A Long Post About My "Way" Cool Weekend

So I didn't run away with Gerard Way after the My Chemical Romance concert. But this was still a phenomenal weekend.

Saturday, my sister K and I went to Hoboken to see the Lemonheads. The venue (Maxwell's) was so tiny, it was great. There wasn't a separate door for the band to come in or out, so after the show they had to walk through the crowd to get out. Of course, we ran over and walked next to Evan Dando (total hottie lead singer) and I rubbed his arm. I love touching famous people. They were really good in concert. The last time I saw them was back in the early 90's in their heyday and this was so different. Last time, it was a much larger club and we were right up at the stage and when they came on, the crowd surge was so strong that we all fell down (meaning, like 100 people fell, it was crazy and great). This time, it was mellow and the crowd was exceedingly tame. K and I were the only ones jumping around and I kept daring her to knock the lady next to her down, but she wouldn't. Still good times, nonetheless.

Then came Sunday. My beloved My Chemical Romance in concert in Philly. Rise Against opened and they were really good. The funny thing to me about them was that the portrayed themselves as badass anarchists with their stage set and songs. So the lead singer is making a little speech about Iraq and I am expecting a big anarchist statement. But all he said was "Its time to bring the troops home." Wow, you went out on a ledge with that statement, you wild man.

When we got to the arena, we were probably 25 people back from the stage. I was like, this is doable, I can see and I am pretty close. It was probably 25 people or so deep behind us, so we were mid-crowd. Then My Chem came on and there was of course the crowd surge and we just went with it and ended up maybe 15 people back. Then all these little mosh pits kept opening up all over, and the crowd was really rowdy and kept pushing forward and back. So every time the crowd pushed forward, we did too (and then refused to budge when they tried pushing us backward) and we ended up about 5 people back from the stage. We ended up so close to the stage.

The concert was divided into 2 halves. The first half, they did all songs from the new cd, The Black Parade. They were in black and white makeup and those marching band uniforms they wear. I believe they played every song from The Black Parade cd. It was phenomenal. Every song sounded great and they put on such an amazing show. Then, they took a 5 minute break and came back and did all songs from their previous cd, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. They took the makeup off, which was good because I got to see Gerard's pretty face. He looks great with black hair again (vs. the blonde he had for a while there). During this portion of the set, the crowd got even rowdier because the music is more aggressive. I got kicked in the head once by a crowd surfer but it wasn't so bad. And it was totally worth it to get kicked in the head to be so close to the stage.

I think I converted K into a real My Chem fan, if not by her own choice then by the fact that she was trapped in the car with me for many, many hours as we drove through the snow and ice and sleet to get to and from Philly so she pretty much had to listen to me go on and on with all my very useful and highly interesting My Chem trivia. Plus, she said they put on a great show, that Gerard is a great front man, and I think she is digging on his brother Mikey, the bassist. I will convert you all, one by one if necessary. Patsy, you are next.

Look Out Gerard, Here I Come

I know you are probably tired of hearing about My Chemical Romance and my Gerard Way obsession. Patsy moans and groans and rolls her eyes every time I mention them. But too bad. I am posting about them again.

Its only two days till I see them in concert again! If you remember, I flew to Florida back in December to see them at an all-day-concert-festival-thingee and it was one of the best weekends evah. My seats weren't close, but I did get to see Gerard and the rest of the guys up close when they were signing autographs.

Gerard Way is so gorgeous it is obscene.

For Sunday's concert, I have general admission tickets, which translates to mosh pit tickets. Ya ya. I can't wait. I will be elbowing little 14-year-old emo kids to get up close to the stage. Yes, they will probably say, why is that grandmother knocking everyone over? But I don't care. I have been in mosh pits for longer than they have been alive (this is sad but true; my first mosh pit was in 1992). I CANNOT WAIT.

If you don't hear from me again, its because I have run away with Gerard. It could happen.
*ETA - Or Frank Iero. He is way shorter than me, but I could run away with him too.

A Long Post About My Kid, With a Cool Pic at the End.

I see it as a big responsibility to raise a daughter these days. I need Princess to be strong and tough and not take anyone's crap, have confidence in me that if someone wrongs her in any way that she can tell me and I will kick ass for her, while also making sure she is polite and caring and "good." It's a tall order.

