Hey Ted Leo!!/Where Is The Love?

Alright, I just got home from one of the most fucking incredible nights I've had in a while. Dan, Johnny C, and myself went to Chicago to go see Ted Leo and The Pharmacists in concert. In Johnny C's words, it was sick. It blew the Interpol concert I went to in March straight out of the water. Not a lot of people know who Ted Leo is, but e sure as hell do. He is a madman when it comes to playing the guitar and singing. Let me start from when we left town. Dan and I went to John's house around 1:30ish. We had to print off directions to get to the auditorium they were performing at. We started our trip at about 1:45. We just talked the whole way up about music and what not. It made for really good conversations. While doing this, I sat in the back most of the time and played Twisted Metal on John's PSP. What else was I suppose to do? We finally get into Chicago and find the venue. We got there at around 3:30-4. Tickets didn't go on sale until 7 so we had some time to kill. We went to this pizza place not too far from the concert. We got some pizza and chilled there until about 5:30. We gone done eating and headed to a thrift store that was across the street. They had some sweet ass suit jackets, but none of them fit me. I was pissed, damn me for being fat. I don't really think I'm fat, I'm a big guy, I'm like a freakin bear. Anyway we were in there until around 6:20ish so we decided to go ahead and get in line. I guess John and Dan both really had to take a shit so we stopped in a little diner that was next door to the venue. I'm sitting there and I see a guy out the window that looks extremely familiar. Low and behold it was the drummer for Ted Leo. I guess earlier that day we were making fun of some guy for how high and tight his pants were, turns out that was Ted Leo's bass player. As we're sitting there, Ted Leo himself actually comes out and is getting stuff out of his van and talking to some fans. Its pretty cool to know that we were 20 feet away from a celebrity, hes not very well known, but 4 albums makes you a celebrity in my book. That was pretty sweet. 7 rolls around and we go inside to buy our tickets. Nothing happened for an hour because the show didn't start until 8, so we just kind of stood around. There were 2 opening bands, the first was Aloha. This band had me at first, but as they kept going they just didn't appeal to me too much. They were running around on stage like a bunch of retards. They were switching instruments and what not, it was just horrid. The next band the came on was called The Oranges Band, these guys were awesome. They all looked like they were a bunch of frat brothers in college and they just never grew up. They all looked like they were middle aged, but they played and acted like they were 20. Good for them. They were a real boost after that Aloha crap. Around 9:40 Ted Leo came on. He knows how to work a crowd with a mic, that and the fact that he can play like a god. About halfway through the show there was this drunk guy that made his way up stage and kept trying to get Ted Leo's attention, he just kept screaming "Hey Ted Leo!!". You could tell that Ted was trying to ignore the guy but he just couldn't. The guy distracted him from playing like 3 times. Then he started doing it again, I was so close to yelling at the top of my lungs "Hey guy, shut the fuck up and let him play!!". He stopped eventually. Then as an encore he play "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen, that was pretty narly(yea I said it). After the show we decided to go ahead and just drive to Michigan City so we can go to White Castle. That was an experience all in itself. As I mentioned before, this late at night/early in the morning we start getting a little crazy. We started talking about our old math teacher Trent Yeoman, Dan just started ripping on him like no tomorrow. We were laughing our asses off for the whole trip home. I can't even explain it...*sigh* excellent times. That was that and here I am. If that was good, I can't wait until Lollapalooza and the Warped Tour. I think my head is going to explode.

In other news, my car broke down yesterday. I was kind of sad. I don't know whats wrong with it, all I know is that my dad is pissed about it and that I have no wheels. Somehow its my fault that the car just went ahead and quit working while I was driving. I mean hell what if I would've gotten into an accident? I don't know why hes pissed at me, like I had anything to do with it just going to shit. He can be an asshole sometimes. Kinda worried about my car, I need wheels.

One last thing I have to note, my brother came to talk to me at 2 in the morning yesterday which was really weird. Melissa broke up with him last night. Yesterday was their 1 year and 4 month anniversary. That is shit to me. He was a wreck...still is. I feel really bad for him too, I know how he feels though and I am really gald he came to me. It may sound weird, but my brother and I usually stay out of each others love lives. He really needed to talk to someone though. All of his friends are immature and don't really understand what its like to be in love and then have your heart broken. They all just go out with a girl for the sake of saying they have one/to make out with someone/and what not. But Sean's not like that, he's like me. He wants someone who he can have a steady long lasting relationship with. Melissa basically told him that she wants to see what else is out there and that she doesn't know whether she likes him as a friend or a boy friend. At this point my brother asked me if I know what he meant, then I told him what I am going through. We sat in the hammock and just talked for a bit. He was already crying and then I started to cry, I gave him a big hug and just told him that I was there for him and that I understand everything he is going through...cause I've been there too many times myself. Then he did something that I didn't see coming, he said I love you. Never in the 18 years that I have been on this Earth can I recall my brother ever saying I love you with such a feeling of sincereness. I told him I loved him too and he went on his way. I haven't seen him since, being in Chicago and all. I hope hes alright. Apparently Theresa got back into town today, I should call her and see how her trip went. Everything in the past 2 days has just made me realize how much I love people, I love my friends, my brother, I just need to show love more often. I'm taking it for granted...so ask yourself are you?