Cynthia Lee

To be perfectly honest, Zack from DOA because I would love to be invited to a beautiful luxurious private island to do nothing but lounge, jet ski and play volleyball all day.

It used to be A Christmas Story, but I don't really have one these days.

not that i expect anyone to be particularly interested or anything. brief recap and a bunch of pictures i took of mcr. yes they all have stupid polaroid filters because i am a ditz and even after all my planning and packing i still managed to forget my actual camera, and by the time we were in the venue, i had a bitch of a time trying to figure out the settings, so after a while i just stopped tinkering with it.

please do not hotlink any of these photos or post elsewhere without credit.



1st night in Dallas:































2nd Dallas night:





















































































Dia and I managed to get Circa's setlists that night as well.


Gonna have to admit, I enjoyed them and the Architects a whole lot more than I expected. Anthony Green was this sort of weird, hypnotic ball of energy up there. He performed as if he was expelling the crowd of all their demons and taking them into himself. Also he held crowd surf competitions and offered the winners to dine upon his child. Who was there the 1st night actually. My friend Dia, who I went on this glorious trip with ended up in an elevator with his wife and kid. He also likes to eat faces and is just generally enjoyable to watch. Even if I can't get into their recorded music I most definitely got into their live sets.

Architects were fun as well. They most definitely blew me away the first night, the venue forced everyone to stand the entire time we were lined up. If they caught anyone sitting in the line they sent them off the property. That means we were standing for a good 7 hours before the show even started. It was great that they were so energetic and fun, dancing along with their music took the strain off my legs and my mind off of how much they freaking hurt. The lead guitarist is a total cutie as well. On the 3rd Dallas night I went outside to hunt him down and buy some cd's directly from him. I rambled about how amazing they were and got smooshy hugs. It was great.

Unfortunately there aren't any pictures from the first night. That venue was seriously complete ass. They were taking people camera's away before any band even got on stage. They tried to take one girls phone away because she was taking pictures of herself. Such a bummer because we were directly in front of Ray that night and had the best view of Gerard out of all 3 nights. There was also a moment between Frank and Gerard, where Gerard layed on the ground and Frank picked up one of the towels, walked over and started fanning him. I think at first Gerard was expecting Frank to lay on top of him or something because as Frank approached Gerard parted his legs and lifted them a bit. Disappointed that Gerard and I had the same thing in mind but no delivery, haha. It was cute anyway.

There was also a moment on the first night where fans were throwing beaded bracelets up on stage. Gerard nearly busted his ass pretty good slipping on one. He picked it up, showed the crowd and asked them if they knew what it was, he then said something like: "I'll tell you what this is, it's a broken ankle, and I don't want any of those. We'll take your beads but not until later. You know what you can give me right now though? You know what we do want? All your fucking money." And then they started playing Vampire Money, but the funniest part was Gerard looking at Ray and smirking, puckering out his lips in a smug way and doing this dorky ass chin nod like "That was the most brilliant segway ever. I'm so funny, I'm a genius, I deserve a medal for my clever wit," and Ray actually affirms him by nodding back as if agreeing. It was the funniest dorkiest thing I had ever seen.

Watching them up there those 3 nights was an absolute joy. The energy is different than it was years ago. Admittedly, they aren't as reckless, raw or electrifying as they used to be. But they are definitely comfortable, happy and enjoying themselves up there. Their interactions with each other were great to watch, especially the third night. For some reason they were especially chatty, huggin and joking around with each other. It's nice to see them getting along so well and just enjoying what they are doing. With all the other nonsense, it's easy to forget the bottom line with this band. And that is that they are great band and great friends, and for as much bullshit as Gerard spews on daily basis, they still genuinely enjoy what they do and seem to be doing it for the right reasons.

I was honestly about this ->||<- close to just giving up on them for several reasons, but these shows restored my faith. I'm really glad I got to go.

And thanks to Dia and her lovely mother for helping make this trip possible. Without them I seriously wouldn't have made it. Thank you thank you thank you.

The end. ~

Behind the cut you will find a long....thing that I mean to be a rundown of my day and experience. Of course my head is in a scramble and you will more then likely get a million misspelled words. Sentences that make no sense, run-on sentences and rambling, lots and lots of rambling. Also some pictures.



I'm going to try and keep this to the point but it's most likely not going to work, but I am attempting to start at the beginning so here goes.

We got to the venue at about 10:30 AM, we ended up standing a few feet away from the buses. It was kind of funny because initially, I didn't want to stand there a look like a creeper, but my cousin and I walked around the venue about 5 times and we couldn't find the entrance. The layout of the place was ridiculous. So we just ended up remaining near the buses. After a while the crew started to come off the buses and it turns out they couldn't figure out how to get in either. Apparently the people who were supposed to open the place for them were late, so we watched them walk around the venue a few times looking just as confuse.