I am always working with her on what to do if she is picked on. The boys in her daycare who are slightly older - meaning like 4 or 5 years old - pick on the younger girls and call them babies or say silly things like, Princess you don't have long hair. When she does have long hair. Silly. But it makes Princess so upset that she cries and can’t sleep because she is running it all over and over in her head when she goes to bed. I don’t get why she is so sensitive (but I think my mom’s genes may be to blame. Sorry mom.). So I have been teaching her what to say – like, "Michael, and I am so three years old and I am not a baby, so you are obviously not very smart. Now get away from me."

We practice this. We also practice how to knock someone down if they hit you. We do this only because there is a little boy in her class who hits everyone, all the time, and I am not having that. The kid needs to get knocked down and I am fine with it being my kid who does it. I even told the teacher, if this kid hits Princess one more time, I am going to have to start teaching her how to knock him unconscious since you are not stopping it. She looked at me in shock, but she could tell I meant it. They just love me there.

Anyhoo, this is a hard part of being a parent. I don't want her to be a bully or to hit other kids without provocation, but I also don’t want her getting picked on. I think she needs to learn to defend herself, preferably with the art of sarcasm and wit, as early as possible. She has a mean face she makes when she is mad and I am trying to get her to use it with people other than me and Hub. While its not as intimidating as my mean face, its pretty good. Check it out.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Its my favorite holiday of all - Mardi Gras. Yes, I love Christmas and Thanksgiving and of course, St. Patty's Day. But Mardi Gras is just about the best idea I have ever heard for a holiday. Drink! Get crazy! Go completely wild! Show your boobs! Whatever! Just be as absolutely insane as you can be on this one last day before Ash Wednesday when you have to repent and suffer for 40 days! What else could be as great as that?

We had our Mardi Gras party on Saturday and it was good times (above is the pic of Princess from our invitations). Patsy was completely hammered and was calling a 3-year-old the C-word (not to her face, and not my 3-year-old). I often wonder why I bother having these parties at all, though, when for me the REAL party doesn't start until about 2am when its down to just our little tribe of friends, jello shots, tequila and stale potato chips. Here's Patsy and me, enjoying good times, in our matching Mardi Gras hats:

Enjoy your Mardi Gras!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

One Month Till Heaven

Only a month till we go to New Orleans. I can't wait. New Orleans is my favorite place on the planet. Truly, it is like home to me. This will be my 6th trip there. There are 6 of us going (we will, of course, be Princess-free) and its such a good group of friends. Patsy will be going with her man diddy, and the truth is that we can have good times anywhere but we have out best times in New Orleans. And my cousin and his wife are going with us, which completely rocks. The last time I went on vacation with him, it was to Vegas and that was good times. His wife is one of the coolest chicks on the planet. Patsy and I can't wait to show them around our city...all our favorite haunts...like Lafitte's for Voodoo Daquiris, Tropical Isle for Hand Grenades, Pat O'Brien's for Hurricanes, Coop's for the best chicken sandwiches that take 4 hours to make, and my favorite restaurant/bar - The Crescent City Brewhouse. New Orleans is the only place where Hub drinks way too much and throws up. I am so proud.

Between now and New Orleans, I have 3 concerts, and then another the weekend after we come back. Its complete insanity. This jetset life is going to kill me. Ah, but I do love it. This weekend is our Mardi Gras party and I can't wait for that. Next weekend is the Lemonheads on Saturday and My Chemical Romance (look out, Gerard, here I come! You'll recognize me because I will be the only chick over 16 years old in the pit!) on Sunday, and the following weekend is Papa Roach with Kill Hannah. When we come back, we have Taste of Chaos which I can't wait for. That's The Used, 30 Seconds to Mars, Evaline, Senses Fail, and some other bands. I love concerts. I am such a teenager.

Random Thoughts on a Thursday

I saw at Costco last night that the band Roxette has a greatest hits cd. It features 20 songs. How is this possible?

Do you think that when Gerard Way sings the line, "I'm so dirty, babe" he is talking directly to me since I like dirty boys and my nickname from Hub is babe? I choose to believe so. Please don't burst my bubble.

It is amazing how a watermain break can change a 30 minute commute into a 90 minute commute.

I got some new trendy-ish cropped wide-leg pants and I am wearing them today with tall black high-heeled boots. I think they look pretty cute but I am usually anti-trend so its hard to know.

I wish I could find black eyeshadow that stays put and doesn't smear all over the place.

43 days till Patsy and our crew head to New Orleans! Woo hoo!

When a doctor says that your kid has a virus, I think it just means that he has checked her ears and throat and she doesn't have an ear infection or strep. He has no idea what's really wrong but hopes that tylenol for 5 days will make her A-OK again. Idiot.