Rock On, Spencer Bell!

"I've got this chip on my shoulder,

I stole off the old block,

And it's more of a boulder,

And it weighs much more than this world,

And I, can't hold her no more,

I'm gonna walk to the church,

Gonna point at the steeple,

Gonna open the doors,

And dance for the people,

So god can see them when they ignore me..."

I had the most incredible, mind-bending, face-melting weekend.

At the last minute I up and left [what little] life here and caught a Greyhound to Detroit, MI. Nope, never been to Detroit. It was only okay, if you want me to be honest. There were definite key points, but I spent most of my time in Auburn Hills, MI for the Spencer Bell Legacy show. *huge smile that is exploding off of my face*

I spent 20 hours on a fucking bus. Let me tell you something. That's not fun. Fucking 2 hours on a bus isn't fun, so add 18 to that, plus changing bus two times with two two-hour layovers? Not cool man, not cool at all.

On my final bus change, I was sooo close that I could taste it and I had been pretty lucky about sitting with cool people or getting to sit all by myself, but then on the last leg of this some random guy sat next to me and said "if I end up falling over on your shoulder and drooling, it's cuz its the only way I have to lean..." I laughed, thinking it was a joke... he wasn't bad looking, he wasn't like creeptastic or anything, but then he just laid his head on my shoulder anyhow... like, just, "hey, let me nuzzle here for a little bit..."

I ended up falling asleep and not really giving a shit, I was only like 4 hours away from seeing my girlfriend and I was bursting at the seems, I wasn't about to let this dude being all up in my biznass screw up my mood - so then I woke up to him stroking my arm lovingly... I was like, "okay, time to get off me there, buddy..."

I woke up just as we were getting to a sign for the Jackson exit (I assume Jackson, MI) and so I text Genn and told her that there was an exit for Jackson *giggle* then I said, "oh, we're taking the Jackson exit!" I thought that perhaps there was a stop off of there... until I noticed that there was red and blue flashing lights behind us... So then my next thought is that the bus was speeding and I'm going "oh great, Genn is going to have to wait for me at the Greyhound station... LOVEEEELY." Except that then the cop came onto the bus and escorted someone from the back off of it... apparently he had called 911 from inside the bathroom and said that someone threatened him... eventually we were let go, no one was arrested and soon after we were in Detroit.

I got to Detroit at 6a on Saturday - the Spencer Bell Legacy concert was at 3p and the 21+ show was at 8p.

We ended up not actually going to the 3p show - none of us had slept in many, many hours - but the 8p show?!

...If I had a word that was greater than EPICFUCKINGFANTASTICOMFG I would use it, unfortunately, that's the biggest word that I know.

We didn't get there long before the doors opened, but yet we still got the front row. Awesometastic. It was at Callahan's, which was a pretty cool venue. They had ample seats, a GA area, booths, a bar and flat screen in the back, a nice stage area and a smoking patio/lounge area. Very cool. Someplace I would definitely chill.

First Mr. Bell came on the stage and thanked everyone - he was so hilarious I can't even begin to tell you. To be a fly on the wall in the Bell house... oh to be... Then they played a DVD video slideshow featuring Spencer's song "Tourist" (One of my favorite songs) - Genn and I cried... I can't remember if Kasey (Genn's BFF) cried or not, but really I think that if you made it through that without at least getting moist at the eyes... well damn, then I guess good for you... Spencer means to much to me for my eyes to stay dry during that.

Orson Brawl came on next - he was Spencer's roommate at Interlochen... he literally rocked so hard that his fingers bled. That's called ROCK AND ROLL. It was epic. He was really great... probably not by conventional music standards, but I really enjoyed his acoustic set and he definitely gets mayjah props from me for leaving the stage with blood all over his fingers and guitar.

After that Mr. Bell came back on stage and then all the bands came up there and did a shot of Jameson. It was pretty coolness. :)

After that was The Stevedores. Let me tell you something about The Stevedores. THEY FUCKING ROCK. THE END. That's all there is. Jake, the guitarist, is probably the most talented guitarist I have ever encountered in my 24 years, or my 9 years in the music industry. No. Fucking. Lie. Meanwhile, he has no idea that he's this talented. I tried to tell him after the show, but I was really in awe to be in his presence. I told him I wanted to warship him. No lie. I actually said that.

Ben J is the drummer for The Stevedores and now the lead singer since Spencer passed away. (Spencer was the lead singer/lyricist for the band) Now Ben is the lead singer/drummer for The Stevedores and the drummer for 100 Monkeys. Talk about a busy man.

