This was a major step towards the freedom I hold today. It was the first far away show that I was allowed to drive to by myself. (Well, I guess that's a bit of a stretch. I did after all pretend that someone was coming with me for my parents sake. Shhh, don't tell!) It was a semi-long drive, but nothing too bad. I arrived at the club shortly after MTX. This was a double show, so it was extra exciting.I found a place to park, then went and said hi to everyone. The shows were at at this bar, and some of the regulars were hanging around. This one guy was an absolute jerk. He was being really obnoxious, particularly to Paige. Finally he got kicked out.
When we were standing around, Frank did his impersonation of a french person building a freeway. It was hilarious, I can't do it justice though, especially not in type. Then Joel and Frank switched jackets to see how it would look. Joel looked pretty goofy, but not nearly as goofy as Frank! The jacket Joel was wearing was too small for him, so on Frank it looked really ridiculous. Then Joel put on Danny's leather jacket, Frank's (or maybe Robert's) glasses, and Robert's baseball hat. It was really hilarious. Those are the three looks that Joel just can't pull off (espeically the glasses and the hat), and together it was even funnier.
A little while later, people started showing up for the first show. The opening band (who's name I don't remember) wasn't very good. On the back patio the club had a big barbecue set up for the bands, so we were out there for a while. At this point, Frank did one of the funniest things ever. I forget exactly who was sitting outside, but it was at least Frank, Jym, and I. Frank said something about how he was enjoying chilling with his homies. Then someone else walked outside and he said, (in a really funny voice), "Hey fool, welcome to my hood." Everyone laughed and then Jym told him, "No, you don't say the L's." So Frank said, "Hey foo, wecome to my hood." It was so funny. I guess Frank just wasn't meant to be down.
The club was super packed when the Ghoulies played. The kids were really into them. For some unknown reason, the Ghoulies seemed to have a bigger Canadian following than MTX. Part of the time the Ghoulies were playing, MTX and I were working on the setlist on the patio. I think I got more requests in at this show than any other ever. Since they had two sets (and they didn't want to repeat any except for Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba and I Fell For You) there was lots of room to be adventurous. They even played Up and Down!
When MTX played it was slightly less crowded, but there were still a good number of people there. They played great of course. I got a spot right in front and was even able to keep it without too much trouble. The only problem was that since the stage was super low, everytime I got pushed there was the risk of me flying onto the stage.
After MTX had finished, everyone was cleared out for the second show. The second show was incidentally 19+. I was pretty sure that they wouldn't even card me, but I was wrong. The lady who was running the door came up to me and asked to see my ID, to which I replied, "I'm with the band." "I know, but I need to see your ID." "But... I'm with the band." My plan obviously wasn't working, so I got Jym. We talked to her for a little bit, and finally she agreed to let me stay. We just had to promise that I wouldn't drink.
The second show (outside of MTX and the Ghoulies' sets) was a lot less fun than the first. It was a typical bar show, which meant it consisted mostly of drunks, few of whom had heard of either band. There was a long break before MTX played too. It wasn't too bad though. Just a little boring. I wandered around for a while outside. Finally the Ghoulies played, and they were super great. They dedicated a song to me which was cool.
By the time MTX played, not very many people were standing in front of the stage. The few people that were were very pushy. It was still fabulous though. They played a lot of songs that I don't get to hear that often, which was great. We stayed for a long time after the show. There were some girls hitting on Joel, which is certainly not unusual, but these ones seemed particularly dumb. Certainly not very subtle. I just laughed on the inside at their stupidity.
After a while, MTX were finally ready to go. I stayed with them that night, so Joel came with me and we followed the van to the hotel. Despite a bit too much waiting around time, seeing MTX twice in one night was truly a memorable experience.