sold my soul to rock and roll

So as I'd mentioned, we went down to Cincinnati on Friday to see the show with Ha Ha Tonka, Treaty of Paris, and Cavashawn. Mom picked me up from work at 4, with a full tank of gas and an early fast food dinner (so healthy when we're on the road). We made it to Cincinnati by 7:30, and found out that doors had been pushed to 8. Amanda and Ashley were parked in the same garage as us, so I went and hung out in Ama's car until we went to the theater. When we got there at 8, doors still weren't open yet. It was hot out, so when we finally got let in, the air conditioning was great. The Madison Theater was a pretty cool place, and bigger than where Cavashawn usually plays. The place was kind of set in tiers, which makes for better viewing, depending on where you sit. There was an open area up by the stage, and some tables further back, then tables on each level up after that. We decided on a table on the second tier to start with, and settled in to watch.

Ha Ha Tonka played first. I had only listened to them a little bit before the show, and I apparently didn't give them enough of a chance. I wasn't expecting to like them, but I ended up enjoying their set a lot. I'm not even really sure how to describe them, but they were quite good. They sang a really cool a cappella song called "Hangman" and it was great. Their bass player seemed straight out of the 70s, and somehow managed to hold a cigarette in his hand while he was actually playing. Cancerous, but impressive. Their last song was hilarious, it may have been a cover, but it was a catchy little hillbilly number about a "12-inch, 3-speed, oscillating fan." I meant to go talk to them but never did, unfortunately.


Treaty of Paris played next. I had been listening to them for about a week, and had talked to Phil (one of the guitarists) via their myspace, so I was really looking forward to seeing them play and meeting them. They did not disappoint. Amanda and Ashley wanted to stay sitting down since they didn't know any of the ToP tunes, so Mom went down to stand by the stage with me. Their set was excellent, and they had so much energy onstage. They have a lead singer (Mike), two guitarists (Phil and Dan), a drummer (Chris), and a bass player (Nick). Nick is brand new to the band, and it was his first show playing with them. You couldn't tell though, he seemed to fit right in. I'm too lazy to list all the songs they played, but they did play "Quits," which I absolutely love, so that was exciting. I wish I'd known their songs better, but I know them now, so next time I'll be good to go. Anyway, they were fantastic and I decided I need to see them again.





We decided to stay put for Cavashawn's set, and Amanda and Ashley came down to join us. There was a decent size crowd there by the time they played, and a lot of their family and friends, so that was cool for them. It was weird seeing them play on a tall stage in a bigger place, since all the other times the venues have been smaller, but it was also awesome. They played a really great show with a ton of energy, and we had fun. Again, I'm too lazy to list all the songs, but they played the new song "All the Lonely Girls" again, which we love. They also played a brand new song called "I'll Leave the Light On," which I really liked. It has a bit of a 50s vibe to it, which is always awesome. And of course they played "Background," which is just a great song. Scott actually sat on the front of the stage to sing it, so that was fun as well. They ended up coming out for an encore as well, like rockstars. Love that.





After Cavashawn's set, we decided to go in search of Treaty of Paris. That wasn't hard at all, since they were all back by their merch. We got CDs, then hung around to talk to them for awhile. They were all incredibly nice. I figured they would be, but I wasn't totally sure of what to expect, since their video blogs indicated they may be slightly less, er, "well-behaved" compared to our other bands. Nothing to worry about though, they were awesome guys. We stood around talking with them forever, but I can't for the life of me remember half of what we discussed. It was a fun time, though. We ended up being filmed several times by their digital camera, and I pray that nothing hideous of me ends up in a video blog. I will definitely be seeing them again sometime (preferably many more times) but none of their current tour dates work out for me. Hopefully some more dates will be posted for the summer, because I will definitely travel to see them if I have to. I'll probably bake them something next time too... they're not jerks and they got my seal of approval, so they get food. We took a few pics with them, and went in search of all the Cavashawn guys to say a quick goodbye, since they were pretty occupied with friends and fam and we didn't want to interrupt.


[L to R: Phil, Amanda, Mike, Dan, Me, Nick, Ashley, Chris]

It took us awhile to say goodbye to all the guys, since they were all over the place. We did eventually find them all, met Scott's mom and some of Jesse's family, and talked with everyone for awhile. On our way out I found all the ToP guys to say goodbye, and promised to keep in touch and make it to some more shows. I intend to keep that promise... I miss them already.

The drive home wasn't too bad. We went through some rain, and I couldn't really sleep, so that was a little unfortunate. We got home shortly before 4 a.m. and I crashed as soon as possible. When my alarm went off at 6, my first thought was "ohdearlordno" and I went back to sleep for another 15 minutes. I did manage to get up eventually and made it to work on time, and for the most part, I was too busy at work to be tired. After I got home, we went to a graduation party, then I went to take a nap and instead I slept from 4 til 10. Whoopsies, there goes my sleeping pattern again. Oh well, it was totally worth it. A concert with a fave band AND a great new band, together? Yeah, I'll take that over sleep anyday.


Currently listening to: Treaty of Paris - "Why Am I Still Broke?"