Aaron Gillespie REALLY pisses me off.

Quoted from the September 2007 issue of Alternative Press regarding The Almost:

"Not surprisingly, he isn't waiting until the cultural fires of screamo burn down to a smoldering ember before preparing for his future in music. Looking far down the road, the compulsive multi-tasker has launched the Almost, his new solo-project-turned-band, whose debut release, Southern Weather, was issued this past spring. Ever the workaholic, Gillespie did it while Underoath are as popular as ever, playing sold-out shows all over the world in support of last year's Define The Great Line, which debuted at No.2 on the Billboard chart. Saying the two groups' activities overlap may be the understatement of the summer: Both bands are doing stints on this year's Van's Warped Tour, with Gillespie playing two sets a day, one as Underoath's singing skinsman, the other as the Almost's crowd-embracing frontman. It's a rough gig, rocking out double-duty in the extreme heat and humidity, but those who know him wouldn't be surprised if he defied time and space to play with both bands on different stages at the same time. Gillespie's a man of faith, but not a miracle worker--he's just that driven."

Driven? DRIVEN? Are you KIDDING ME?

Now, my facts can't be completely accurate, because I don't have my *paperwork* in front of me, but with a little Youtube research, we can make some deductions.

I went to Warped Tour 11 times this summer. I have a pretty good idea of who played where.
The Almost did indeed play Warped Tour out in California. There are a ton of Youtube videos of their performances. Underoath was NOT playing this leg of the tour. Thus, no double-duty for Aaron.
*I seem to think there was a day in California that they bailed on, Ventura maybe?*

If I remember correctly, the first day Underoath played was in Charlotte, North Carolina. I remember this because I was on the front row for Underoath that day. Did the Almost play that day? Are there any Youtube videos of The Almost in Charlotte, where they were supposed to play? NEGATIVE. Thus, no double-duty for Aaron.
The same goes for Virginia Beach. Underoath played, but is there any record of The Almost playing that day? NEGATIVE. Thus, no double-duty for Aaron.
The same goes for Columbia, Maryland. Thus, no double-duty for Aaron.

The Almost was supposed to play up in NY/NJ too.
I remember a HUGE crowd for Underoath closing the night in Camden. I remember hearing Underoath across the venue in NY. Do I remember seeing The Almost at all on those days? Are there any Youtube videos of The Almost playing in those cities? NEGATIVE. Thus, no double-duty for Aaron.

I think you're beginning to see my point. Honestly, if you're reading this, and you went to Warped Tour expecting to see Underoath and The Almost on the same day, and they failed you, PLEASE, do let me know. Further proof of asshole-ery would be appreciated.

If you went to Warped Tour on a day when The Almost and Underoath actually did play on the same day, PLEASE, let me know. That'll be proof that Hell has frozen over and pigs are taking flight.
Cause to be honest, I don't believe it ever fucking happened.
I have four words for Aaron Gillespie regarding Warped Tour: DOUBLE-DUTY MY ASS.


"Crowd-embracing frontman"????? Are you JOKING?!?!

I went to Bamboozle this year. When it was time for The Almost to play, I was there, front row.
During the first or second song, the barricade collapsed.
There was no crowd surge or anything. It just...collapsed.
I however, happened to be leaning against the barricade, so when it went down, I went down with it. I carry a scar on my knee from that stupid barricade. I am living proof that during this incident, people got injured. Did Aaron Gillespie "embrace" the crowd when the barricade collapsed? NEGATIVE. Not a hesitation, not a glance, not a pause, not a moment afterward of "hey, let's back up a few steps", he just went on about his way.
I have four words for Aaron Gillespie regarding Bamboozle: CROWD-EMBRACING MY ASS.

I have heard numerous stories of people who have met Aaron Gillespie, who have said he is pretty much one of the most unlikeable band members they have ever encountered.
If I saw Aaron Gillespie, and he was on fire, in the grand words of Fall Out Boy, I wouldn't piss to put him out.


This is where I do a shameless plug for a band/person/people who DO actually pull double-duty on Warped Tour, and DO indeed embrace their crowd....

Chiodos. Craig Owens. Bradley Bell. And the rest of those guys.
I don't watch a band 22 times if they piss me off. That's for damn sure.
These guys have the honor of being the ONLY band, other than RJA, that I watched ALL 11 TIMES I went to Warped Tour this summer.
Not to mention, being front row most of those times. Almost getting killed. It was grand.