Derek came out first. When he did I was honestly shell shocked. My head just went completely blank and I watch him walk up and down and around the place looking just as confused as everyone else. At this point my cousin is laughing his ass off at the look on my face. I can imagine it was probably the most ridiculous dear in headlights look ever.

Eventually someone arrived to open up a gate for them and they started unloading and what not. By this time I couldn't spot Derek anymore. I think he went inside. Anyway. We stood there for a while more and we just ended up in random conversation at random times with a lot of the crew. It was interesting. Don't ask me half of what we talked about, I honestly can not remember at all. I do remember their tour manager chatting with us for a bit though. I think I told him he had nice hair? I mean, it was long and shiny and it had bounce and it was fucking amazing, okay?

Dan came out not too long after that. This is where I made a true grade A, first class ass of myself. He was walking in our direction and I swear to you, I have never ever in my life had a moment where my head did something I can't even begin to describe. It was literally like a skipping record. The ONLY thing that kept going in my head was "oh my god, it's Dan, oh my god, it's Dan, oh my god, it's Dan," over and over and over. It was like Matrix slow motion or something. When he got close enough my brain and my body where just NOT cooperating with me at all. I meant to say "Hi" and ask him for a picture. But what do I do? I hyperventilate, makes some gasping wheezing noises, I yelp his name and then flail and end up saying "Hi," about 5 times WAY too loudly. He slowed down, looked kind of unsure, gave me a tentative wave, laughed and walked by slowly. Like, he was actually expecting me to say more but I was standing there spazzing like an idiot. Of course my cousin doubles over with laughter at me. I mean knee slapping shoulder jerking full out laughing at my stupid ass. That is how ridiculous I was.

So, I stand there a little longer, kicking myself for being a general failure and Derek comes back around again. This time, I have no idea how, I managed to wave at him and say his name in some what of a normal way. Except I was so nervous that my voice was a lot higher then it should have been and on top of that I was shaking. I mean trembling and turning a funny color. I could feel my face getting hot. I guess he picked up on my distress and told me not to be nervous and that he doesn't bite and I'm just staring up at him with this face: 0_0 and nodding. He was talking and talking and saying that he was happy to see me and I was just like "You have no idea how happy I am to see you" and he laughed and gave me hugs and he talked to me for a few minutes. I can't really recall half of what I was saying or what he was saying except that he was super sweet and he kept his hand on my shoulder the whole time and he was sort of rubbing it which I think was meant to be comforting because obviously I was being a bumbling nervous fool. Anyway we took a picture.



I look like shit, okay? Complete and utter. The wind was blowing a million miles an hour. I had my hair down at first but of course it looked ridiculous within five minutes of standing out there. On top of that we were standing in direct sunlight. I mean the sun was beating down on my face so hard. I have sunburn right now. Not to mention how nervous I was. Yes, I just wrote a whole paragraph on why I look like shit as if I look any better any other time in my life. DEAL WITH IT.

ANYWAY. After that there was more standing. There was lots of standing and speaking with random people. Apparently at some point I had missed Dan walk by us again and get back on the bus, because the next thing I know he is coming off the bus. He had changed his clothes though, and he was ATTACKED BY A WASP. It was pretty hilarious. The tour manager was trying to swat at it and save him and he was literally ducking and dodging and hopping from foot to foot and running in a circle and hollering and I of course double over in laughter. And I'm standing feet from him, mind you and he looks at me completely unamused by this before running for his life into the building. After that I was thinking "Well....definitely not getting a picture now." But I was wrong because about 15 or 20 minutes later he came back out and I asked for one and he smiled and was like "OF COURSE!". I apologized for laughing at him and he said it was okay and that he hates "Fucking flying bugs man. Things with wings ain't cool." And that was the most adorable thing ever because HIS LISP and he was smiling at me and I laughed and he gave me a hug and thanked me for coming out and I was like "NO, THANK YOU." and then he went on his way.


Yes, I put that ridiculous face there because it accurately depicts my real face except better. The photo with my actual face is never seeing the light of day. Ever

So, Matt....Oh Matt. I blew my chance with him about 3 times. Once I had walked a little further down just to get out of the sun for a few minutes and as soon as I turn around of course he is coming off the bus. I couldn't very well run towards him yelling his name. I'm not that ridiculous. Another time I was actually really close to him but he walked off the bus in the opposite direction and I was yelling his name but as my life dictates, about five eighteen wheelers decide to drive right by and he couldn't hear me over them. Another time my camera memory card decided to shit itself. It pulled up a blue screen and was telling me to format it and I was sitting there fumbling with batteries and cursing at the wretched thing and I happen to look up and see him coming out yet again and my hand is full of batteries and I'm trying to balance my bag and again he's headed in the opposite direction and by this time I kind of just want to smash the goddamn thing into the ground.

