Valencia at Ottobar

Last night, I saw Valencia at the Ottobar, and they were amazing. They were ten times better than when I saw them at Rams Head Live! with All Time Low. Plus, their new album just came out (which is awesome by the way) Tuesday, so they had tons of new material to play there.

The opening bands were pretty good too, including Sing it Loud, which I've known about for quite some time now (they put on a great performance); Single File, which had a great Indie Pop/Rock threesome sound (like VooDoo Blue); Cash Cash, which had catchy melodies but terrible song-writing; and North Col, which weren't on the tour but were twice as good as Cash Cash and gave all the money they made to cancer research. We met one of the promoters of Single File, so we got to really talk with the band and get autographs on their "No More Sad Face..." EP (which I recommend anyone who likes Pop/Rock to buy). Afterwards, like last time, we went to the Papermoon Diner, and had one of the best sandwiches of my life. It had chicken tenders smothered in mozzerela cheese and marinara sauce on top, on toasted white bread. I also learned to not eat late, because I feel sick now. Oh well, it was worth it. Reptilian Records was great that I saw before the show too, even though it didn't have exactly the kind of music that I liked.

By the way, Underoath just put their new LP, "Lost in the Sound of Separation," to stream on their MySpace, which is awesome. Much heavier than their last record, though.

Orioles vs. Yankees

Today, I went and spent my last day with my cousins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards downtown to see the Baltimore Orioles to play the New York Yankees. It was good game for the most part, but it was so scorching hot out! We tried to find shade, but really couldn't find any place good near the seats we already had. We got some good food, and had a good time. We had to leave at the top of the 8th inning because my cousins had to leave, but we knew the Yankees would win. But, even so, I got a $26 Orioles t-shirt with the old-fashioned bird on it which is sweet! I'm so stoked to wear it...

Captain Jim's Boat

Today, I went downtown again with my dad and brother and my cousins who were visiting this weekend to my dad's cousin's and boyfriend Jim's boat in Federal Hill. First, we passed the Fort McHenry bridge, and went to Bahama Mama's for lunch. While leaving the restaurant, we had an incident that wasn't pretty. My uncle Bob went to the back of the boat to check the water temperature, and fell in. We didn't think it was a big deal at first, considering my cousin's face when he told us didn't look very convincing, but then luckily he got back on the boat pretty quick, and we saw he soaking wet climbing up the ladder into the boat, we knew he fell in. It was actually really funny, but at the same time it was pretty serious considering Captain Jim said if he had gotten close enough to the rudder, if would've pulled him in. His phone broke, and everything in his wallet got wet including all of his credit cards, money, and driver's license. Even worse, he lost his shoes in the water and even though he didn't care about them, Jim turned the boat around and my dad dove in and got them with the boat hook. It was hilarious watching him half-naked extending his arms out to the water to get my uncle's shoes. Afterwards, most of us (not including me) docked the boat up to a water slide where people could swim. A bunch of hicks were there at the time smoking, while laughing at my dad going head-first down the water slide and begging my cousin Janet for drinks, too. After that, I got the steer the boat part of the way back to Federal Hill to dock (it was a lot harder than I thought!) and had chicken and beef spiedies for dinner. Pretty packed day for being on a boat! At least I got to crash on a bed and watch the Olympics while people were still up drinking and talking.

Body Worlds

Today, I went downtown to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the Maryland Science Center in the Inner Harbor. At first our plans almost got ruined because of my cousin being scared, but he just went around the harbor with my uncle for a little while we were checking out the exhibit. It was absolutely incredible. It was so creepy, yet so amazing. There were tons of preserved organs of the human body with descriptions, and actual whole bodies where you could see bones, muscles, and other parts. I learned so much, including things I didn't even want to know. I thought it was really cool how after them showing the exhibit of a smoker's lung compared to a non-smoker's lung, there was a box that you could drop your cigarette box in to start quitting. I recommend anyone over the age of 2 (there were some cryers in there) to check out that exhibit. Afterwards, after getting some pizza on Light Street, we saw this fire enthusiast who lit himself on fire, jumped a flaming jump rope while balancing on a bouncy ball, and escaping 2 straitjackets in less than 2 minutes while balancing on the ball again. I'm still trying to figure out if he was cooler than the Body Worlds exhibit or not! This was only the beginning of my busy weekend.