Craig and Bradley are in Chiodos. Craig and Bradley are in Cinematic Sunrise. Chiodos played ALL of Warped Tour this summer (something niether The Almost nor Underoath did). Cinematic Sunrise played a few select dates of Warped Tour. These days being simultaneous to the ones Chiodos was playing. Meaning: Craig and Bradley played two sets on some days. Which makes them a whole-helluva-lot more respectable than Gillespie, who didn't play any double-duty shows to my knowledge.

It doesn't matter if you run into them walking around early in the day, late at night, as soon as they've gotten off stage, etc., these boys are some of the nicest people ever and will stop to take pictures with you without making it seem like it's their fucking job *ahemGILLESPIEahem*
If you're lucky, Craig might even sing with you *ahemNIKKIahem* *lols*
Did I mention they're polite too?
They are.

They embrace their crowd. At virtually every Chiodos show I've ever been to, I've seen Craig get down in the audience. Not only will he get down on the barricade, he will stand on the audience, and trust them enough to hold him up.

They also look out for their crowd. At Warped Tour in Virginia Beach LAST year, a girl got hurt during one of the songs, and the band stopped playing immediately. They waited a good 10 minutes until they got the all clear from the crew, and then they started playing again. That's what we like to call "compassion". They actually care about their fans, unlike Gillespie, who seems to have the emotional range of a fruit fly.

Chiodos is a band you can like, and feel good for liking.
The Almost makes me feel ashamed that I like even one of their songs. I won't even listen to their other songs, because Gillespie disgusts me THAT much.
Gillespie can best be described in the words of Craig Owens..."Filthy.....Traitor...."
So where does your loyalty lie?
I think I made my preference pretty obvious.

If you want to dispute/agree/disagree with anything I've said, please, feel free to drop me a comment.
XMeganX

Chuck Palahniuk is PWNing my face right now.

Invisible Monsters -

"It's a hundred generations removed from anything original, but the truth is aren't we all?"

"Another thing is no matter how much you think you love somebody, you'll step back when the pool of their blood edges up too close."

"There's that falen heart feeling that you rushed right through the moments where you should've been paying attention.
Well get used to that feeling. That's how your whole life will feel some day."

"...hysteria is impossible without an audience. Panicking by yourself is the same as laughing alone in an empty room. You feel really silly."

I don't know why it bothers me...but it does.

I'm straightedge.
But I've always thought that people should be able to do what they want.
If you choose to drink or whatever, I'm not gonna rag on you.

I hate it when you have this image of how certain celebrities/band members/heroes are, and they seem to fall into your belief system, which is cool and all.
Then one day, you see a picture, or read an interview, and you realize that these people are nothing like you thought they were.

I'm not one to be the naive kid who thinks that these people can do-no-wrong, but it fucking sucks when you find out you've been lied to.
Or rather, it sucks to find out these people have really been lying to themselves.

This is where I begin to rant.

Kenny Vasoli.
When I got in to The Starting Line, Kenny was the bleach blonde kid who was pretty much the ruler of our 14 year old worlds.
To me, punk was Blink-182, New Found Glory, and The Starting Line.
To this day, Say It Like You Mean It is one of the only cds I can listen to front-to-back, without skipping any songs.
Everyone was shocked when they released the song "Bedroom Talk" and it was like "OH SNAP! Kenny's singing about losing his virginity!"
Okay, not that big of a deal. I can accept this as creative progression.
Now, I was reading an article about The Starting Line in AP the other day, and it pissed me off.
Kenny Vasoli stated " I feel like I've written some of my best songs stoned as hell."
What. The. Hell?
Innocent Pop Punk: -1
Bad guys: + 1

Pete Wentz.
That boy has always claimed to be straightedge.
You can read into his lyrics, and it's pretty obvious he isn't a member of the V-club.
No big deal.
Anyone that knows Pete's history with Jeanae knows he's a pedo, so it's not that shocking ; )
But I see a picture on the internet of Wentz with a beer bottle in his hand, and my world starts to unravel just a little bit.
It shouldn't matter that much, but it really bothers me.
Him downing a bottle of Ativan in a parking lot? I can handle that.
Beer?
Nope.

Ryan Ross.
This kid has always been a walking anti-alcohol ad.
His dad was an alcoholic, and it pretty much killed the man.
Ryan always said he would never drink. He's always claimed he doesn't "party".
The pics from his 21st B-day surfaced, and he's definitely drinking alcohol.
I guess it bugs me so much because the kid knows what effect that stuff can have, and he still goes for it.