The Stevedores set was absolutely marvelous. Unfortunately, there were fanwhores behind me who kept pushing me and bitching that I was taking photos instead of dancing. (Sorry, I'm a photographer. It's what I do.) Now, it's not like I was just fucking STANDING there in the front row not moving... I was definitely moving to the beat, but I wanted to take photos of this epic band and I wanted to HEAR them. I wanted to listen to every fucking note because of their awesomeness. I do not regret not dancing more. I had the best time ever.

Next was Drew and the Medicinal Pen, awesome band... during one song they said they needed a bell player and Kasey and I both pointed to Genn - so at the end of the song, Genn dinged the bell and she was soo perfect at it!! It was perfect timing and everything. I was very proud. :)

At the end of their set they performed a cover of Spencer's song, "Dandelions". Check out the video I shot here. It was awesome. Missy sang it... she was friends with Spencer. Drew, the lead singer of the band, said that he didn't know Spencer until after he had passed and that it was interesting getting to know someone after they've already died - but I really understood what he meant. That's how I feel about Spencer. I feel like I know him... sure, I don't know him as well as other people - I don't know him personally - but I know him in the ways that his art has touched me and how he's etched something personal on my soul that I will carry with me forever.

Next was Tin Tin Can - badass band from Chicago, IL. Their EP rocks. Here's the link for the free download of it. :) [[don't worry, it's an official link for their free download.]] They opened their set with a cover of Spencer's song "Billy Jean", was great... they made it very rock which I enjoyed.

Last, of course, was 100 Monkeys. Fantastic. Epic. The end. I was fucking impressed. I had about 6 songs of theirs in my iTunes but whatever I knew of them previously went out the window when they got on stage. They sounded great! Very talented, all of them commanding stage presence.

Unfortunately, Jackson couldn't be there. *pout lip* People have asked me if I regret going all that way to find out that Jackson wasn't there and the answer is no. I didn't go there for Jackson to begin with - I went there for Spencer. The Monkey's without Jackson are still Monkey's. They're still awesome. *shrugs* I'll catch him next time. ;)

During the first song, Jerad broke his pick cuz he was rocking out so hard and he handed it to me. :) I learned later that internet fangirls were jealous of that. *giggle*

A few songs in, Jerad pulls out his phone and calls Jackson... so I did get to hear his voice, which was pretty freaking cool beans. He sounded like he was smiling as he was talking, but he also sounded sad, like it was bittersweet that he couldn't be there. I know it must have torn him up to not be there in support of Spencer and his friends.

At the end of the phone call Genn and I both screamed "We love you Spencer!" and Jackson goes, "awww, I love you guys!"

I got many epic pictures from the 100 Monkeys... check all the photos out on my Facebook or check out the preferred ones on my photo blog. They did a kick ass rendition of Muddy Waters "Champagne and Reefer" sang by Ben G. Whoa. That's all there is. His voice was the perfect amount of raspy for that song.

After the show we went out to the patio area and I got my picture with the Guitar God, Jake from The Stevedores and my picture with Ben G.

The next day we went to downtown Detroit to the Hitsville USA building... it was pretty epic to be standing in such musical history. Definitely awesome... still have to get those pictures from Genn of that for me to post...

Later was the 100 Monkey's show in Novi, MI at Lucky Strike. Pretty big place, actually. I thought it was going to be itty bitty, but there was a bar/several lounge areas downstairs and then a bar/band area upstairs with an outdoor smoking patio.

The show was originally going to start at 6, then they pushed it up to 5 because they wanted to start earlier... then they had soundcheck issues so they didn't go on until 7. It was all very frustrating... however once we got in there and got all situated in our spot it was fine. Definitely worth the wait.

Drew and the Medicinal Pen and the Stevedores opened again. I was very happy to see The Stevedores again. Genn said she was happy to see my dance more at this show. :) We were at the end of the stage by the drummer/backstage area, so I didn't take as many photos as the day before, might as well dance. *shrugs*

We spent much of our night talking to band boys. Genn and Ben G. are like, BFF's now. :) I'm not going to go into all the details of everything because honestly, it's something I would rather keep to myself... but it was epic.

I got Ben G's guitar pick at this show, and Ben J's drum stick. Epiiiiiiiic.

After the show we hung out with the band for a bit out of the patio, taking pictures with all of them and talking... making plans... *grin*

Unfortunately, that night I had to put my ass back at the Greyhound station. It was sooo hard to leave Genn. I won't bore you with more Greyhound tales, but it took 22 fucking hours to get home. That's just too damn long...

...but I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

See you soon, Monkeys!!

xoxox