mr_drew

Andrew
2002-06-28 13:48:44 (UTC)

Less Than Jake

...Wow. What a day It's been. Well, It's actually the
afternoon of the 28th June, but yesterday I went to see
Less Than Jake live in Truro, Cornwall, (UK). Such a great
night.

It started off early, and I woke reluctantly from my bed,
in the knowing that I'd have to travel for about 6 or 7
hours to get there. I'd be in the company of my two best
friends, so things'd be okay though.

8am, and we were off. There was a surprise lack of
conversation overall in the car, but i wasn't all that
surprise. It was still early, and everyone's thoughts were
no doubt concentrated on the night's concert which we'd all
been looking forward to for such a long time.

The car was *hot* inside. I didn't want to open the
windows at all, because even slightly wound down, speeding
along the motorway would've resulted in a narrow, sharp
breeze of air into the car. I didn't want to offend
anyone, so i just tried to keep my mind off the fact that
my whole body felt encased in a firey-like case.

We stopped off twice on the way down to Cornwall. Once in
Bristol, to the Cribbs Causeway shopping mall. We wandered
around there for an hour or so, stretching our legs and
having a bite to eat. This was the first point of the day
where I started to worry. My mouth felt dry, and the
thought of having any panic attacks really annoyed me.
This was a day I wanted to enjoy, and I didn't want it
ruined by worrying about the state of my health. I tried
to ignore it as best i could.

I felt better when we were back in the car and on our way
again. The high ceilings and bustling atmosphere of
shopping centres make me feel queezy.

The second time we stopped was about an hour or so drive
from our destination of Truro. We pulled into a small car
park, which was headed by a quaint little café. "Andrea's
Café" the worn sign read on the side of the worn building.

We didn't stop for long here, just to relieve our bladders,
and have a quick snack. We were all keen to get to Truro
as quick as we could so we could find the hall where the
gig was taking place.

After the drive to Truro, and a good few minutes driving
aimlessly around for a parking space, we found ourselves
stopping at the top of a multi-storey car park not far from
the town centre. We found the hall, and then had 4 or so
hours to waste before the concert actually started.

For that time, we wandered about around the winding, narrow
streets of Truro, popping in and out of the many little
shops there. To be honest, there wasn't a lot that
interested any of us there, and we were just walking around
the shops because we didn't know what else we could do.

We soon familiarised ourselves with the relatively small
area on which the main shopping area was based, and had a
bite to eat in Burger King to waste some more time away.
After finishing our food, we sat there watching the ice in
our cups melt, folding origami sunglasses and people-
watching the teenagers passing in and out of the
restuarants doors. It was clear by the dress of a lot of
them, that many of them were centered around the town that
night for the same reason that we were.

I don't think I was too keen on the locals there. There
was an impression that they thought they were all a little
above everyone else, and that they were putting on a false
impression of themselves to go with the crowd. This made
me feel a little uneasy, but not to the point where I
thought my enjoyment of the night would suffer. They all
seemed nice enough.

Minutes before we were due to start queuing for the
concert, we found ourselves the nearest public conveniences
spraying each others hair in patterns of blue, purple and
yellow for the occasion. It may've looked completely
stupid, but it got us more into the swing of things, i
think. We certainly got a few shift looks whilst walking
back through the cobbled streets of the town on the way to
the concert hall.

We weren't long queuing to get in, and soon found ourselves
crowding around a table to buy merchandise. Many t-shirts
for £5 and other items also relatively cheap. We couldn't
help ourselves. I guess it was a good job too because
afterwards the shirts I bought in the size I wanted were
all but gone. The want for the the merch was near manic in
proportion. One young American guy to serve a rowdy crowd
of teenagers looked stressed as he darted back and forth
grabbing items for everyone whilst clutching a large wad of
collected cash in his hand.

And, so the concert itself. The hall was split into two
sections. One closest to the stage, where we, and the
majority of people stood, and then a higher section where
younger children and their parents sat on comfortable
looking chairs for the performance.

