Darien Center, NY 2014

[Geki]

So, this was the final show of the tour that I was doing. It also was one of the two LPU Summit's, as well, the other being in Texas. We had a day off in between Wantagh and this show, as stated in my last review of Wantagh. During the day off, we pretty much just hung out in the morning, slept in, etc. We went to a Wal-Mart at one point for whatever reason. But we also had to drive 6 hours to Buffalo, where our hotel was. I think we left at about 1pm to head up there. We got stuck in SUPER traffic going through New York City, etc. It sucked. I also remember opening a package of beef jerky at one point and it smelling up the car, that was pretty funny. I don't think I ended up even eating it really. Haha. We eventually got through New York City and drove through Pennsylvania, etc. I had never been to Pennsylvania before, so that was a first for me. We stopped at a Burger King somewhere in the state and I remember thinking that it was a beautiful state. After that, we eventually got to some rest stop a few hours from Buffalo. Pretty random little place. I couldn't believe how long the drive felt. We then headed back out for the final stretch to Buffalo. Once we got to Buffalo, we hit major traffic. It was about 8pm at this point. We finally got to our hotel and checked in. We went to our rooms and unpacked our stuff, etc. and got ready to go get some dinner and stop at a store. I remember that some old man in a room next to us in the hotel was complaining and yelling at a group of camp kids who were making too much noise, that was pretty funny. They were kind of loud and annoying, though, can't fault him, I guess. We ended up going to a Wal-Mart and I got some stuff. We then just decided to drive through a McDonald's and call it quits since there was a long day and night ahead. I woke up early the next morning, about 7am or so, to prepare for the LPU Summit.

 

We got ready and headed out. I remember the venue being in a really rural, country kind of place, which was cool to see. It reminded me of the same area that the Syracuse, NY show that I went to in 2007 was in. We stopped at some small little country store to get drinks. Once we got to the venue, I remember thinking it was cool, there was an amusement park type thing built into the venue. It was hot as hell that day, probably hotter than the other dates of the tour that I went to, even Holmdel. I remember waiting in line with the rest of the LPU members and talking, etc. We talked to this girl who really wanted to meet the band, so that was cool. She also came into play later on in the day, which I'll write about after. Lorenzo came out eventually and told us that the wait would be a little while longer since they were making sure the venue was safe and ready, etc. Kind of sucked but whatever. We waited longer and finally we were let in. We signed in and got our shirts and laminates. The first event was seeing the stage area and listening to a speech and Q & A from Jim Digby. After that was done, I think it was time for lunch. Can't really remember the exact order of events but I'm trying to. I didn't really like the lunch prepared for us, so that kind of sucked, I hated how they were already pre-packaged and they had condiments already on the sandwich as opposed to just having the sandwich plain and having condiments on the side. After lunch, we hung out for a bit. They had a little merch stand available for LPU CD's, etc. A raffle as well, which I entered just like in 2012, for a chance to get an individual picture with the band. I didn't win again. Haha. Oh well. I have bad luck. After that, we got a tour of the stage. We got to go up on stage and hold Mike's guitar, stand up on Mike's little stage for his keyboard, etc. Really fucking cool. I got some picks, too, Chester and Mike ones. Fans could also go walk out on the catwalk, etc. After that, we headed back out to the main area, where the raffle winners were announced, etc. It was then time to meet the band. We got a Q & A first, which was cool. Nothing memorable as far as questions or whatever. The band then played Final Masquerade acoustically, which was fucking incredible sounding and really cool to see. After that, it was time for the actual Meet & Greet. I can't remember any memorable exchange between me and the band but they were in a good mood, it seemed. The Holmdel Meet & Greet was probably the best one of the tour that I went to, though. After that, we took the group photo and disbanded, heading to the concert area.

 

AFI was already playing at this point, but I didn't care, after seeing them 3 other times so far on the tour. We walked around, got some food, hung out, etc. We then ran into the girl we met at the beginning of the day, who wanted to meet the band. Turns out she actually won the raffle and got to meet the band backstage by herself, along with the Meet & Greet, so that was cool for her. She ended up also being upgraded to pit, the band must have done that, since she had seats originally. We had lawn tickets for this show. She offered to give us her seats since she no longer needed them, which was cool of her. After that, we headed to our seats and watched Thirty Seconds To Mars. They put on a good show. I remember at one point, Jared climbed this huge tower that was holding the tent up, which was crazy but amazing at the same time, he joked that security was going to get pissed. Haha. He also brought some little kid up on stage at one point and the kid revealed that this was his second concert. Jared asked what other concert he went to and he said Nickelback, which prompted most of the crowd to laugh and boo. Very funny. After their set, I walked around the venue a bit and what not. Eventually it was time for Linkin Park. I remember hating the fucking seats that I had. I wanted to go back to the lawn at that point, but I didn't. Nothing too memorable during the actual show except for Rebellion sounding particularly awesome and Mike rapping Reading My Eyes over Bleed It Out, dedicated to the LPU. That was badass. Nobody around me knew the words, it seemed.

 

After the show, we headed back out to the car after a long ass day. We rested in the car for a bit and waited for most of the traffic to get out of there. We then headed out for home, which was the longest drive ever. And it sucked in the middle of the night, after a long day. We probably should have stayed another night at the hotel. We eventually got home and I slept better than I ever had it felt like. Overall, it was a good tour.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Geki