Mansfield, MA 2012

[Geki]

Don't read this review until you read my Uncasvile one first, because it's really one big story.

This show took place 2 days after the show in Uncasville that I went to. My girlfriend was supposed to go with me to this show as well, but she ended up not coming, which I'll explain why in a bit. My Grandma was driving me to the show, once again.

 

The morning of the show, my girlfriend started acting like a bitch and was saying she didn't want to go, etc. and that she needed money. You can assume what she needed money for, if you read my Uncasville post. I said I didn't have money or much time, and I wanted her to go, etc. The day of the show was also the day that I got paid from my job at Sunoco, so I decided to drive there early in the morning to get my check, despite thinking the checks wouldn't be ready yet. When I got there, sure enough, they weren't ready yet, and wouldn't be ready by the time I was leaving for the show. So this really pissed off my girlfriend, who 100% didn't want to go to the show at this point. I decided that maybe she could pick up my check for me during the day and cash it, not thinking about that she wouldn't be able to cash it because she wasn't me. I ended up calling my friend, the same friend who went to the 2007 and 2010 shows with me, and he left work ''sick'' so he could come. Pretty funny but cool at the same time. We picked him up and headed out. Now, this is where things get crazy. Halfway there, my Grandma got a call from my Mom. Turns out my girlfriend had went to my Grandma's house and stole a bunch of shit, computers, cameras, a TV, etc. to try and cash in for money for her drug addiction. My Mom called the cops and everything else and finally found my girlfriend after that. She apparently sold the stuff to some local drug dealer, and my Mom ended up being able to talk with the guy and get the stuff back. My Mom told my girlfriend to never come back to my Grandma's house and never talk to me again, and that my Grandma would be pressing charges once she returned. Now, this was a HUGE relief for me, since I was feeling like I would never escape my relationship with her that I wanted to so badly. But I was anxious and kind of sad at the same time. It was a weird feeling. I didn't have a cell phone at the time, since I had stupidly smashed my iPhone up a few days before the show out of rage. We decided to stop at a Staples nearby and buy a little flip phone for the time being until I got a new iPhone. I didn't give my girlfriend my number, obviously. But I finally felt free again. I didn't know what the fuck was going to happen in my life but all I cared about was seeing Linkin Park at that point. Once we got to the venue, we lined up and waited. Not too long, but long enough. We were some of the first people there.

 

Once we got let in, we rushed to the stage and got right up front on the bar. Mutemath opened and they played well, better than they played at Uncasville a few shows earlier, IMO. At the end of their set, I left the bar to go find out where the Meet & Greet line was, since I had one at that show. I missed Incubus' set completely, which sucked. The Meet & Greet was cool, the band were all in a great mood and it meant a lot to me, even though I had met the band before in 2007. The combination of the chaotic day that I was having plus meeting and seeing my favorite band was cool, but jarring. After the Meet & Greet, I headed back to the stage. My friend helped me get back up to the front row, which was really cool of him, he saved my spot. Like I said before, Incubus was done at that point, so we were waiting for Linkin Park to come on. I was bummed that I missed all of Incubus, but that's the price you pay for a Meet & Greet. TINFOIL finally started and we knew it was time to rock out. I loved it as an opener. It went straight into Faint and the place went off. Not as much energy as the 2007 show in Mansfield but pretty energetic nonetheless. VICTIMIZED/Qwerty sounded AMAZING at this show, and I find it to be the very best performance of the song to this date. All the songs played sounded great to me, especially BURN IT DOWN, which really hit me hard as I was ending a relationship of a few years at that point. The band ended with Bleed It Out and I felt a huge sense of relief after it, knowing that I didn't have to go home to my chaotic girlfriend, and that it was the end of an era in my personal life.

 

After the show, we met up with my Grandma, who bought me some merch, which was really cool of her, even though I felt guilty. We left the venue and stopped at a McDonald's/gas station at some point and ate. I wanted to prolong going home as long as possible for some reason, despite being relieved. Once we got home, she was nowhere in sight, and we had to set up the TV and everything else that she stole during the day. She had no way to blow up my phone since she didn't know I got a new phone, which helped a lot. I went to sleep and didn't think about what would happen next.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Geki