365 project "how can i ever save the world on cup o' soup and student loans?"

104.

artist:five iron frenzy
album:the end is here

i have been really struggling with these entries lately, so i wanted to do something that i knew would be easy to write about, and i went with this album, because i remember pretty distinctly the very last time i saw five iron frenzy.

the "winners never quit: a farewell tour" was coming through town, making a stop about ten minutes from my house, and because they were my favorite band, and because this was the last chance i was ever going to have to see them, i knew that this was an opportunity that i couldn't pass up, even if it meant i had to go alone. i bought my ticket, requested off of work, and counted down the days until it was time to go see them for the last time.

i remember being in that theater and getting the chance to talk to Leanor "Jeff the girl" Ortega about her poetry and her plans after five iron. i remember sitting down in the seat i had picked and realizing that one of the boys next to me was a member of the board at that time. i remember going to the merch table and blowing most of my paycheck, knowing that id never have this chance again. i had wanted so badly to go to Colorado for the last show, but didn't know how to make that happen, so i ended up not going. do i regret that? no, not really. i thought i would kick myself forever for not going, but I'm pretty okay with just having it on CD and having my own final show memories from the Pitman stop.

my mom was kind of weird about me going that night. we were in a severe thunderstorm watch and even though i was only going ten minutes up the road, it worried her that i was going, especially alone. cell phones weren't as omnipresent as they are today, so i see why she would worry, but i have kind of always had the "I'm tough and nothing is going to happen to me" attitude.

the concert was pretty perfect. i heard every song i could have asked for in one form or another. the band was loose and silly and the banter back and forth between the crowd and the band made it all that more special. after all was said and done, i came outside and saw something i wasn't expecting-there were tree branches down in the road everywhere.

as i drove down the road heading home, the streets were darker than normal, and i realized that either everyone decided to go green at once and save electricity, or that the power was out. the stoplight wasn't flashing. the wawa was dark. it was eerie.

we ended up not regaining power for most of that night. i was able to go to the board and post about the show though because i had a laptop with a fully charged battery and a dial-up Internet connection. i remember going outside and just hanging out in the front yard, enjoying the silence.

this is one of those concert experiences that ill probably never forget.