Something Corporate and Dashboard Confessional concert

It was going to be another great time seeing Something Corporate in concert.

At the beginning of the year, Anthony had a handful of concerts that we planned to see. Sleeping At Last, MAE, and The Starting Line were at the very top of our list, but because of my schedule with my show and monetary issues, we were unable to see any of them. It was quite a disappointment to us at the time. But one day when Anthony was randomly looking at the Something Corporate website, he saw something that made him jump out of his chair. Something Corporate would be playing in Columbus, Ohio at The Ohio State University. Their venue would be the Schottenstein Sports Center where the OSU Men's basketball team plays. Almost immediately, we began speculating. There would be no way that Something Corporate could fill the arena alone so we figured they would be an opening act. And we were right. Coming with Something Corporate would be Dashboard Confessional. They would be coming for the quarterly Big Free Concert given by the Ohio Union. I cannot tell you the excitement that Anthony and I got zapped with. This would be the third time I had seen the band and Anthony's 7th or so.

Now that we knew the concert was happening, it was all about getting tickets. What happens with tickets is that the planning board will announce when the tickets are handed out and students can pick them up at the information desk at the Ohio Union. Only one ticket can be given to each student with their BuckID. This would be my second time going to the Big Free Concert, but my first time going through the process. The only problem was rehearsal. Luckily they were giving out the tickets a half hour before my call for rehearsal so I was able to stand in line. Anthony, however, had work. I waited in line with Cole and his friend JohnnyKo. We were about an hour early and were able to get floor tickets. Anthony, who came after work, also got floor tickets and so did my roommate, Dan-the-Man. We were all officially set to see the concert.

You could imagine the count down that ensued when the concert was a week away. It would be a crazy weekend. I would go home Wednesday and come back Friday night. After that, was the Ohio State v. s. Michigan game and then the concert. We were all a little worried about the game, but the way we thought about it, whether we won or lost, we still had a great show to see. Well, we won, which charged the weekend even more. The constant parties and celebration was fuel to the fire. When I woke up Sunday morning, I was ready. Anthony IMed me saying that we would come to campus early so that we can hang before the concert. I told him that I couldn't do our usual lining up hours before the concert because as ready as I was, I was tired from the night before. He said that was fine and came over. I was still washing clothes so Dan, Anthony, and myself pretty much joked around. I got dressed 15 minutes before we left, but once I was ready, we were out.

It was a particularly cold day that day and that is always the bad thing about these concerts. You can really dress warm for these concerts because once you are in that crowd, you will be sweating bullets. Needless to say, we tried to find some middle ground. Well, everyone but Anthony. He left Drackett Tower with only a t-shirt on. He was the bravest of us all. We made the long walk to the Schottenstein Center, which was across the Olentangy River. When we arrived, there were on a few folks in line. I was very happy with hour position for the amount of time we arrived before the concert started. It was around 5:20 p.m. and they would be allowing us to go in at 6:30 p.m. Only an hour wait as opposed to our top waiting time, 6 hours. There was also many added bonuses. No annoying little girls in front or behind us. We all pretty much found things to amuse us. I told them that if I found more than 10 Black people at the concert then they had to die because Anthony and I were the only diversity that the concerts really need. Anthony was trying to stand between people so that he wouldn't be so cold and Dan-the-Man was just...being goofy. At one point, I saw someone that I work with. We were both missing the work meeting and thankfully he helped me get my hours into someone via his cell phone.

As the night got darker, the line behind us got longer and we were all anxious to get inside. The staff began to attach wrist bands to people's arms to indicate that they would be sitting on the floor. We all got ours with no problem. I got the fear of my life while walking in though. Learning from past concerts, I know some places don't allow cameras and I had mine in my pocket. Anthony joked about them bussing out metal detectors as soon as we walked up, but as we approached the entrance, I thought they had them. I heard beeping ahead of me and my heart raced. Fortunately, they were just reading the tickets to make sure they were valid. It was okay. Anthony had raced ahead of me and was about to leave Dan and I in his tracks. When we got to the floor there was nothing to do but wait. Dan-the-Man seemed a little apprehensive about being so close. Anthony and I tried to reassure him that it would be okay, but I think he was still not cool with it. Thinking back to my first time at the Newport, I was very afraid when they took me on the floor. We stayed there though. In front of me was a girl who we called Poodle, with very blond puffy hair. It was all in my face and I wanted nothing to move. We were also very packed down there. I tried my best not to touch anyone around me, but that was a difficult task.

When the lights lowered, we knew it was show time. Something Corporate came on first playing every single body moving song that they could. Andrew, the lead singer, had shorten his hair and colored it black. He had also gotten a few new tattoos. "Punk Rock Princess", "Fall", "Space", and "I Woke Up In A Car" were some of the songs that were played. During each, got very close with the people around me. I was pressed very close to the girls in front of me. Anthony and I tried our best to stop the pushing around us and pretty much protect the girls in front of us and we were somewhat successful. At one point Dan was forced away from us and into a group of girls. We got him back though so that statutory rape wouldn't be charged against him. After that, the concert got a little more mellow. The band played a song that I had never heard before and then played "Konstantine." Once again, an amazing experience. But after all that EMO, it was time to get back in the rock mode. Something Corporate played a few more songs and then said goodnight, but people were still cheering. There was this one kid that really enjoyed crowd surfer. He would do it and then come back to the very same spot and do it again. Anthony and Dan-the-Man helped him up three times. I helped one girl up. Speaking of crowd surfing, it wasn't as fun for one guy. He was already up in the air when someone didn't grab him. He fell down backwards and head first into the floor. Now, this does happen from time to time and generally the person just gets up, but this guy didn't. Everyone kept looking down at him until someone decided to help him up. He was wavering back and forth as a girl tried to steady him. He eventually was taken back up and completed his surf. With a blow like that to his head, I think he will go to sleep and not wake up. The band broke down and played "Down," which is one of my favorite songs and then ended with "If U C Jordan." The song was sweet, but what was especially sweet was the very end. Now generally, Andrew will simply get up on the piano and stump on the keys, but tonight he did something very different. He was playing as usual, but suddenly he pushed his piano over and then lay on top of it. Amazing.

Dan-the-Man left to take a break and after all the goings on, I didn't think he would come back. Anthony thought it would be a good idea to get out of the crowd and go find him. He even suggested that we go get a seat somewhere and after some coaching, I thought it was too. Dan-the-Man was up in the stands drinking some soda. Before Dashboard Confessional came up, a man told us that we had to go back to the floor. We did, but stood towards the back. The lights lowered and all the EMO kids went nuts. Chris Carrabba took the stage and we found that Dan-the-Man and he had a similar look. The only difference was that Dan-the-Man had thinner eyebrows and man's voice. This guy could sing some very high notes. Anthony and I joked that he was missing some balls. Still, they gave a great concert, but in my opinion, they could have been the opening act. Other than a few songs, I found their show very boring because there was little variation in it. I understand that they were EMO, but all EMO is not slow. By the fifth song, I was ready to get McDonalds. The audience, however, seemed to love them. They walked off stage to fake an encore and when they got back on, the screams made me cover my ears. They played three more songs before leaving for real. We left somewhat beaten and bruised. When we got to the dorm, none of us really wanted to leave, but our stomachs played a different note. We had our food and enjoyed out night.

Going to see Something Corporate is always amazing just because they put on a great show. We are already planning on going up to Cleveland in January to see them again. I like the concerts because they let me spend time with my friend. It is always an adventure of sorts and I love it.

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