Ok, so Colorado. Finally. Sunday night in Colorado after we ate dinner and relaxed for a bit, we decided to head to downtown Denver and see what was up. Ciara and I both had on jeans, black shirts and striped sweaters. (Seems like unneccessary information, but I needed to add it for later)
So we get into the car and start driving and then decide to go to the Blink 182 concert. We felt we had to, since we had been following them half of our roadtrip at this point. In Kansas City, Missouri we stopped at a McDonalds to get coffee to drive half the night and this totally stoned kid in line behind us, Jeremy, was talking to us about how he won free Blink 182 tickets from Doritos or something. He was from Oklahoma and invited us to party with him there which we politely declined and said that Blink had played in Kansas City that night (while we were corn maze running and eating dinner). The next day driving through Kansas, we were behind the Blink 182 equipment truck for awhile. (we took pics) and when we got to Denver, they were playing there. We felt it neccessary to join them.
So we used Cali to find Fiddler's Green in Denver and make it there are park for free. We each put $20 in our pockets and grab our ID's. The plan was to try and get two lawn seats for $20 total, but would go up to $20 each. After trying to haggle with some gentlemen who weren't budging on their scalper's price, we decided to walk around the venue. We walked through the tour bus area and around the back. When we got to the back the venue was to our left and a five level parking garage to our right. We were walking down the side street between the two. We see some people at the top level watching the concert, so we figure that we could see from there. We run up the stairs and find out that in fact, we can see the entire stage and big screens for the concert. We watch Weezer play for a little while and then decide to go get our cameras and come back.
So we scurry down the stairs and head back to the car to grab our cameras and Flip (Felipe) the flip cam. We make it to the car and realize that we both have to pee really freakin badly. So we look everywhere we can to see if there a bathroom readily available other than inside the venue, where we can not go because we don't have tickets. We settle on a hill facing away from the venue and into a retention pond. That's right suckas. We peed on a hill. You can be jealous.
We make it back up to the parking garage and took our spots near the stairs. The stairs were right in the middle of the garage. To our left was the ramp and to our right were the stairs, and much further another attached parking gargage and a set of stairs in the back right corner. There were a lot of people up there now, maybe about 25 or so and some high schoolers started to light their joints. It was the time between sets, so no one was playing. About ten minutes later, two older security guards came up the ramp and shooed everyone down a flight of stairs and were guarding the stairs to the left near the ramp. Everyone obliged, but the problem was you couldn't see anything from the 4th floor. We tried to be sneaky and hide behind a car on the 4th floor, but the guards didn't care and we realized it was because you couldn't see anything. So Ciara and I decided we needed to get away from all those people and figure out how to get back up to the 5th floor.
Now here's the thing, we like Blink 182, but we wouldn't go out of our way to see them in concert. Probably ever. But this was different, we needed to see them because we had been following them since Missouri and it just seemed right that we do just that. So, we went up the back staircase and left our striped sweaters (which would give us away) in a pile with my shoes (which were noisy) We crawled out the back staircase watching the security guards the whole time and crawled along the wall dividing the two attached garages. We leaped around the corner and sunk against the wall there to wait for our next move. We had to cross two drive through areas dividing the two garages, you know, with the arm that goes up once you pay or whatever. There was a space in between them just big enough for two girls. If we sat on each other pretty much. So the first one was easy because the wall of the other parking garage covered the view of us. We sat in the small space in between and watched the security guards until their back was to us and then Ciara crawled over. I waited until they weren't looking again and ran over. We crawl against the wall in the 2nd parking garage now and finally make it to the window area that has bars on it but you can still see out of it. We look up and, alas, you can not see the stage.
We were very disappointed but we were determined to see Blink. Even if for five seconds. So as were waiting with our backs against the wall, curled into the fetal position, Ciara peeks around to see if the security guards are gone. Five seconds pass and she is gone. I wait a couple seconds to see if she will poke around and tell me she made it safe. After about 20 seconds go by, I peek over the side of the garage and see her halfway across the parking lot back to the staircase in the middle. I check real quick. No security. She is hiding behind an 18 wide wall thing that sticks out and is marvelous for hiding behind. duh. So I run to her. And fall on her. And we are both crammed into this little niche in the parking garage. Then we take turns running to the next one and FINALLY find our little space crammed against the side of the stairs where the guards can't see us. It was intense. We couldn't clap or yell, but DANGIT we saw Blink 182!
On their last song, we decided to head out and go wait by the tour buses like total creepers. Or like teenage girls. Whichever. We realize the security guards are gone and we retrieve our sweaters and shoes. Anyway as we are walking along the sidewalk, we see that the gate is wide open and there is no more security, so we walk right into the venue. We move our way down the lawn and hang out like we belong there amongst a cloud of smoke smelling strongly of pot. We got to watch the last four or five songs of the encore from the venue FOR FREE!!!
Afterwards, we meet up with one of Ciara's family friends, Matty, and hang with him until he finds his ride. Then we decide to go over to the tour buses.
We walk past a group of people standing around and continue to walk up the tour bus row. We assume the bands are all inside their buses already, but we wanted to see anyway, thinking we could catch a glimpse and have a good story or something.
As we walk back (after we realize all the curtains are drawn and no one is coming out anymore) we come across the group of people standing over to the side talking. Ciara and I decide to walk over and see if they are someone from the concert or something. We are standing there, two guys facing us and a small mob of people watching. Everyone is talking and totally chill. Then the two guys start to sign autographs and take pictures and Ciara and I flip out a little. So I rummage through my purse and find a deposit slip and a business card from my bank. I hand her the business card and we have them sign our papers. We tell them we don't have tickets because we snuck in, and they applaud us. Isaac and Matt are their names and they are quite possibly the nicest random strangers I have ever met. We get to talking with them and tell them we are on a road trip and everything. They like our story. I think. At least they seemed to enjoy it and it didn't seem like fake enthusiasm.
After awhile we walk away and call everyone we know who is still awake to try and figure out who is on tour with Blink so we can figure out who we just talked to. We come to the conclusion that it is either Motion City Soundtrack or Taking Back Sunday. Either one is awesome. We wait for traffic to die out and siton a curb. Some guy walks up to us, about our age, and tells us that we're going to get yelled at. We ask why, if he's in charge, and what for, and he tells us we just will. He accuses us of being sixteen in which we correct him and hes nicer after that. We tell him we were hanging with "those guys" pointing at Isaac and Matt. He's like, "Oh, you were hanging with Taking Back Sunday" Ciara and I pinch each other. He then tells us his name is Justin and he does the promotions for Chester French, which was one of the opening bands. We go to that tour bus and Adam, the lead singer from Taking Back Sunday is there hanging around talking. After awhile, we decide to leave the tour bus because it's lame and Adam left. We walk past Isaac and Matt again, now knowing they are from Taking Back Sunday and stop to ask them why they are still hanging outside. Another Matt comes over and has a megaphone. They went and got ice cream from their special "band only" area and stayed around their bus. All of us talked for a little while. One of the Matt's, the first one, had a broken foot from "rocking out too hard" and explained the entire process to us. They were so cool and super friendly and chill. The Matt with the megaphone was HILARIOUS. He starts whispering in the megaphone and goes, "The definition of irony is whispering into a megaphone." And we basically died laughing. We stayed there until about ten minutes before they were ready to leave for Salt Lake City, Utah and then we left. And were stoked the whole way home.
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