| TRIP ONE - Judas Priest/Anthrax |
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| WHO: Ivan, Moo, Me WHEN: Saturday February 16th - Monday February 18th, 2002 WHERE: Washington, D.C. WHAT: Judas Priest/Anthrax show, duh... WHY: Cause there's a first time for everything... I love that picture... probably my favorite picture of me simply because I love the moment it captured. My first roadtrip, I was all nervous and freaked out about shit happening. I felt at peace in the sense we were going to D.C and I'd just spent the previous summer living there. This was an awesome trip tho, I didn't hafta drive the whole time!!! :) We ended up with a pizza in the backseat that flew around most the trip, it was cold and kept getting colder and colder pretty rapidly. Probably so rapid since I was flying about 90 mph the whole way... just at the border of N.C./VA I get pulled over. Damn. But we made it from Orlando to D.C. in about 11 hours, not too shabby!!! Moo and I's first experience with the god-awful smell outside of Richmond. We flipped on the camcorder and cried out about the horrid stench and reminded ourselves to stay away. Well... that didn't really last, now did it? I was also psyched about this trip cause I knew in less than 2 weeks I'd be doing it again to see GWAR in D.C!!! After seeing our first GWAR show in Jan, Moo and I freaked out and decided we had to go to more shows otherwise we'd just die. Made plans to hit up the show in D.C. on March 1st, those plans fell apart. It's sad cause when I watch the video from this trip I hear myself occassionally make remarks about the upcoming trip that never was. Tried again to catch GWAR in N.C. in late March but the city ended up shutting that show down. Tried one last time in Alabama in early April but that too was shot down for other reasons. After that I threw in the towel and decided that fate must be telling me something and my sis and I were never meant to see another GWAR show. Uh... yep. And that lasted how long? Anyway, we pulled into D.C. real early, went to IHOP, went to the hotel, slept, and onto the show! We waited outside about 4 hours and endured some of the coldest winds we'd ever felt. Moo and I cried out as we huddled together, dressed in only jeans, tshirts and hoodies. Everyone could tell we weren't natives and poked fun at our pitiful attire. Doors eventually opened but not before we were frozen solid. The venue (The Nation) was located right in southeast D.C., a real shitty ghetto side of town. We ran inside and claimed our rightful spots while our friend Ivan stood back a bit to watch all the freaks in the pit. Moo and I endured the same show in FL so we figured we'd be able to handle the D.C. crowd. It was rowdy as hell but we loved it!!! We had an extra special treat that nite since some asshole fan was heckling John Bush, yelling shit about Joey being better and whatnot. After about 30 mins of this, the guy is flipping John off and pushing his way up front. John finally jumps offstage and into the barricade and starts in a bitch fest with the guy. Now, I was off to his side and just saw him jump in front of the barricade. I thought maybe he was slapping hands. I turned to my right to get a better glance. Ohh, better glance indeed! His ass was right there in my face! Without a second thought I reached over and slapped his ass while Moo looked on in horror. She saw what was going on way before I did. Suddenly the whole crowd got into it and started beating on the heckler. The next few moments were a blur but eventually John got back onstage, the rest of the band except Scott threw down their instruments and got into the guy's face, security was trying to pull the band off while the crowd threw the guy onto the ground and started stomping him. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!! I woulda paid extra to see that shit even closer. Priest came out, it was just as awesome as FL and it felt great to re-live those moments of seeing the show again. After the show we foolishly decided to wait outside to get some shit signed. It was probably 2 degrees outside with a wind chill of -59... across the street was a gas station crawling with crackheads but I went over and bought some coffee anyway. We continued to freeze and try sipping on the coffee while the bands ended up sneaking away without stopping for the 5 people who were waiting outside. I can understand if you are in a rush and there are crowds of folks out there but 5 of us braving the freezing weather? Bah! We met a chick from Atlanta who drove up for the show as well so she came to our room, we ate, drank and watched a Chris Rock standup show... the drive home was awesome, I didn't let Ivan drive, I wanted to see if I could do it by myself. I did, and the roadtrip bug was born... Lessons Learned: - If it's cold outside, NOBODY is worth waiting for - February in D.C. is cold, no matter how hot it is in FL - Deserted gas stations in the middle of the nite in GA aren't as scary as they seem... - Hotels won't let you check in before noon no matter how much you beg or plead your case - Gas up north is cheaper, esp. in Georgia - Bring more film than you think you'll need and dammit, turn on the camcorder more! - You don't need a suitcase full of shit for a one-nite trip!!! |
| "It's my life, and I'll do what I wanna, do what I wanna, do what I like, it's my life!" |