So this past Monday night I stepped food into Juanita's for the first time in what feels like forever. Its always an odd feeling now a days when I go there and I'm not performing to be honest. But then again I get that feeling anytime I go to a venue that I've played at as a spectator rather than a performer.
Anyway, I went with a friend of mine to go see some friends of mine (belair)open up for The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. That alone was an odd turn of events. When I first heard belair last year sometime my first thought was that they sounded like RJA and here they were getting a chance to open for them. Hooray! I enjoyed their set a great deal as always, every time I see them I get a little more into it and can't help but smile as they rock out in their own special way. Apparently it wasn't the best of days before their set and none of them seemed too terribly enthusiastic to be there. oh well, even with a few things that went wrong during their set, it was pretty enjoyable. Its also weird to go to their shows when not a lot of their fans show up. I guess I'm getting to see what it was like for us from the crowds point of view to play a handful of big shows with a ton of people, then slowly watch them stop showing up.
There was a second band that performed and while they were alright, all their music sounded the same and I couldn't understand the vocalist but that's the venues fault not hers. They were pretty enthusiastic and full of energy so that's a plus. When it was time for RJA to come out I kept thinking about the many times I've seen them before and how much fun it had been every time.
May 2006 - They opened the Forever Night Never Day tour with 30 Seconds To Mars in Nashville, TN. They had just barely been signed to a record label and nobody knew who they were yet, but they still got the crowd rocking out and having a good time. Plus I talked to Ronnie(vocals), after the show and he's a really friendly guy.
July 2006 - Saw them at the opening slot on the Warped Tour in Salt Lake City, UT. Now their album had been out for a few weeks and Face Down was just starting to take hold on the radio. Their crowd was still semi-small, but it started to get a little fierce, but still fun.
September 2006 - X96 Big Ass Show in Salt Lake City, UT. I thought it would be the same deal as before but no, far from it. This was the scariest experience in a concert ever for me. The crowd was so huge and the entire block from back to front was moving and swaying. I was mashed up against everybody in the crowd and when somebody in front of us fell down suddenly about 20 of us came crashing down in a giant heap. I thought I was going to die. Still a good show tho.
May 2007 - Rivervest in Little Rock, AR: also known as the Great Bottle War of 2007. The crowd was less frightening this time or maybe I just was a lot more aggressive, but it was a blast. The best part was the amount of little teenie bopper girls who were in the crowd because they've obviously only heard the non screamy version of Face Down and Guardian Angel on the radio and thought it would be a nice and easy show. Then from the first notes of In Fates Hands and the immediate screaming the crowd exploded and about a quarter of it ran screaming out of the crowd. Best day ever.
Then Monday at Juanita's it was different. There was no real pizzaz during their set, but then again I don't think they ever did more than just song, hello, song, hi, song, etc. It sure felt like a greatest hits sort of concert tho. They played a few songs from their independent EP release and one or two from their upcoming new cd, but mostly played songs from their first album and only one from their second. Odd, but I was ok with it for the most part. I just kept thinking of how full circle I've seen this band come. I watched them grow as a band that tons of people knew and liked and came to their shows to "oh hey I remember them." Not to mention the crowd was mostly full of 16-17 year olds who must have only been 11 or 12 when Face Down was big on the radio. Really? Oh I'm just feeling old now..
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