The Trespass America Tourabsolutely killed it! I am writing this from my hotel bed in Nashville, in the room I just reserved for an extra night because I woke up with less than an hour til check-out time, room a disaster area and hungover as ballllllz, and the last dang this I want to do right now is make the drive back to Atlanta. Apparently, doing a solo pub crawl through almost every bar that was playing live music on Music Row, pounding Jack & Diets (my go-to mixed drink, but particularly appropriate in Tennessee) on the way, well before the show even began, was a poor life choice for which I am suffering the consequences now. Ah well, I brought this upon myself.
Promotional poster for Trespass America Tour
And it was 100% worth it! The show was phenomenal. I got tickets for the pit, and finally made it to the venue just as Trivium was getting on stage! I missed the first couple of bands, sadly (I got distracted at the last bar drinking with some dudes who had driven up from southern Tennessee for the show), but Trivium was one of the primary reasons I came in the first place, so it worked out fine.
The best thing about being a single woman at a metal/hard rock concert? It is the one way you can start at the back of the pit at the beginning of a set, and be in the front row by the end of the set. Heh, I actually got chucked back to the third “row” (general mass of people) from the stage by the time Killswitch came on, and I got shuffled around laterally, more so than toward the front or back, from that point. It was a “good” pit, if that makes sense. I only saw one fool trying to start crap with strangers for no reason (talking shit, taking swings), and the dudes around him quickly subdued his drunk arse without even having to resort to punching back. A+ to you, random pit gentlemen. It was rowdy (surfing, circle pits, etc.) but not aggressively or violently so; the vast majority of people followed basic pit etiquette and norms.
Mosh Pit Etiquette by the Beastie Boys, from the Beastie Boys Official Tour Zine (1995). Huge hat tip to the tumblr blog Hey Oscar Wilde for this image, one of its many, many randomly cool posts.
Killswitch. What can I say? It’s no secret how much I love that band. Jesse Leach is back doing the vocals (he started off with the band, but Howard Jones had been doing the vocals for the past decade or so). I *love* it when bands can pull off that kind of a transition. Quintessential example: Alice in Chains. I was terrified that any attempt to replace Layne Staley would be a disaster. But I’ve seen AIC in its William DuVall iteration twice in concert now, and both times they blew me away. For KSE, particularly given the band’s history, bringing Jesse back was a far less drastic change.
Hat tip to the tumblr blog fuckyeahkickasslyrics for the cool image of “Holy Diver” lyrics
Everything they played was awesome. KSE ended their set with “My Curse” and “Holy Diver.” Unreal. I don’t think they could have chosen anything better. My neck is killing me from head-banging so hard. My one complaint is that they should’ve played longer! But heck, they could’ve played for 3 hours straight, and I’d still be wanting more.
Five Finger Death Punch was headlining. I was right up close and personal for them too. They put on a hell of a show, as usual. I dig Ivan Moody and the band more and more every time I see them live. He brought up a couple of younger kids (probably 12 and under) onto the stage, and was getting them to throw down, give the double bird to the audience, etc. He’s got a good sense of humor, in addition to playing some killer hard rock. It’s funny, I’ve never actively sought out FFDP shows, even though I’ve downloaded most of their radio hits; but I can say at this point that I’m a fan simply from having enjoyed seeing them rock it live.
Ivan Moody of FFDP, being a badass
All that, and I even managed to not bust up my new glasses! That in itself is a minor miracle!
The night before I hung out at the Vandy bars for some live music and conversation with locals, followed by a pit stop to the Hustler superstore as I was driving back to the hotel. I actually did a u-turn when I passed it: how could I not go in?! Ridiculous. I ended up chatting with the clerks there for like 20 minutes, just because they were interesting guys and hey, if you’re in an adult store solo just before midnight on a Sunday, then why not? As you can see, I did quite well:
Hipster glasses and a Hustler bag: “Relax. It’s Just Sex.”
Hustler shopping spree included fishnet crotchless body suit, best gift bag ever, stripper pole necklace, and rainbow woman Pride sticker (which is now on the cover of my day planner)
Indeed, I have, in fact, already tried on the crotchless fishnet body suit. And it is fantastic. My brutal hangover notwithstanding (I’m on cup of coffee #4 [update: make that #5... these are small cups, but still...] in my attempt to garner some semblance of coherence), I dub this Nashville trip a success. I just need to get my arse out of bed and down to the hotel gym; I must attempt to mitigate the past three days of debauchery, gluttony, and sloth so that I can get my tattoos!