Brendon Urie.
Okay. The kid (yes, everyone I refer to is a *kid*) used to be Mormon.
I know the key words are used-to-be. The kid is addicted to Red Bull. That kind of clarifies where he stands now. Red Bull addiction? Not so scandalous.
The picture I just saw of Brendon holding a bottle of Corona?
It makes me angry.

Max Bemis.
Now don't get the wrong idea. I don't really like Say Anything... at all.
But I was reading an article about them, and it pissed me off.
He made it seem like it was necessary for everyone in a band to go through a phase where they do coke and ecstasy.
Ummmmm......Nooooooooooooo.
Just because Bipolar-Boy doesn't have the self-control to politely decline, doesn't mean he has to stereotype everyone else.
And it seems like he uses his "disorder" as an excuse.
Max Bemis just really pisses me off. Let's not mention Bemis anymore. K?

Now I probably seem like an uptight asshole.
But see, this is where I get confused.

If people drink/*insert other action here* from the get-go, it doesn't bother me!

Jon Walker.
The man loves his alcohol.
That's fine. All the more power to him.
It doesn't bug me at all.

Joe Trohman.
Weed-loving Joe-Troh.
It doesn't bug me!
(Maybe it's because I know good ole' Andy Hurley is there to keep things in check!)

Yellowcard.
Hello! They've always talked about being high!
And those boys can down more wine than anyone I know! (Let's not forget Ryan's recollection of that one time Sean was drunk and broke Ryan's jaw...)
Big whoop!

I'm not even going to begin to get into the numerous band members I know of who are friends with Mary Jane, but seriously, it doesn't bug me.
Probably because these people have been smoking the stuff since before I ever met them.

I seriously don't know what it is.
I feel like a shallow bitchy person because I freak out when I see so-and-so drinking a beer or smoking weed.
But then I feel like such a hypocrite when I see others doing the same damn thing, and it doesn't phase me at all.
What the hell?

A bit of a run down

Why is it that I begin blogs at 2 am? Search me.

Here's a little background info to help explain the next post:

I'm straightedge. I always have been. I always will be.
I catch so much crap for it, and it kind of bothers me.
I've never drank alcohol. I don't feel the need to. I go to college with 49,000 people who get drunk every weekend and like to relive their tales on Monday mornings. I look at those people and think "WTF? Don't you have anything better to do?"
I've never smoked. My dad smoked when I was little, so I've always been around it. But I hate it. If I'm at a concert, and you're smoking, and you blow smoke in my face, I will stare at you with my if-only-looks-could-kill expression, and I will proceed to fan the smoke back at your face. I will cough and hack in your face, just to get my point across. Just because you feel the need to blacken your lungs, doesn't mean I want to breathe in that shit too.
And since I'm on the whole schpiel (I so just made up my own spelling for that word), in case you were wondering, my definition of "straightedge" includes not having sex until you're married.
I'm not married, therefore I've never had sex.
These days, saying that is like admitting you have the bubonic plague. I don't know what's so bad about it.
I get ganged up on by people I know (parents included!) interrogating me as to why I don't believe in having sex until you're married.
Should I really have to justify something like that?
This is the part where some of you will go "Of course not Megan! Waiting until marriage is the Christian thing to do!"
Well you know what?
I don't care. That's not my reasoning.
And now for those of you going "Wait, is Megan a Christian?"
No. I don't follow any particular belief. I think men evolved from monkeys. I think homosexuality is 100% acceptable. I don't read the Bible.
To be quite honest with you, I think I found the book Fight Club to be more of a revelation than anything religious I've ever heard/read.
If I hear something I like, I'll believe it. Some things may contradict others, but that's okay. Not everything has to make sense.

Maybe this will help explain the next post. Or maybe it will just make it even more of a mystery to me.

Fall Out Boy - Young Wild Things Tour - Orlando - November 1, 2007

I was pretty bummed the other day when I found out that Pete Wentz broke his ankle at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans.
I was bummed because I knew Pete wasn't going to be able to do his normal antics during their show when they played in Orlando.
Pete Wentz never lets me down though.
Last night was the best Fall Out Boy show ever, even with Pete's broken ankle.

I must begin by referencing the dimwitted nitwits that were behind us.

