drive_thru182
08/10/03, 12:23 PM
Emerson Theater on E. 10th Street in Indianapolis Indiana doesn't seem like much at first glance. What it looks like is a little po-dunk, hole in the wall theater painted pale yellow and sporting a neon light trimmed marquee to catch the attention of the passing drivers. But on July 13th 2003 this little 400 person capacity theater became Mecca for Starting Line fans all over the Hoosier state. To kick things off, my friend Kelly and I turned the 2 hour and 34 minute drive into a 1 hour and 58 minute ride of pure anxious energy. Once we arrived at the venue, we searched for a parking spot and upon finding one, we parked and walked the 4 blocks back to the theater. First things first, we went to McDonald's. Big Mac and fries? Oh no, my friend, it was time to "hide the camera." So after little quibble on who's bathing suit area was going to be violated by Kodak, I won and she headed into the bathroom. In a few minutes we would regret this greatly.
Once we crossed the street and were in front of the theater again, we got in the 4 person line to trade in our ticket stubs for wristbands. Nonchalantly looking around, I spotted something that nearly made me piss my pants. I'll be damned if Ken Vasoli himself wasn't standing in line right in front of me. Of course, all I could do was muster the energy to shake Kelly and make her see what I was seeing. And just like most of my experiences with girls, it was over just about like that. He smiled at us and waved and walked inside. Too bad Hanes Her Way was holding our camera, otherwise we might have just had the picture of a lifetime.
Now to the show. The openers were fantastic. I fell in love as soon as I saw the Front woman for local Indianapolis band Zolof and the Rock n' Roll destroyers. She was hot. And later in the evening, she grabbed my hand. But enough about them, let's get to Mae.
Mae is teriffic. They did so good at getting the crowd pumped up. Amist softer, smoother songs like "Runaway" and "Summertime," they did some amazingly fast and punky numbers that for the life of me I can't remember the names of. Kudos to the bassist for maintaining his "I'm the laid back bassist and I don't have to bounce around to have fun" image.
Three words....RIVER CITY HIGH. Holy shit. This is like the best thing to come out of Virginia since...I don't know...George Washington. As I learned from guitarist, Bobby Raw's, shirt "Virginia is for Lovers." I'm now in love with this band. They really know how to work a crowd, they really know how to get a pit goin, and they really know how to bust out some badass punk rock. It makes me wonder how I hadn't heard of them yet. Some of my new favorite songs are, "Belle Said," "Skip the Seventh," and the impossible to find anywhere, "We Want the Radio." (After the show Kelly and I got some autographed cd's from the frontman/bassist and other guitarist.) River City High was fan frickin tastic, but most of us were dieing for some Starting Line.
Talk about anxiety, the crowd was ready to burst while waiting on the roadies to get shit set up. Low and behold, the time had come. We sat at The Starting Line while they made us "Up and Go" with the opening number.
It wasn't long after "Given the Chance" and "Leaving" that Kelly and I got seperated and my poor 5'9" 126 pound frame got caught in the heat of the mosh pit. Never fear, I dominated. The band was as pumped as we were and it was totally obvious. They busted out some new, unreleased material with, "Surprise, Surprise." I must say, I cannot wait for that new record to come out. I'm holding my breath and counting the days. Ken, Matt, Mike, and Tom played some fan favorites such as, "Saddest Girl Story," "Left Coast Envy," and even gave us a taste of the new Acoustic E.P. Three songs that hit me hard were the ones that defined my first experience at a Gen. Admission concert. Number 1: "This Ride." I decided, "to hell with it," it may say hold on and take this ride, but it also says jump up on this guy's shoulders in front of you and crowd surf. So I did. Boy was I close to the stage, I mean close. But not as close as I was when they played the song that Ken said, "This one isn't ours, but we thought of it first." Number 2: "I'm Real" When I got near that stage on top of all those people, it was like...."holla!" And finally, I got within a foot of a whaling Kenny on "Best of Me." This also happened to be the time that the security guard threw me into a metal barrier. Anyway, the energy level was throught the roof on songs like, "A Goodnight's Sleep" when Ken got a little over emotional and nearly knocked Matt on his ass. (No worries, he apologized) And finally, closing with "Cheek to Cheek" brought the place down. Indiana is still stinging from this concert and we await the return of The Starting Line with open arms and shaky hands.
Once we crossed the street and were in front of the theater again, we got in the 4 person line to trade in our ticket stubs for wristbands. Nonchalantly looking around, I spotted something that nearly made me piss my pants. I'll be damned if Ken Vasoli himself wasn't standing in line right in front of me. Of course, all I could do was muster the energy to shake Kelly and make her see what I was seeing. And just like most of my experiences with girls, it was over just about like that. He smiled at us and waved and walked inside. Too bad Hanes Her Way was holding our camera, otherwise we might have just had the picture of a lifetime.
Now to the show. The openers were fantastic. I fell in love as soon as I saw the Front woman for local Indianapolis band Zolof and the Rock n' Roll destroyers. She was hot. And later in the evening, she grabbed my hand. But enough about them, let's get to Mae.
Mae is teriffic. They did so good at getting the crowd pumped up. Amist softer, smoother songs like "Runaway" and "Summertime," they did some amazingly fast and punky numbers that for the life of me I can't remember the names of. Kudos to the bassist for maintaining his "I'm the laid back bassist and I don't have to bounce around to have fun" image.
Three words....RIVER CITY HIGH. Holy shit. This is like the best thing to come out of Virginia since...I don't know...George Washington. As I learned from guitarist, Bobby Raw's, shirt "Virginia is for Lovers." I'm now in love with this band. They really know how to work a crowd, they really know how to get a pit goin, and they really know how to bust out some badass punk rock. It makes me wonder how I hadn't heard of them yet. Some of my new favorite songs are, "Belle Said," "Skip the Seventh," and the impossible to find anywhere, "We Want the Radio." (After the show Kelly and I got some autographed cd's from the frontman/bassist and other guitarist.) River City High was fan frickin tastic, but most of us were dieing for some Starting Line.
Talk about anxiety, the crowd was ready to burst while waiting on the roadies to get shit set up. Low and behold, the time had come. We sat at The Starting Line while they made us "Up and Go" with the opening number.
It wasn't long after "Given the Chance" and "Leaving" that Kelly and I got seperated and my poor 5'9" 126 pound frame got caught in the heat of the mosh pit. Never fear, I dominated. The band was as pumped as we were and it was totally obvious. They busted out some new, unreleased material with, "Surprise, Surprise." I must say, I cannot wait for that new record to come out. I'm holding my breath and counting the days. Ken, Matt, Mike, and Tom played some fan favorites such as, "Saddest Girl Story," "Left Coast Envy," and even gave us a taste of the new Acoustic E.P. Three songs that hit me hard were the ones that defined my first experience at a Gen. Admission concert. Number 1: "This Ride." I decided, "to hell with it," it may say hold on and take this ride, but it also says jump up on this guy's shoulders in front of you and crowd surf. So I did. Boy was I close to the stage, I mean close. But not as close as I was when they played the song that Ken said, "This one isn't ours, but we thought of it first." Number 2: "I'm Real" When I got near that stage on top of all those people, it was like...."holla!" And finally, I got within a foot of a whaling Kenny on "Best of Me." This also happened to be the time that the security guard threw me into a metal barrier. Anyway, the energy level was throught the roof on songs like, "A Goodnight's Sleep" when Ken got a little over emotional and nearly knocked Matt on his ass. (No worries, he apologized) And finally, closing with "Cheek to Cheek" brought the place down. Indiana is still stinging from this concert and we await the return of The Starting Line with open arms and shaky hands.