Tickle Me Pink

This post is mostly for me, so I can go back and read it when I start to forget, so don't feel like you have to read this one!!

On Saturday we went to the Tickle Me Pink concert at the Gothic Theatre. They are one of my top two favorite bands, so I have been excited for this since we got the tickets in March. There were 4 bands playing, and tickets were only $12! The other three bands were Hearts Like Lions, Life in Electric, and I Hate Kate. The first two are other local bands, who I had never heard before. I had heard of I Hate Kate, but didn't really like them.

We got to the Gothic an hour before the doors opened. We were maybe 20-30 people in front of us, so I was pretty happy about that. The time went pretty fast. When we got in, most of the people went upstairs to sit at the balcony, but we went for the stage. We started out 3 people from the stage, about one step to the left of the microphone. I firmly planted my feet, I was not moving! We never strayed from one step to the left of the microphone, but I did get in the second row! There was only one little girl between me and the stage, and she was about 4 feet tall, so it was like she wasn't even there!

Hearts Like Lions (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=327378076) were pretty good. The drummer looked really out of place and a little uncoordinated. After the first song they said it was his first concert with them, he joined the band the day before! I felt bad for him after that. He actually did very very well for only being in the band one day! The guitar and bass player kept going over to the drums and trying to help him. Poor guy! They are changing their name soon, so they threw all of their t-shirts (about 50 he said) into the crowd, and I actually got one! It was kind of ugly, and a medium, but that is okay. About an hour later some kid a few people away from me was trying to trade with some other guy. All I heard was "I don't wear a small," so I yelled "I'll trade for a small!" He gladly traded me, and his shirt was better looking than the one I started with.

Life in Electric (http://www.myspace.com/lifeinelectric)was awesome. I will definitely be looking for their CD. It was a millions degrees in there, and the lead singer had a blanket wrapped around his neck. It was much bigger than a scarf. I don't know how he wasn't sweating to death like everyone else. They actually have a clip of the concert on their website, and I would point myself out to you, but its too hard!

I Hate Kate (http://www.myspace.com/11040954) was way better than I expected. I have their CD (got it just because I knew they were opening) and didn't really care for it. They were great in person though. Might have to give the CD another try. I ended up with a guitar pick at the end of the show that was on the ground by my foot, and I think it was from their lead singer/guitarist.

Tickle Me Pink (http://www.ticklemepinkrock.com/) was AMAZING! They way way way exceeded my expectations. I knew I would love them no matter what, but it was fantastic! I was happy with everything! since I was in the second row, I was very close to the singer the whole time and the guitarist when he came to the front. They both liked to put their foot up on the monitor, which was about 6 inches from me. The Gothic has the only stage I have ever seen that doesn't have some type of barrier between the first row and the stage. VERY CLOSE! I even got to touch the singer, Sean Kennedy. I mostly did it to tell a girl at work who is in love with him and wants to marry him. So today I was like ha I touched him! She was very jealous. She was also jealous that when he was head banging, sweat flew off his hair into my mouth. Kind of gross, but she was mad she didn't go with me like she was going to!

Their bass player died a year ago (a year and 2 days from the concert) and Sean played his favorite song, Tomorrows Ending. It is about making the most of your time here on earth because you never know how much longer you have. He did a great job, and even cried at the end! He said it was a really hard day for him, and it showed during that song. He took over the bass, and played the first half of the songs. He is the type of singer that likes to walk around and jump around while he is singing, so I could tell it was hard for him to stand there and play. The second half they had a friend play the bass, so Sean got to move all over the place, and you could tell that was more his style. The songs seemed to be better when he was moving around. They ended the show with a Rage Against the Machine cover. It was fantastic!

I am so glad we got to go to that, and recommend to anyone who is still reading this to see one of their shows if they are ever near you!

Ashley