Her: "Hey, there's a big gap in front of you. Can I stand in it?"
Me: *thinking* Can I punch you in the face?
Me: "No."
Her: "Well can you stand in it?"
Me: "No. If there was space, I would already be standing in it."
Her: "Well, (she gets all snooty) you don't have to get attitude with me."
Me: *thinking* Well you don't have to get stupid with me. Dumbass. Do you really think that I am going to let you stand in front of me, when I'm on the second row? I think not.


There's really not much to say about the opening bands.
Cute Is What We Aim For was great.
Jeff Czum still looks like a puppy, and Shaant still has weird hair. No surprises there.
Plain White T's - Mom thinks one of the guys raided Patrick Stump's wardrobe.
I wanted to gouge my fucking eyes out. No surprises there.
My definition of "Hell" is being forced to listen to "Hey There Delilah"
If you ever want to torture me, just start singing that.
Gym Class Heroes - The girls standing in front of us obviously wanted to have Travis McCoy's babies.
Disashi doesn't look right with hair.
The bassist cut off his hair, and Mom thinks he looks like Tom Cruise.
Mom thinks the keyboardist raided Patrick Stump's wardrobe.
It's always fun watching GCH.


This is where I randomly mention the fact that JR from Less Than Jake and Chris from There For Tomorrow were at the show. More about JR later though.


I can't do justice to the feeling that I get when the lights go out and I know my heroes/idols/insert better term *here*/ are about to walk out on stage.
I always seem to think one thing as soon as they walk out on stage...
"They're real."
12 times seeing them, and I still don't believe it sometimes.
But they're still real.


They came out and started with "Sugar We're Goin Down".
Whenever I hear the song on the radio, I always end up singing "We're goin down tuu in a luuleelurah..."
But when I hear it live, I always manage to sing the right words ; )
I also see it as somewhat of a crime for people not to do the *lick lick salute* at the proper time.
I don't care how stupid I look, I always do the *lick lick salute*.


Major jaw-droppage when I realized they had moving platforms on stage.
That's not a good description.
Moving platforms...as in, those moving sidewalks like they have in airports...or....moving floor as in Jamiraqui's "Virtual Insanity" music video (well, not THAT high tech, but you catch my drift)

I can't even describe how big my smile gets when I see Pete raise his hands in the air and hear him say "Put your diamonds up, and stand for your national anthem" and they launch into "Grand Theft Autumn".
It's hard to think there was ever a time when we didn't put our diamonds up.
They've been doing that for so long now.
I remember the first time I ever put my diamonds up. I thought it was the coolest fucking thing in the world. I still think it is.
For anyone who doesn't know what the hell I'm talking about when I say "put your diamonds up", google the phrase, and you should find some pics.

I don't remember the order they did all the songs in, and I'm referring to an earlier setlist someone has posted, and the set in Orlando doesn't match that one, but whatever. I'll remember what I can...

They played one of my favorite songs from Cork Tree... "I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy, And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me"

I love it when they play "Thriller". I think that should be our national anthem 2.0

Everyone but Patrick disappeared for "Golden". The stage was dark, and all eyes were on Patrick. Afterwards, the whole band sat down and did an acoustic version of *can't remember which* "Gin Joints" or "Noboby puts baby...". Either way, it was a sit-down acoustic song. I felt like I was watching the B-Sides DVD. I love the footage of their acoustic house-party set on that DVD. I never thought I'd see them do anything like that live. Pete was all smiles during the song. It made my heart melt just a tad bit to see him so happy.

I was getting frustrated with the people in front of me. 4 kids on the front row, who weren't singing a single word to a single song (I'm teling you, they were only there because they wanted to have Travis McCoy's babies!). I kind of wanted to claw their eyes out and tell them to leave. I think I might have anger issues. But it pisses me off when people aren't real fans, and they just stay on the front row for bragging rights.

Pete mentioned that Less Than Jake was one of the first bands to ever support FOB, and that JR was at the show. Heck yes for LTJ. They know how to pick 'em.
At another point, Pete got one of the crew members to come out into the crowd to get a circle pit going. Big crowd surge about 30 seconds later. Only crowd surge of the night, but hey, what can ya do?

When they started playing "Chicago Is So Two Years Ago", I think I might have squeaked out loud because of my excitement. It's one of my favorite songs from Take This To Your Grave. No one else around us was singing the words. It breaks my heart that people don't know these songs.

