Big Steps

I woke up in Taylor's home around 11:30 AM after everyone else in the home had been up for awhile. Grabbing a box of Raison Bran, I realized how tired I still was. After a few hours of rolling around the house, the boys decided to go to Zaxby's and Corey told me I had to come, so I got my video camera and we took the van into town. They say you learn something new every day. What I learned today is that I should never accept leftover buffalo chicken even from a nice guy like Johnny. I more than fulfilled my quota of daily acquired knowledge because I also learned that Zaxby's automatic toilets only flush once, so when you stand up after taking a number two, you better wipe yourself efficiently within four seconds or you may clog the toilet. Maybe I'm stereotyping Zaxby's.

We went back to Taylor's home and hung out for another hour or two and then hit the road for the show. We were supposed to follow Flynn but those goofballs took off and left us in the dust so we got very lost and ended up taking much longer than we expected.

The venue was called Ground Zero and naked ladies and profanities were graffitied all over the outside. We walked inside where we saw tour posters of bands that had played there with titles such as "Sex Slaves" and "Cuntree." Needless to say, it had a bar and middle-aged women with fishnet stockings and other aspects associated with described culture.

I set up Aneirin's merchandise next to Flynn's table and chilled there for the majority of the first two bands. The singer of the first band, which was a fairly sweet straight edge group with a My Children My Bride meets Acacia Strain sound, said that he didn't mind playing with all these Christian bands, but his problem was that Christians often proclaim their faith but act hypocritically by going outside afterward and lighting up their joints. During the first band, a friend asked me to pray over him because there was a guy he didn't like in the pit and he felt that he wanted to fight the guy so as we prayed for peace and a humble heart of Christ, I realized that the hardcore scene is where I belong, because that is where spiritual warfare is most relevant in my life. That is where my faith and the faith of my friends are put to the test.

Aneirin took the stage with power and a full, glorious sound. Right from the start, you could tell that Dan already found his niche as front man by the second show. It was my favorite Aneirin set ever out of the dozens I have seen. Dan explained how it was awesome that the guy in the first band said what some people needed to hear. One enjoyable part of the show was the fact that I crowd surfed much longer than normal before I got dropped.

Flynn played a very good set as well, and then an incredible band local to the area called Divide the Sea took the stage. I won't explain their sound or performance. All I will say is that Dan and I spotted the most beautiful female dressed in everyday clothes absolutely tearing up the pit. One must understand that I am not a man that will confidently speak to attractive females. I think there is so much misunderstanding when a guy with a genuine heart (no ego intended) flirts with a female. Anyway, after such a spiritually driven show, I decided it was time that I grow a pair and be vulnerable and when the band stopped playing I jumped off of the amp I was sitting on and went right up to this girl and told her she was the most beautiful girl I had seen in my entire life and we looked at each other and she was grateful but I forget what she said and then I told her thank you and now I'm creating such a fantastic run-on sentence about it. Corey says I have balls of steel for doing what I did. For real, I don't know if I'll ever see another female like this one that throws down with such joy and compassion in her smile, but when I do I will definitely feel more confident approaching her. So yeah, my big break-through moment. Feels good.

A Plea For Purging was heavy as anything I've ever heard. Dozer's "Christian talk" was about how we shouldn't go be Christians because he's on stage and he is a Christian, but we should go home and seriously question what we believe and why we believe it.

I'm also the best merch guy in the universe, ego aside. I burned like two dozen copies of Aneirin's CD and convinced people to purchase them for a few bucks. I got rid of all of them, but I also gave a few away free to select people as gifts: the bartender who got the water for me to give to Aneirin while they played their set, the club owner who gave Aneirin $120 off of the door charge anyway, and the guy from the first band that spoke that thing to challenge Christians. I also sold a significant number of shirts (we only have youth larges and adult larges left). Financially speaking, Aneirin has been making out incredibly these past few days. What kind of independent band makes several hundred dollars traveling hundreds of miles over a three-day weekend? I told Dalton he should consider doing something with the money to benefit people that are dying.

After stopping at a Steak n' Shake, we went to my Aunt Sarah's home in Concord, NC for the night. We showed up after 3 AM and crashed in the house for four hours. I woke up after 8 to the best food of this entire mini-tour: French toast, bacon, sausage, and many fresh fruit options. Everything was so delicious and my extended family was so hospitable. It was great to see my cousins running around in the morning and my Aunt and Uncle welcoming and blessing us. They even gave us muffins, which should hold me over for the rest of the day, reassuring me that I really don't need money to travel. I still haven't spent any. God is good.

Now we are traveling in the van to Winchester, VA - a five hour drive. Here we will play third and leave immediately after our set to go to Johnny's house to watch the super bowl. I have my first classes of the semester at 8 AM, so considering that I will leave Dalton's home in Thurmont at midnight, it could be 3 AM when I get back to school. I am already sleep deprived, so I will now take this opportunity to rest in the van (like the three guys on the bed in the back), but before I do that, I encourage you to read something that I documented yesterday. Just keep in mind that this is before I saw Miss Beautiful in the pit, and don't judge me:

"This could be one of the most important documented realizations of my entire life. It is 10:18 PM, January 31, 2009. I am sitting behind Aneirin's merchandise table, listening to the friend band Flynn play the second-to-last song of their set. The current guitar riff is do-dah-dahhhh - dah-do-dahhhh and now Justin is scream "Jesus Christ" at the top of his lungs. Across from me is A Plea for Purging's merchandise display and fans are gathered around to purchase shirts and CDs. Two females in their lower 20s just walked by in short dresses, single file, lifting their alcoholic beverages to their lips in unison. A horny male puts his hand on the second female's arm as if to gently escort her outside. It is in this moment that I realize I can get anything I could possibly want.

I could be here, handing beers to teenage girls, making small talk, and for that simple labor, I can get laid. It's even simpler than a formula. I can get laid right now. I can have drugs right now. I can mess myself up and get wasted right now. And right now, I want all of these things. How easy it is to do anything I want. It's in an arm's reach, and more and more I feel reason to take it."