After that my only option was to remove the memory card, which sucked because without it my camera only holds 7 photos, which mean I wouldn't be able to take a millionty fillionty billion pictures of the show. But I think I got some good ones anyway.

Right, so, there was more standing and after another hour or so Matt came back out. I was not going to miss my chance this time and I started power walking towards him like....flailing and saying "Hi" and I must have looked crazed because even more so then Dan earlier, he looked major unsure of me. I actually thought he was going to turn and run or something, he looked so weary. But he spotted my tattoo and his face immediately went ":D" and he like, walked up to me and gave me a ridiculous bear hug and at this point my brain literally went "!!!!!!" and I'm pretty sure I made this sound "lkdajsldakjfaskldjf" in real life. So here I am holding on to him like....I don't know but this was a serious major hug, okay? I mean I was marveling at how tiny around he was. My arms literally wrapped all the way around and I was just like.....*SQUISHES* and he was like, laughing and rubbing my back because I was talking about....something. I don't even know. I was shaking and rambling on and on and on and I was making some weird squeaking noise and I think I was thanking him a lot, for what I am not sure and he was just saying "No, thank you." Haha, they all seem to enjoy saying that, but more then that he was like, I don't know, comforting me and rubbing my shoulders and he kept calling me "sweetheart" and "love" and I am going on and on. And I told him that I appreciate him as a person and that seeing them means so much to me and blah blah blah generally really awful cheesy annoying shit. And he said that he loved me and that I was "fucking precious" and by this time I had such awful sunburn. He like, caressed my nose and was like "That's going to hurt later." And then he proceeded to apologize, as if he controls the sun. As long as he stood there listening to me talk and say god knows what, I actually managed to forget to have him sign my print. I am not saying that because I'm upset about it, the fact that he was spending time on me was enough, but I mean, my fucking head was nowhere. You could torture me in the most cruel ways and I would not be able to recall 99% of what I said. I just remember that he was the sweetest fucking guy EVER. And he was so nice and genuine and didn't seem at all put off by my ridiculousness and just LJDALKSJDLFKJALSDF. OKAY? Towards the end he offered me a bottle of water but I declined because I already had gatorade (LOL, COOL STORY BRO) and then he took a pick from his pocket and put it in my hand and he KISSED MY FUCKING CHEEK and told me that it is people like me that make his job "in-fucking-credible" and he gave me more hugs and told me to enjoy the show and went back on the bus. HERE IS THE PICTURE. I POSTED IT EARLIER BUT WHO GIVES A SHIT MAN?



OKAY, so after that, there was a lot more standing and waiting and during this whole time the band is going in and out and they kept stopping to talk to me and ask me if I was okay or if I needed anything. We were the ONLY people standing out there and like, Dan walked by me with some of the crew and he pointed at me and he said "I love that, she's a fucking trooper!" and I was just like ":D".

Of course we saw less of them as people started lining up about 2 hours before doors.

Oh man, please don't ask me what the set list was. I honestly have NO clue. But I know that it must have been good because I knew every single word to every single song and I screamed my voice away. My throat feels like pins and needles right now, honestly.

The show was great through. Matt downed a whole bottle of patron. He was fucking dancing. They were all joking around with each other. I mean, they were play fighting and telling really awful jokes. They were all smiles the entire time and they genuinely seemed to be having a really great time up there.

ALSO TOTALLY GOT A SHOUT OUT DURING THE SHOW. I assume I didn't tell any of them my name because Matt just referred to us as the "most adorable father daughter couple ever". Even though that was my cousin but what the fuck ever. GREATEST THING EVER, OKAY?

IT'S PICTURE TIME NOW! I could only take a few because my memory card shit itself, but here they are anyway.







And here is a photo I took at the beginning of the day when I looked less like shit and a little more like crap. Because there is a difference between shit and crap, trust me.



HI. I AM 23 YEARS OLD AND STILL TAKE MYSPACE PICTURES IN THE BATHROOM MIRROR BECAUSE THAT IS HOW I ROLL.

Oh, and because I think I forgot to squeeze it in there, in between all that I got a pick from Dan as well.

Um, so there is the story, or at least what I can recall, of THE BEST MO'FUCKIN DAY EVAH!

I'm going to go ahead and close this by seeing, I am so so so thankful for this band. As much as I joke about their faces~, I genuinely, honestly look up to these guys for so many reasons. To meet them and have them be so kind and gracious and be sincerely thankful for where they are and what they are doing and so so so fucking sweet, that is a huge deal to me. It's great because most bands tend to put on a show for people. Like, in interviews or when they are meeting people and even on stage. There is this huge disconnect because they play characters. They aren't themselves, and these guys aren't doing shit but being themselves and doing what they love in the process. They aren't trying to impress anyone. They just....are. That probably made no sense, but, whatever. The world definitely needs more people like them.

