Last saturday I had the pleasure of seeing one of my favorite hard rock bands at the Barrymore. It was a cluster fuck trying to get everything together but I am glad it worked out even though it was very last minute. It all goes something like this...
I was randomly talking to my buddy Tubbs about big bands playing at Best Buy west. He is the GM there and he was all "...OH YEAH DUDE ALL THE TIME!" In true Tubbs fashion. He mentions that Nonpoint will be playing on the 12th and doing an in-store performance. So I am all "...can you get me tickets" in true C-Train fashion. He came through huge, he hooked up 2 tickets on the WJJO guest list. At this point I am totes stoked! Now, I just have to find someone to go with, I figured this would be the least of my worries. Turns out nobody likes great bands and free tickets. I couldnt find anyone to go with. Friday night I get a call from a buddy of mine. He tells me he has tickets and that I should come with him, (BOMB) I call his brother, he isnt doing anything and would love to go to a free concert (its about time, christ). Things are starting to look up. Saturday morning I decide to head over to the in-store performance. What a cluster the west side of Madison is on saturday afternoon. Took me 20 minutes just get off the exit to Best Buy. It was well worth it. Nonpoint played 3 songs off of their new album "Cut the Cord, Ep" (which by the way was recorded in Racine, $4.95 on iTunes. Pick it up mahfuckas). They killed it, really soulfull and intimate. Love these guys even more. I have video, but my angle wasn't the greatest, and I havent gotten it on Youtube yet, working on it. Anyway, after the performance, I am talking with the sales rep from JJO (who Tubbs got the tix from). He is pretty tight with Tubbs so he's all "...so you want to meet Nonpoint before the show?". Me- "um, FUCK YEAH", Him- types on iPhone, ok meet this dude by the bar at 8:45pm, he will take you back." Me- rubs his weiner, makes him a sandwhich, asks if he needs a nap.
At this point I am not really sure what a backstage meet and great is going to be like. I mean it could get awkward in a hurry. But fuck it, I am willing to risk it for a chance to meet one of my favorite bands. So we go back stage and its awesome, just a few of us and Nonpoint. Nonpoint is cool as shit, real chill and very gracious to us. They are willing to sign anything, take pix whatever. Just shooting the shit with us. AWESOME! There was another couple that came with us. They drove all the way from Indiana to come to this show and meet Nonpoint. Pretty crazy, this dude made a metal laser cut plaque with the Nonpoint logo on it. This guy was in tears the whole time as he is explaining his love to Nonpoint. Nonpoint loved it! The plaque was pretty cool and his story was touching, but the water works was a little much. I mean I love these guys too, but come on bro, your a grown ass man, get it together. Anyway we werent there too long, they had to prepare for the show. They gave us autographed posters, shook hands and we were out. All in all super tight, something I will never forget.
Nonpoint came out and totally fucking ripped it. I have never seen them live except for a live performance dvd (No shit, not even close to live, I watched one of their concerts on my couch. Hope you feel better about yourself). If you ever have the chance to see these guys live do it. They are as intense, probably more than anyone I have ever seen (except for Slipknot, they are down right maniacs). They put on a tremendous show, for a 12-15 song show it seemed like it was over in an instant. They will be coming to Band Camp this year again and I will be in attendance for the first time. I will not miss these guys again when they come back to Madisconsin! Unreal...
p.s. I was talking to Elias (lead singer) about there upcoming studio album. It will drop this April and is being executivly produced by Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett from fucking Mudvayne! Its going to be glorious.
I was randomly talking to my buddy Tubbs about big bands playing at Best Buy west. He is the GM there and he was all "...OH YEAH DUDE ALL THE TIME!" In true Tubbs fashion. He mentions that Nonpoint will be playing on the 12th and doing an in-store performance. So I am all "...can you get me tickets" in true C-Train fashion. He came through huge, he hooked up 2 tickets on the WJJO guest list. At this point I am totes stoked! Now, I just have to find someone to go with, I figured this would be the least of my worries. Turns out nobody likes great bands and free tickets. I couldnt find anyone to go with. Friday night I get a call from a buddy of mine. He tells me he has tickets and that I should come with him, (BOMB) I call his brother, he isnt doing anything and would love to go to a free concert (its about time, christ). Things are starting to look up. Saturday morning I decide to head over to the in-store performance. What a cluster the west side of Madison is on saturday afternoon. Took me 20 minutes just get off the exit to Best Buy. It was well worth it. Nonpoint played 3 songs off of their new album "Cut the Cord, Ep" (which by the way was recorded in Racine, $4.95 on iTunes. Pick it up mahfuckas). They killed it, really soulfull and intimate. Love these guys even more. I have video, but my angle wasn't the greatest, and I havent gotten it on Youtube yet, working on it. Anyway, after the performance, I am talking with the sales rep from JJO (who Tubbs got the tix from). He is pretty tight with Tubbs so he's all "...so you want to meet Nonpoint before the show?". Me- "um, FUCK YEAH", Him- types on iPhone, ok meet this dude by the bar at 8:45pm, he will take you back." Me- rubs his weiner, makes him a sandwhich, asks if he needs a nap.
At this point I am not really sure what a backstage meet and great is going to be like. I mean it could get awkward in a hurry. But fuck it, I am willing to risk it for a chance to meet one of my favorite bands. So we go back stage and its awesome, just a few of us and Nonpoint. Nonpoint is cool as shit, real chill and very gracious to us. They are willing to sign anything, take pix whatever. Just shooting the shit with us. AWESOME! There was another couple that came with us. They drove all the way from Indiana to come to this show and meet Nonpoint. Pretty crazy, this dude made a metal laser cut plaque with the Nonpoint logo on it. This guy was in tears the whole time as he is explaining his love to Nonpoint. Nonpoint loved it! The plaque was pretty cool and his story was touching, but the water works was a little much. I mean I love these guys too, but come on bro, your a grown ass man, get it together. Anyway we werent there too long, they had to prepare for the show. They gave us autographed posters, shook hands and we were out. All in all super tight, something I will never forget.
Nonpoint came out and totally fucking ripped it. I have never seen them live except for a live performance dvd (No shit, not even close to live, I watched one of their concerts on my couch. Hope you feel better about yourself). If you ever have the chance to see these guys live do it. They are as intense, probably more than anyone I have ever seen (except for Slipknot, they are down right maniacs). They put on a tremendous show, for a 12-15 song show it seemed like it was over in an instant. They will be coming to Band Camp this year again and I will be in attendance for the first time. I will not miss these guys again when they come back to Madisconsin! Unreal...
p.s. I was talking to Elias (lead singer) about there upcoming studio album. It will drop this April and is being executivly produced by Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett from fucking Mudvayne! Its going to be glorious.
1 comment:
Sounds like a great time, C. Love going to shows at the Barrymore. Back in my Madison days, a good friend of mine was the head of security for First Artists, a local production company that put on a lot of the local rock shows. He would "hire me" on an as-needed basis to work the shows I wanted to be a part of. Put on my SECURITY t-shirt, meet the band before the show, stand on stage during the show to shove off the stage-diving fans who don't immediately jump off on their own, yuck it up with the band after the show, stand by the tour bus and hold back the skanks when the guys come out to leave.
I know the "cool" thing is not to be impressed by celebrity, but I always enjoyed meeting people who were making music that I dig and basically living the dream. Lots of fun.
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