Paramore at Festival Pier at Penn's Landing

I'm still debating over whether or not this was the best show that I've ever seen, or this was the second best show I've ever seen, behind Fall Out Boy at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. Last night, I saw Paramore live with Jack's Mannequin, Phantom Planet, and The Paper Route at Festival Pier at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, PA with my dad. Taking us practically 3 hours to get there from Baltimore, with almost an hour back-up at the Delaware Memorial Bridge junction, I can say that it was totally worth it. As soon as we got there, seeing tons of idiots walking miles out of their way to pay for parking, we stopped right near a Lukoil gas station and parked on the street for free, right next to a parking lot that wanted $20 for parking. What a deal. Plus, I got to hear the worst riddle I've ever heard from a bum. "What's the best nation there is?" "Uh, Kenya?" "No, a donation." Wow. Wonder what he wanted. Anyways, after waiting for 20 minutes in the line for the bathroom at the gas station, we were inside. The ticket guy didn't even check me. We missed The Paper Route, but I didn't care considering I checked them out on MySpace beforehand and didn't really like them anyways. We were starving, so we got the essential chicken tenders and fries, not as good as Merriweather's though. Before we knew it, Phantom Planet was on, and God did they put a good show on. Everyone was singing along to "California." If it wasn't for that song, they wouldn't be nearly as known as they would now. After Phantom Planet, we checked out Paramore's merchandise table, and I bought their new "yearbook," that showed tons of photos of the band, lyrics, tour dates, and tons of other cool stuff. Then Jack's Mannequin was on. I checked them out for a bit at the Vans Warped Tour a few weeks ago, but I barely knew them then. They put on a great show as well, they were one of the best opening acts I've ever seen. Their singer is great, especially at piano. Then, it was time for Paramore. After I saw them in Washington D.C. at the Bender Arena in American University with Jimmy Eat World, I couldn't wait to see them again. They changed up a lot of their songs, with really cool intros and outros to the songs. Some they even played acoustic. My dad got tons of awesome photos, including when their bassist Jeremy did a front-flip during "Pressure." They put on such a great show, I think it determined that they were my favorite band. Although I did make a truce with myself that because I was listening to so much Paramore before the show, that I would take a break from listening to them for a few weeks. After the show, my dad and I stopped at South Street to get a cheesesteak at South Street Steaks. They even gave us free fries because we had our ticket stubs with us. The best I've ever had. They were really friendly, too. Afterwards we walked back to the car, and I crashed until 2 am when were were finally at Cape May, NJ to stay with my cousins for the weekend. What an experience!

The Hint at the Ottobar

Last night, I saw The Hint at the Ottobar. It was my first time at the Ottobar, and I plan to go back there again soon. It was a great experience, especially because I discovered 4 great other bands that were touring with The Hint including Mercy Mercedes, Go Crash Audio, Lannen Fall, and Racing Kites. I got to know many of the different band members and got most of their autographs on their band's different tour posters they were selling at their merchandise tables. I can't wait to see Valencia later this month at the Ottobar again. After show, I went with my dad to the Paper Moon Diner and got onion rings (the best, I swear) and their "moo moo" quesadillas. Well I have to go, Colbert's on.

"3 IS TH3 MAGIC NUMB3R"

Last night, I saw 3 Rideshop's video premiere, "3 is th3 Magic Numb3r," at the Senator Theatre. It was great, I can't believe how good some of the skaters in Baltimore have gotten. Some people thought it was too short, but I think it was a good length overall. Matt Grube, who made the video, is definitely a good editor. Afterward, they threw out free stuff from the balcony of the Senator and I caught tons of stickers, a pair of socks, and a hat for my brother that he eventually sold to my friend Hugh along with his 3 Rideshop video that he had just bought. We walked from the Senator to Belvadere Square after that where my mom was, and then went to Planet Produce to see my old friend Ben there. We all got smoothies, but we made my friend Justin drink a shot of wheat grass just because. It was really funny watching him drink it. He hated it. We then while walking back to 3 Rideshop, not only did I get some Swedish Fish, I ran into my drum teacher, John. Small world, huh? Now all I need to do is find a place to put all these fucking stickers...