It's time again for another one of Melissa's Motor City Ditties! In this installment, I'm going to tell you about one of the most awesome concert experiences of my LIFE! Be prepared, this one is going to get rather lengthy... you have been warned!
Okay so let's see... where was I? Oh yes, we had just checked into the hotel! This is where the group split and we all went to our respective rooms. In my room, we had yours truly, Carrie (Your Invisible Monster), her cousin Maria, Sara and her friend D'Anna. After lunch, we had only a few hours left to get ready before the show started. So we're all running around frantic, getting dressed and going through the process of getting beautified. Shortly after this, Kaylee (Your Fly White Honky) had shown up in our room to do Sara's hair. We also, had to get together our epic gifts for the guys which included a bunch of awesomeness. My biggest contribution can be seen below... in the form of a Monkey from Build-A-Bear, decked out in clothing!
Meet Chatter Monkey!
Let's fast forward through all the boring stuff of us getting ready...
So then we set out on the trek down the street to Diesel. That was kind of an event in itself.... considering we almost got hit by a car. I like to think it was because we were so smokin' that night ;) hahahha
Anyways, we get to Diesel and get in line... Here's a few pics to depict that!
From L-R: Kaylee, Sara, Melissa, D'Anna, Carrie, & Maria
Here's our other half! From L-R: Teresa, Liedaway, Tara and her hubby Jaremee, Michelle and her niece Cindy down in front
And here's our gift! Here you can see Chatter Monkey's tale poking out. In with him was a BUNCH of monkey hopefuls for the trailer.
Fast forward again...
Now we're inside, after we handed our gifts to our Favorite Bananager, Marty and mingled with him a bit... we got our spot near the stage. Relatively close I would say! Now at this point we had found out that if you wanted to drink, you had to do it upstairs... pretty lame ass rule if you ask me! So we took our turns, Carrie and I went first and we pounded our amaretto sours like it was our job. **Disclaimer** I would NOT do this at home because results of such an action could cause you to get real tipsy real quick and POSSIBLY end up traumatizing a certain Bananager when you try to see if he likes the shirt you made.... *sigh* After everyone had gone upstairs to have at least one drink and we mingled with Marty and Scotty a bit more... it was time for the show to start.
First Up: Gramsci Melodic
They are a local band from the Pittsburgh area and I have to say, this band was ABSOLUTELY amazing! Their songs were infectious and catchy and the guys played to the audience very well. Their set didn't last too long but long enough to convince me to buy their CD. You can check out their myspace page HERE. And if you live in Pittsburgh area, I would definitely encourage going to one of their shows!
Next Up: The Kissing Club
By now, most 100 Monkeys fans know who The Kissing Club is. Now I have to admit, I didn't like Jake Miller that much at first. I do think he is an absolute Guitar genius, but his songs didn't really do it for me. That's all changed now, his songs have grown on me. :) I still enjoyed myself though because like I said, i'm a huge fan of his guitar playing. Towards the end of his set, our favorite Monkey men came out to join him for the song "Water in the Pipes" which was absolutely amazing! If you don't know who The Kissing Club is, here's a VIDEO of "Water in the Pipes" from Exit/In in Nashville.
Last, but not least: 100 Monkeys
The moment the chatter monkeys have been waiting for... 100 Monkeys took the stage!!! The first song out was Wasteland 2 which is pretty much one of the coolest sounding songs ever. There was only one thing missing... Uncle Larry was NOWHERE to be found!!! Naturally this saddened a lot of us because him not being there would just be wrong! After a few songs, the guys proceeded to tell us that they hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few days. For those of you who remember, this was right around the time that their trailer caught on fire. Also, on the way to the show that day there was a semi that crossed the median and caused a huge accident so they didn't even get into town on time. This, also, resulted in why Uncle Larry hadn't shown up just yet. I tell you what though, if the guys hadn't told us that they hadn't slept much... you wouldn't have been able to tell. They were just as energetic as always. They never let their fans down! After a few more songs, Uncle Larry.. in all his supafly glory... came strolling in during one of the songs. The crowd uproared. Clearly we all love that Monkey's Uncle :)
Before we knew it, it was time for the ever-so-famous Improv song. The suggestion was "Hats", which was actually suggested by a few of our M.A.S. Chatter Monkeys so major props to them for that because it was definitely one of the best improv songs to date, in my opinion! The guys never cease to amaze me with their ability to improv on the spot!
After the improv, Mr. Ben Graupner told the audience they had time for two more songs and asked us what we wanted to hear. Instantly, Carrie, Sara, Kaylee, Maria and myself screamed out "Monkey Song". And he was like "Hold on!! We have choices for you!" So he read the choices (Shy Water, Thank You Song, Grocery Store No More, and Prayer) and as soon as he read "Shy Water" we INSTANTLY screamed out Shy Water. He then looked directly at our group and was like "You guys want to hear Shy Water??" and we just kept screaming "Yes! Shy Water! Shy Water!" So he said "Okay Shy Water and what else?" and the other half of our group and others screamed out "Thank You Song". I have to say I was so extremely happy that they did Shy Water. That is my absolute favorite and I told the girls prior to the concert that if Ben G didn't sing it I was going to be a very sad Monkey Junkie. But alas, it happened :)
After those two songs, Scotty told them from teh sound booth upstairs that they had time to do one more song! So again, they asked the audience what we wanted to hear... again, Sara, Kaylee, Carrie, Maria and myself screamed out "The Monkey Song" and our other half screamed out "Reaper"! Since it was clearly hard for them to decide... the ended up doing both of the songs, closing out with "Reaper".
The night went by so fast but I remember every minute of it. It was honestly the best concert of my life. Probably because Ben G looked directly at me and my group of ladies for the Shy Water thing and because I got a few sexy stares in my video from Jackson during "Hats"... AND probably because when Ben J sang the monkey song, he took forever to start the rap and my group and I started it about 3 times before he actually did, therefore he was teasing us... and because I got a really funny picture of Jerad looking like a beaver...
But mostly because I got to spend it with some of the most amazing girls I have ever come to know. All of them mean so much to me and they all have a special place in my heart forever. That night after the concert we stayed up talking and giggling over nonsense like we had known each other for years. The Next morning we gathered in the hotel lobby and just talked again, like we had known each other for years. Finally, it came time to say goodbye. It was so sad. I don't think i actually started to cry until I reached Ohio on the drive home. I have missed these girls every single day since that day after the show in Pittsburgh. The joy I feel knowing I get to see them again in 28 days... makes me absolutely happy :)
I love you girls with all my heart!
Stay tuned for the next (quick) installment of Melissa's Motor City Dity where I'll post more pictures from the Pittsburgh show.
Much Love, as always
Melissa
Your Lowdown Motown Junkie
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