Hartford, CT 2008

[Geki]

I was going to this show with my best friend, like we did in 2007, so it was awesome, I was excited. His Dad was driving us down and coming with us to the show, like he did at the Manchester, NH show earlier in the year, the Bleed It Out guy. At about 8:30 AM, we stopped at got some food, etc. We also stopped at Walmart along the way so they they could grab a few things, I think his Dad needed something there, I can't really remember. He then went to check into the hotel for the night, even though I wasn't staying over with them. My Mom was going to pick me up at the end of the show because she was visiting my Aunt in Connecticut the same day and it worked out easier for me. After that, we went to McDonald's near the venue and chilled for a bit in the parking lot to kill time since we were early. A bunch of people were there as well, loudly playing music in their cars. My friend's Dad actually got a violation ticket for 5 bucks because we were playing it so loud, so fucking funny, and what's even funnier is I think it was Bleed It Out!!! After that, we drove down to the venue and tried to find a parking space, which was hard. During this, some missionaries tried to hand us pamphlets about God, which was funny. Eventually we got to the line and waited, just like we did in 2007. The weather was pretty sunny, which was a good thing. Once we were let in, we bought some merch, I bought the show poster which turned out being a horrible idea since I had to carry around in this huge cardboard tube the whole day.

 

We then headed over to the Revolution Stage and watched Armor For Sleep tear it up. Again, huge fan of those guys and they performed amazingly once again. During their last song, we went and got some free Monster at the Monster Energy section and then went back down to watch Hawthorne Heights who weren't really good at all, IMO. Their singer sounded terrible live, despite sounding pretty good in Mansfield. I still like the band a lot but they didn't sound too great at this show. I got to watch 10 Years at this show who played really well. Seeing them got me into the band, which I now love. I had also missed them in Mansfield so it was really cool seeing them. I didn't get to watch Atreyu at this show because my friend wanted to get front row on the bar for Linkin Park and if we watched Atreyu, we would lose that chance. On the way to the Main Stage it started pouring severely. I got completely soaked, as well as the cardboard tube I was carrying with my show poster in it. It sucked, and it put me in a bad mood. I was really thirsty as well, and I had no money, so my friend bought me a cup of water, which was really cool of him. We got to the Main Stage area which was luckily indoors, so we didn't have to continue to standing in the rain. We didn't really know where the hell the line was, though. It was a cluster fuck of people waiting, literally everywhere, in all corners of this huge room. Some complete asshole actually came up to my friend's Dad face and started bitching about how he was there first, etc. We weren't even cutting anyone or even in line yet, keep in mind, so it was unnecessary. He yelled at everyone in the room, basically. In other words, he really needed to just chill the fuck out. My friend's Dad was about the beat the shit out of him, but he forced him not to so we wouldn't get thrown out of the venue. Something awesome happened to him though, but I won't say what it was quite yet.

 

We finally got let in, and S.D.C. just showed up and started playing. We were front row, which was awesome. They were really fun to watch, it got the small crowd that was there at the time pumped up. Next came Ashes Divide, who were pretty good, I thought they were a little boring for a main stage act though, just like in Mansfield. Next up was Busta Rhymes who was hands down the best act on the Main Stage again next to Linkin Park. He put on a great show, so much energy, and the crowd absolutely loved him, just like in Mansfield. Remember the guy I talked about before, the guy who yelled in our face? Well, he had his hand up doing the heavy metal devil horn's thing and Busta Rhymes actually stopped rapping and went ''What the fuck are you doing? Put your hands up, not that shit, fuck that shit''. It was so fucking funny, the guy got so embarrassed, and EVERYONE around us laughed since he was being such an asshole to everyone else beforehand, it was sweet revenge. I'm glad that happened, he deserved it!!! Next up was The Bravery who were good. I actually really enjoyed their set, which was weird since I didn't love them at Mansfield. The singer called out someone in the crowd who he was related to, and told them to meet him backstage after the set, I thought that was pretty cool. Chris Cornell was up next, he was absolutely amazing as expected once again. Chester came out on Hunger Strike again, which was epic once again. We saw him waiting at the side of the stage beforehand. He sang it perfectly, I think it was one of the better performances of the song on the tour, actually, and I'm not being biased since it was from my show. Finally, it was Linkin Park time. The lights went out and S.D.C. started their awesome intro, then came One Step Closer. By the time the main riff started, the whole pit basically did this wave thing and I fell backwards from the force. It was crazy. They rocked though Lying From You, which was awesome with the new intro and everything. Unfortunately, I was really dehydrated at this show and I actually had to leave in the middle of the show because of it. I was literally passing out, so I figured it would be better for my health if I left. I tried to hang in there as long as I could, constantly asking the security for water, etc., but it went ignored. I stayed up until the middle of Shadow Of The Day, and then I had to walk out. I missed some great stuff which I still beat myself up over sometimes, like when the band brought out Chris Cornell for Crawling and gave him a cake and a present and all that because it was his birthday. I also missed We Made It too, which sucked, but at least I got to see it at Mansfield a couple days prior...

 

Anyways, after I left, I went out and waited for my Mom to pick me up, like she said she was going to. Things got REALLY shitty after this. I called her and she was at my Aunt's house still, which was about 30 minutes away. What the fuck. She was supposed to be at the venue by then. It then started fucking POURING rain, way worse than it was during the day. The poster got completely soaked too, which sucked. It would have been completely ruined if it weren't from the damn cardboard tube that I hated carrying around all day. They finally got to the venue after the show was over, and I was really, really thirsty. I was basically sitting down on the ground at that point because I legit though I was dying. Luckily, they brought the Powerade that I told them to bring me over the phone. They got pissed off at me the entire ride home because I was in such a bad mood. It also escalated my anger that during the show, a security guard gave this girl in front of us a whole bottle of water even though I was asking him the entire time for water and he ignored me, what a prick. Once we got home, I think I took a shower, drank a shit ton of water and Powerade, and passed the fuck out.

Edited February 3, 2017 by Geki