Last night was amazing. I found myself in Nashville watching one of my favorite bands, and since this is a blog where I'm supposed to tell you things, I'm going to tell you all about it.
I was actually sweating this show, because I was waiting in anticipation for the Walmart stock I sold to clear my bank account just so I could buy the ticket. And by saying I was sweating it was an understatement. My brother said that depending on when he got paid, he'd buy my ticket for me just to help me out. Thank God it cleared in a timely manner, or I wouldn't have even gone.
I clocked out shortly after 0700, and from that point I filled my gas tank and got an oil change. The mechanics told me that my left front axle boot was busted, and they strongly recommended I get it fixed, as it could cause some serious problems in the future. After a round of google (which I do anytime there's a problem), I learned that this really could develop into a problem. I texted my mechanically inclined patriarch (the same one that is a piece of petrified dog feces in other aspects) and he said I should be fine. I waited on a friend of mine for a couple hours while I fought sleep to see if she could go with me. I was going to buy her ticket, but after a full tank and an oil change, I just couldn't swing that. She eventually bailed on me anyway, so I guess it works out. After purchasing om noms from McDonalds (please don't yell at me, it was delicious), I stopped by Walmart. The psychiatrist who prescribed me medication strongly advised against consuming any sort of caffeine, but with a sudden fear I'd fall asleep at the road, I bought two Amp energy drinks. They're the only energy drink I've found that actually works, as my body is immune to the massive amounts of Monster I've consumed just during AIT.
At around noon, I moseyed my way to Nashville, and typical of me the navigator, totally missed my turn and had to find a way around. However, I managed to successfully arrive at the Bridgestone Arena with THREE HOURS TO SPARE. Spent twenty bucks I didn't have on a parking meter that lasted until 2054 (08:54 PM, for you non-military folk) and was really sweating it once the show started. I didn't care about any of the other bands at all and just wanted to see Trivium, and my brother said they came on around 1945. I saw the itinerary at one point, and was delighted to discover Trivium came on from 1945 to 2020. Sweet. It just means I get to miss the last two bands, Killswitch Engage and Five Finger Death Punch, which I'm not too upset about. The first four bands weren't great enough to go into great detail besides the fact that During the second band, God Forbid (at least I think they were second, might have been Emmure...), I scored a nifty spot by the barrier just by helping save this one guy's spot. He was an infantryman in the Army. I'm part of the Transportation Corps, and his job needs mine. Being in the Army didn't land me a spot by the barrier, and it was only after I secured it that he learned of my status with the Army.
The opener, Battlecross, was a relatively new band with only one album out. Their set wasn't bad, just not a band I will listen to later. God Forbid and Emmure were also somewhat okay, but let's face it. TRIVIUM. I enjoyed Pop Evil a lot more than the others only because I knew what was next.
Trivium opened with "Capsizing the Sea," an intro on their new record that directly precedes the title song of their album In Waves called...well..."In Waves." It's also the first single, so naturally they'd play it. I tried jumping around, but between the pit behind me pressing other music lovers against me and the fans behind me trying to pull me off, I settled for bouncing on the balls of my combat boot clad feet (no one wants trampled toes. Some wore flip flops, and I'll never understand that). Following "In Waves" was a song the band generally tended to play every show, "Pull Harder on the Strings of your Martyr." It starts with an interesting drum number before the guitars kicked in, and usually has the crowd losing their minds. Great. More fighting for the barrier. I held on to my phone with dear life and constantly checked to make sure my wallet was still in my pocket because I'm paranoid like that.
After that song was "Rain," off the same record as the song before, Ascendancy. Due to a misinterpreted lyrics video, I may never know the correct lyrics. The chorus starts like this: "As I'm pulled under the tides of this fast paced world" (and I had to google that to make sure it was right) I hear "As I float up there's a tie f**king flapping, WHY." So there wasn't much in the way of warbling that went down during that one because I just didn't know the correct words.
Following that song was "Caustic Are the Ties that Bind," my brother's favorite song. It's also off their album In Waves. When he went to this show when they were in Illinois, he recorded a video of that song, and pre-show he told me to save my battery (which was at 34% when Trivium came on) so I could record the song that followed: "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis" from their album Shogun. It's by far my favorite Trivium song ever, my favorite Greek story ever, and will eventually result in a tattoo covering my left forearm as soon as the X shaped scar fades enough to tattoo over. In fact, when I start closing this blog I'll post the photos of what I want there. You can tell me what you think, all 1 of you that are even actively reading this.
The last song they played was also from Shogun, called "Throes of Perdition." I knew 98% of the words. My brother has this tradition where leading up to a concert, you're not supposed to listen to the band you're coming to see. I made my own tradition in a futile attempt to learn the words and we can all tell how well that went. I had to wait until the lights came on and people started calming down before I made my way to the back, where I went to pee and leave. All of the other bands mentioned hanging around their merchandise tables to give fans an opportunity to sign autographs and take pictures. I probably could have taken my picture (Let's face it, pictures mean more than signatures nowadays), but I already had a couple from when I saw Trivium 25 May, so I decided to just go home. I called my dad for directions home, because I was almost positive he knew better about how to get home than my iPhone GPS. Its directions didn't make a bit of sense. I should have taken a picture of my arm, where I scrawled directions to the Bridgetone Arena all over it. It's easy to steal a glance at your arm, and not so easy to grab a piece of paper to look at. Besides, come night time both direction givers are obsolete. Not to mention the fact that I was convinced my axle was going to explode at any given moment the whole way there. It's about an hour and forty five minute drive, and a broken axle at any point is a great inconvenience.
And I opened the last Amp energy drink I had, knowing that since I hadn't slept since the 29th (and it was about five hours or so of sleep then) I realized that I was exhausted. Upon arrival at my home of residence, I sent texts to all the people that cared to know if I made it or not letting them know I didn't die, and my brother called me. I tried to get him to put off the conversation until the following day so I could sleep, but after 20 minutes of talking about the show, I made him shush. I uploaded some of the photos from the show before passing out, and the rest when I woke up, including the video of "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis." All in all, it was a great show, well worth the 55 bucks I paid to essentially see one band.
And now for that tattoo idea I was telling you about...
I just want the T (not the little circley thing above it) going down the inner part of my forearm. And surrounding that T in the form of a half sleeve:
Which will cost a lot of money without any doubt, but this is what I want, and get it I shall.
Thank you for taking the time to not only listen to my thoughts on the show (there were just so many attractive women, but the unattractive ones outweighed that and I was more focused on the actual show to spit any game), but to witness what I intend to have forever etched into my body. With just one tattoo so far, I plan on having several. And by several I mean I want full sleeves. I almost have the left one planned out (I don't want to finish the upper one until my tricep wings go away), and I'm being ridiculously picky about my right arm. Do you know how hard it is to find a picture of an Amaranth flower that I like? Let me tell you. It's hard.
Such a good night. I'm glad you could share in my experience.
-DCV-
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