The amount of people in such a small space got me panicking
a bit, but with the help of a few calming breaths, I was
relaxed enough to enjoy myself.

First up were Stereo, the support act. I'd never heard any
of their music before, but was pleasantly surprised. They
interacted with the crowd well, and with their catchy,
melodic songs pleased the crowd well. They left the stage
after about half an hour to a supportive cheer from the
crowd, and the looming anticipation of the preceeding act -
Less Than Jake.

They sure liked making the crowd wait. For close to half
an hour, we stood there tapping our feet to the music
blasting from the speakers placed either side of the stage,
and commenting on the previous act. We guessed that they'd
be on at 9pm, which gave me the chance to dash out and grab
some much needed water which was placed conveniently on a
bar positioned just through a small door which led to the
hall. I grabbed two plastic glasses, gripping them with
caution, and squeezed back through the crowd to find Craig
and Phil, being cautious to try not to spill any of the
prescious fluid. After gulpiing that down like water
gushing down a plug hole, and settling my bloated stomach I
waited a little bit longer...

....and still...

...until...the LTJ banner dropped at the back of the stage
to a huge roar from the crowd. Then..

...more waiting..

..until...

...they walked on stage. The place went crazy, and the
opener of "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" drove the
crowd into a frenzy, accompanied by reems of falling ticker
tape shot from pressured cylinders at either side of the
stage.

It was pretty much the same kind of atmosphere all night,
along with toilet humour from the band; a lot of crowd
surfing; picking people up from the floor; jumping and
singing to familiar songs and attempting to take photos of
band members when they came to the edge of the front of the
stage.

After the encore, a sweaty but hyped up and buzzing crowd,
filtered out through the exits and back to the merchandise
desk where the young American guy became yet again swamped
by people all desperate to get a souvenier of their night
out. I waited a good while to pick up myself a CD and some
stickers, and then we left the hall.

All dehydrated, we walked across to a nearby, open 24 hours
a day supermarket, along with nearly everyone else who was
at the gig and picked up bottles of water to satisfy our
thirst.

Moments later, we were back outside the hall, where some of
the band had come out to meet the fans and sign various
bits and bobs. I got my CD signed by 3 of the LTJ members
and by the lead singer of Stereo. They all seemed happy to
do so, and seemed to enjoy the attention being in such
popular bands gave them. After walking around in awe at
meeting and 'talking' [.."He said, "Hi, Dude. What ya got
there?" ] to the band members, we trudged back to the car
in preparation for a drive through the night home.

The journey home was uncomfortable. Attempting to sleep in
a car speeding along a motorway was a hopeless task, and in
the end, I settled for just closing my eyes for short
periods to just rest my eyes.

We stopped once. At a petrol station, where I ran
desperate for the toilet in the cold of the night. I
jogged shivering back to the car, had myself a mint
imperial or two whilst Craig's mum sipped some drink and
then we were off again.

As a new day dawned, and we gradually got closer to home,
the mood in the car was reflective. A lot of thoughful
looks accompanied by bleary eyes looked back at a great
night, and forward to collapsing into a comfortable bed at
home.

And, so we arrived home, at about half 5 in the morning.
The radio station which one man had talked about the same
few topics for about four hours, (about a man carrying out
pranks at sporting events, litttle riddles, and "how to
make formula 1 driving more like real driving..") was
switched off, and i was dropped home.

I gave my thanks and appreciation for the lift to Craigs
mum, and stumbled to my locked front door. I phoned the
house to get someone up to let me in, and waited to the
sound of seagulls and other birds welcoming the new day
until someone let me in..

..I climbed the stairs tiredly, said hello to my brother
and mum, and fell into bed with my clothes on; ears
buzzing; mind still excited, but extremely tired. Within
minutes I was asleep...


An' that's it, the day I went to see LTJ. One of the most
enjoyable days of my life, and one i'm certain not to
forget for a very good while.

It's made me more appreciative of the opportunities I have,
and not to ever forget that I am so lucky to have the
things I do...

*sings along to his new LTJ CD...*.....




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