The end. ~

I SWEAR TO YOU I WILL WRITE A REAL ENTRY WITH LOTS OF WORDS BECAUSE BELIEVE ME THERE IS A WHOLE LOT TO TELL. BUT LET ME JUST SAY, BEST FUCKING DAY EVER, OKAY? HE WAS LIKE, TALKING TO ME AND HOLDING MY HAND AND RUBBING MY BACK AND GAVE ME A GAZILLION HUGS AND ALSJKDFLKASJFLDKJLAJDF.

ALL 3 OF THEM THOUGH!

OK, LET ME WRITE A REAL ENTRY BUT FOR NOW I WILL JUST LEAVE THIS HERE. I DON'T EVEN CARE THAT I'M A FUG FAT FUCK MAKING A STUPID FACE JUST LAKSJDLFKJASLKFJASL.

to be perfectly honest, a secret passion of mine since i was a kid was to be a vj. no joke. back when mtv played actually music videos and had programming that actually revolved around music. i honestly thought that it must have been the coolest thing in the world, to constantly be surrounded by and working with something you have a legitimate passion and interest for. i thought it was amazing that these people didn't have to actually produce music themselves to be a part of that world. they were essentially, fans and nothing more.

that said, i would JUMP at the chance to have my own media music outlet. not because i think my taste is anything spectacular, in fact, there are a lot of folks and critics who would probably laugh in my face, but that's not the point. the point is i'm a fan, and as a fan, i want to share what i like, what i enjoy and what i'm interested in. it would be awesome to have a job or opportunity like that.

i have no idea what i'd call it. i wouldn't want to give the impression that you are only going to hear any one type of music. in fact, i don't think i'd want it just to focus on music, but movies, technology and every so often, politics.

i'd want it to be something people could have fun with and also be interested in the content to a degree where they are actually thinking. sort of interactive.

so i guess it would be a little of something for everyone. not so much a talk show but a forum for all sorts of artists in all sorts of categories to come and be heard.

i don't get very close to people that often, but when i do i go head first. i throw myself into the few friendships i manage to have whole heartedly. it always goes south in the end. always. i've never ever experienced a lasting friendship. my bad habit is trusting too much that people will be willing to put up with or give themselves as much as i do. it never works that way. never.

The one pitfall of being directly in front of him was that the mic was smack dab in the middle of his face most of the time.

Nothing terribly exciting to report, really. We stood outside for 9 hours freezing our ass off, no one else showed up until around 4 or 5, doors were at 9. I got a set
list, so that was awesome.



They switched out Skeletons for Cringe, which kind of sucks because I've never seen Skeletons live and I love that one, but I love Cringe too, so, not a big deal in the end, really.

Chicago in general was pretty cool, although cold....So so so so cold. We went to the aquarium and that tower that is not called Sears anymore and ate lots of good food.





















I would definitely visit again if it were a bit warmer. I'd still like to go to the nature museum and honestly, there are a lot more places in Chinatown I'd like to try eating at, haha.

This trip also really solidified the fact that I need to invest in a quality camera.

Base Ball Bear - Electric Summer
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11490631-dfa



BoomSnake - Busy
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11490625-3a5




How To Destroy Angels - A Drowning
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11490546-297



The Boxer Rebellion - Lay Me Down
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11490221-565



Apartment - Everyone Says I'm Paranoid
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11490201-ed2
Note: I was actually having a bit of a problem with this file. In case it doesn't work here, I uploaded it elsewhere here: hxxp://www.box.net/shared/xo0j9rgtri



The Like - Too Late
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11490078-b64



Red Light Company - Arts and Crafts
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11490051-4b9


My Vitriol - Always Your Way
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11489986-ce5



Howling Bells - Cities Burning Down
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11489885-4e1



Duels - Brothers & Sisters
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11489869-db9



Battle - Demons
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11489860-c35



Edison Glass - Without A Sound
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11489161-614


General Fiasco - Rebel Get By
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11489146-f9d



Corinne Bailey Rae - I'd Do It All Again
Download: hxxp://www.divshare.com/download/11490660-71d

Track listing:
Depeche Mode - Corrupt
VnV Nation - Carbon
Vast - Flames
The Hoosiers - Killer
The Birthday Massacre - Red Stars
She Wants Revenge - Out Of Control
Nine Inch Nails - Sunspots
Dave Gahan - Use You
Deftones - Korea
Celldweller - Frozen
Bush - The Chemicals Between Us
D'espairsray - In Vain
A Perfect Circle - Pet
IAMX - You Can Be Happy
Ludo - The Horror Of Our Love
Interpol - Roland
Dir En Grey - Repetition of Hatred