Yup, this post is happening. I went to a college of hipsters with messenger bags full of cigarettes and Vampire Weekend albums on vinyl, so I naturally have grown wary of admitting to liking any pop-punk bands. But when it comes to this particular band, I have no shame. So here we go.
Good Charlotte’s new album came out this week and I am loving it. You have to understand that this band was one of my first favorites. I made collages of their magazine pictures and hung them on my bedroom walls. They were the first band I ever saw in concert (on tour with Mest and Something Corporate - those were the days). I bonded with a girl on my JV field hockey team over The Young and the Hopeless, and to this day, she is still one of my absolute best friends. Good Charlotte is one of the main reasons I became interested in music and "the scene," so essentially, I might not even have this blog if it weren't for their music.
No matter what, GC will always have such a special place in my heart. I still have the worn out hoodie I bought at that first show (and I still remember the date: October 10, 2003). We’ve all grown up - they’ve gotten married, made babies, and traveled the world while I graduated from high school, then college and then got a “real job.” So yes, a lot has changed but now we are reunited and it feels so right. It’s like I’m 14 again. So thank you, Good Charlotte. My life would suck without you.
EDIT: Joel Madden read this post when I put it on Twitter (whaaaat?!?) and tweeted this to me:
That's right. This entry is Joel Madden-approved. (Let's be honest here - my inner 9th grader is totally screaming and doing cartwheels around the room).
I saw AFI again last night at the House of Blues. It was definitely one of the best shows I'd been to in a long, long time (excluding AFI at Hampton Beach a week ago, of course). I got to hold Davey Havok up while he walked on the crowd. He also did a flip into the audience and I helped catch him then too. Now my left arm is sore, but I can't think of a better reason to be in pain.
In honor of these two absolutely incredible shows, here's a list of my top 10 most memorable concerts, in no particular order. (NOTE: None of the videos belong to me, except for the Sugarcult one).
1. Third Eye Blind (Babson College, 4/21/07 AND Bamboozle 2009). Honestly, I have seen this band so many times that it's hard to narrow it down to one show. But Babson was the first time I was in the front row, and the first time I met the band afterwards. (It was completely accidental too. We were lost and managed to end up right behind the guys in some parking lot). And Bamboozle was just plain awesome.
(Not the best quality, and possibly one of the band's worst songs, but this video really captures the fun of Bamboozle
2. AFI (Hampton Beach, 10/17/09 and House of Blues Boston, 10/25/09). See my last entry and the paragraph above. AFI is seriously one of the best live bands around.
3. A Fine Frenzy (The Paradise, March 2008). I adore Alison Sudol, the voice and mastermind behind A Fine Frenzy. She is one of the sweetest, most talented individuals in music today. She is so grateful and appreciative of her fans. She's on tour right now, so go see her if you get a chance. (www.afinefrenzy.com)
4. The Airborne Toxic Event (The Paradise, 3/7/09). Well first of all, during the encore, they threw out cheap tamborines into the audience. I got to go up onstage with my tamborine and a handful of other fans to dance around during "Missy." This band is so tight live, and they sound awesome every time I see them. It's also refreshing to see a group of musicians who can play so many instruments well. This isn't just a bunch of guys who decided they wanted to be rockstars so they picked up guitars. Rather, The Airborne Toxic Event are trained many instruments including the viola and the cello. Another must-see live band.
5. Good Charlotte with Something Corporate and Mest, (UMass Amherst, October 10, 2003) Yes, this was my first concert. I went with one of my best friends, Veronika, and we had an absolute ball. At the time, I was completely obsessed with Good Charlotte (and even now, I will defend them, so don't mess with me!). I counted down to this concert for months. It feels like a dream now, it was so long ago, but I was always treasure the memories from this show.
6. Sugarcult (Framingham, MA Community Center, sometime in winter or spring of 2008, I think). This was the most punk-rock show I have ever been to. I know, SUGARCULT?!? Punk rock? They were label-less and playing at this deserted community center full of local high school kids. The atmosphere was so laidback and intimate though. Sugarcult interacts with the crowd anyway, but at a show that size, lead singer Tim Pagnotta spent half his time joking with fans. Then, at 11 pm, the cops showed up and said it was curfew time. Sugarcult was not even half way done their set, and they refused to stop. They kept playing until the sound was cut off, and afterwards, they hung out in the lobby to talk to fans and apologize for the short set.
7. Green Day (Verizon Wireless Arenain Manchester, NH. Spring 2004). Green Day is without a doubt the greatest live band I have ever seen. It's not a "show," it's a masterpiece. There is no way to put into words just how mindblowing a Green Day show is. I know several people who don't even care about the band's new songs, but will still go to see them just for the epic performance. So seriously, drop what you're doing and go see them right now.
(This video is from their Bullet in a Bible DVD, not my show. But it really captures how completely awesome Green Day is live).
8. Blaqk Audio (The Roxy, 9/10/07) The first time I got to see and meet my idol, Davey Havok. He and fellow AFI member Jade Puget were on tour promoting their side project. I shook Davey's hand after the show and was in shock for the next week.
9. Jimmy Eat World (The Orpheum, October 2007, I think). Yet another one of the best live bands I've ever seen. The music is even more perfect and beautiful live. And the fans are pretty chill and normal, so it's nice not to have to deal with screaming teenyboppers all night. 10. Fiona Apple (Bank of America Pavilion, July 21, 2006). Fiona is a little kooky to begin with, and when you put her on stage, she becomes even more insane. She flails around like she's possessed, but boy, has she got some pipes. Her music sounds amazing live. 'Nuff said.
So there are my top 10 concerts. What are yours? What bands do I need to see still?