This is the part where I sound naive. I hear people all the time at concerts saying "OMG he just looked at me!" or "OMG he was sooo posing for my camera!". I'll be the first to say that people just sound naive when they say things like that. But me and Mom both agree, we were being watched last night.
We swear, we felt like Joe and Pete were looking at us. No eye contact or anything, but you could just feel it. And no one else around us was taking pictures, and Joe and Pete were posing for long stretches of time. Joe never stays still, and he stood long enough for pictures to get taken. Pete wasn't as mobile as usual (duh, ankle), but seriously, he was posing, and he would be "working" our section of the crowd when he did it too.
Maybe I sound naive and stupid for thinking it, but I have never felt like I was being watched that much.
Mom and I were the only people in our area singing "Chicago" and Pete looked over in our direction and started smiling. I just got that feeling.
Maybe I'm wrong. But if that feeling is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Cover song time.
Pete said something along the lines of "Do you ever hear a song, and think that's it's so good, and you wish you had wrote that song?"
Cue "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers.
Unlikely? Yes. Amazing? Yes.
Mom didn't like it too much, but I did.
I'm not used to seeing them do covers.
I demand more in the future.

One of the girls on the front row (AKA useless-waste-of-matter-that-doesn't-know-any-Fall-Out-Boy-songs) decided she had had enough, and got pulled over the barricade. I shifted to the left to close up the gap. I ended up behind this GIANTESS of a woman, who felt the need to FLAIL her arms wildly during the entire set. She was relentless! I think she ruined about 30 of my pictures. Her gaudy-fake-nails are in just about every one of Mom's video clips that she took.
FYI - one of my pet peeves is people who flail their arms in the air at concerts.
I want to seriously smack them in the face just so they'll put their arms down.
I am a terrible person. No surprises there.

This girl that was over behind the left half of the GIANTESS was giving me creepy looks for the rest of the show.
Like, she was just flat out STARING at me. She wasn't singing any of the songs either. FREAK.

When they played "This Ain't A Scene", I started dancing and doing the ridiculous arm movements that Patrick does in the video. I was seriously freaking out the girl who was staring at me. I thought it was kind of funny. She was thinking I was the FREAK, but no, it was definitely her.

They did a brief little break, and Pete took off his leather jacket, and came back out wearing a thin black hoodie. He looked like a little emo kid. I wanted to hug him
: )

*remembers that she forgot about the signs*
OH! Pete had signs taped to the back of each of his Bass'sssssssssss' .
One said "Beer me some new bones"
One said "The Universe talks to her"
And I couldn't quite read the other one, but it looked like it said
"This machine kills faschists" which would make sense, because that's the name of an Anti-Flag song, but Faschists didn't have a "C" in it, so it looked like the word "Fashion", And I remember it looking like it said "Fashion" during the show.
If anyone knows what it said, get back at me.
If anyone knows what the signs mean, get back at me.
I'm curious and nosy.

I love "Dance Dance".
I do.
You want to know a fun fact?
"Dance Dance" was my favorite song, BEFORE it was ever released as a single.
It was my favorite song the first time I ever heard it.
On a side-note, "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies" by Panic! At The Disco, was also my favorite song, BEFORE it was ever released as a single.
Damn, I know how to pick 'em don't I?

Any Fall Out Boy fan who has been to a Fall Out Boy show will tell you that they ALWAYS end with "Saturday".
They started playing that song, and it started raining crowdsurfers. It was like they had all been waiting for this one song.
There was so much energy in that crowd by this point. It was electric.
One of the reasons I was so bummed when I heard about Pete's broken ankle, was the fact that he normally jumps down onto the barricade and sings during "Saturday", and I thought he wouldn't be able to do it.
Lo and behold the shit-eating grin that developed on my face when I saw Pete toss his bass to a tech during the guitar interlude, and all I could think was
"HOLY SHIT, HE'S GONNA DO IT."
Sure enough, Bad-Ass Wentz got down on the barricade and started screaming "I read about the afterlife, but I never really lived!"
And the confetti cannons erupted.
The confetti was so thick, we couldn't even see.
I knew Pete was over on the barricade somewhere, but I couldn't see him through the confetti.
You all know about my obsession with confetti, so you can imagine how much I look forward to this moment at a FOB show.
The confetti thinned out a bit, so I could see Wentz, and we saw him finish singing and get back onstage.
Pete gets so many Kudos for the fact that he still got down on the barricade, with a broken ankle, to sing his part.
He knows we all look forward to that.
Then Pete decided to take off his shirt off and throw it in the crowd.
And then my heart decided to melt completely.
The perfect way to end a FOB show is with Pete, half naked, limping away in his rocker boot.
Not that I want him to be limping, but....awww shucks, you know what I mean : )