So, you are subWOW?!” Ok, he probably did NOT sound that excited. Just let me think that he did, ‘k? He and Piers the drummer (pretended to) remember meeting me last year. See? I told you they are very kind…]

 

Todd and Piers at The Empty Bottle last September

Me as an apparition (last September)

 

[Here’s something else that I told Todd, “I look forward to the day when you are so huge that I would no longer get to talk to you like this.” And I mean it.]

 

00:45:24 Asked the band mebers of @BoxerRebellion to sign my arm, Nathan the lead singer responsibly told me I’d regret it. We shall see.

 

Picture from last time: Todd & the lead Singer Nathan who told me this time that I'd regret having them sign my arm. Nathan's a Southern gentleman, naturally.

 


01:06:15 Do people know, for realz, in details, what they have to give up when they have kids and move to the burbs?

01:08:21 Like a pseudo bipolar that I’m, I’m coming down from the high from talking to my favorite band straight to the pit.

01:09:31 On the train back to the burbs. Feeling like being turned back into a pumpkin. Do men feel the same way too?

[Before I stumbled off the train, I saw this guy with a big giant tattered duffel bag eating peanut butter out of the jar. I have no idea what came over me, not pity nor sympathy. I think it was closer to a sudden surge of love that I felt towards my fellow human beings. I pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to him. “Happy Easter!” I said, and I quickly ran off. He did not even look up but smiled to himself.]

 

[Intermission: Driving. I really did not want to be turned back into a pumpkin…]

 

01:43:06 2 am. At the quintessential American melting place: highway oasis. Here everyone is passing by

 

 

01:46:25 I do appreciate the fact that my husb is ok letting me out by myself being a tramp.

01:48:37 Sitting here at the empty oasis, I’m humming Hallelujah. I’m not even Christian…

01:59:25 I really like the oasis like this: quiet, with free Wi-Fi. I enjoy watching the cars, imaging jumping off. Of course I won’t.

[Did you know this French word, L’appel du vide? “The call of the void” would be the literal translation. It refers to the urge to jump from high places…]

 

02:35:00 Listened to Queen’s A Night at the Opera all the way home. Truly my favorite album. What I would not give to watch Freddie Mercury live.

02:59:18 You know how they made Mama Mia with Abba song? Someone should make a musical based A Night at the Opera.

03:00:50 Why? Yes! I have been sitting in the garage listening to A Night at the Opera since I got home. How did you know?

 

 

 

p.s. I did update the tweets to correct the typos and grammars, update the abbreviations, so it is easier to read and understand.

44 thoughts on “A Night with the Band (with Twitter along the way)”

  1. dufmanno

    I am now a huge fan of going to see bands solo. It took years for me to feel comfortable by myself and to not feel like I needed to find something to do with my hands and a place to rest my eyes that made it appear that someone WOULD be meeting me there ANY MINUTE NOW.
    The last few venues I’ve been to have been so crowded that no one could have told me if I was alone or with a group of 50.
    I wish I had been there cause you KNOW I would have scooped up those extra tix!
    By the way, you look knee pad worthy gorgeous in the photo with your arm signed. I’m surprised you didn’t get an invite on the tour bus.
    Woo woo. Ride the train.
    dufmanno recently posted…Blue Jays Are Fucking InsaneMy Profile

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  3. The Flying Chalupa

    This was hilarious. I’m so impressed you went by yourself and that the band KNOWS YOU. Dude, the lead singer is hot (pronounced with a “ch”). Twitter is always there for one. It’s so comforting.

    Reply ↓
    1. Absence Alternatives Post author

      Yes I’ve come to rely on Twitter in a way that all these social media “gurus” do not talk about.

      I actually have not talked to the lead singer. I guess I left him to the real fangirls to maul or whatever. 😉 My heart is with the lead guitarist and the drummer because their drumming bit during the song Flashing Red Light Means Go really stole my heart.

      Reply ↓
  4. meleah rebeccah

    “Most of the time I had my eyes closed and it felt like I was there all alone, with the band. Just the music pounding, pouring, seeping into every fiber. The most gratifying thing to witness was how much fun they’re having on stage. It almost made me feel jealous. I wish I could play an instrument, or sing, or paint, or sew, just anything really.”

    You, can. And you do.

    You WRITE, like a rockstar!

    Reply ↓
  6. Star Traci

    Yay for you! I have been to movies by myself but I have never been brave enough to go to a show like that on my own. You are my hero! It’s funny how Twitter, FB, blogs, etc. really make us feel less alone in the world. So glad that you tweeted your way through a great night!
    🙂
    Traci
    Star Traci recently posted…Sliding Doors- RevisitedMy Profile

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    1. Absence Alternatives Post author

      Thanks! I used to go to the movies by myself all the time too when I was in college (that’s like NOT that long ago. LOL) esp. for the European films? Yup, I’d rather be there by myself than having to listen to someone whine about how nothing made sense in the movie…

      Reply ↓
  8. writerwoman61

    Good for you for going to the concert anyway, Lin!

    Queen is Jim’s favourite band in the world…we went to a tribute show to them last year, which was very good…there was one number where “Freddie Mercury” was in drag, and came down and stood in the empty seat right in front of us! Jim almost got a “lap dance”!

    Hugs,
    Wendy
    writerwoman61 recently posted…Easter- Elmo and Elise Come to Hammond River…My Profile

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  11. secret agent woman

    I don’t do Twitter, but I have been known to narrate an experience through text messages. I have gone to several shows on my own since I’ve been divorced. I feel a bit ore conspicuous in indoor venues. But I doubt anyone actually notices.

    Reply ↓
  15. BigLittleWolf

    You wild fan, you! (I can’t remember the last time I went to a concert.) L’Appel du Vide? A little “vide” would be nice if it meant I could find things in my house again. Personally, it sounds like L’appel de l’Instinct Animal might be more in order… 🙂 and less dangerous.

    Or not.
    BigLittleWolf recently posted…Lost KeysMy Profile

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  20. Andrea

    I love this post! I have been to concerts and left feeling exactly that way – like the music wraps around you and unites your soul with everyone else. But I have never MET the band!!! Holy shit, you do it right! Thank you for letting us be a part of it even if we couldn’t be there. 🙂
    Andrea recently posted…Kiss With A FistMy Profile

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  21. Nicole Welkener

    Wow, this was bad ass. For several reasons.
    1) You went to a concert by yourself….an accomplishment I didn’t know I wanted to achieve that is now added to the ubiquitous “Bucket List”.
    2) You composed an article completely out of Tweets and side notes.
    3) Your thoughts reel me in and seem familiar, as though I’ve thought them myself.

    The list could go on and on but you know, save for another session. 😉

    Congrats on overcoming the panic attack! (And [#4] for the 2nd cranberry vodka in less than 5 minutes)

    Reply ↓
  22. The Sweetest

    Ah, the days of solo concerts. In Austin, I use to go see bands by myself all the time. And then I met my would-be husband who happened to want to go with me. 🙂
    And now I can’t stay up late enough to go see anything. I do remember, going to a show alone, that mixed feeling of independence and shame. Wanting to blend in so nobody would know I was there alone, but also a little bit proud of myself,
    The Sweetest recently posted…Easter Bunnies Are Still SkeeryMy Profile

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