Getting there was actually no problem. It was pretty much straight down 93 to Boston. So we ended up getting there mad early. The meet and greet was at 4:45 and we were there like 3:30, haha. When we walked by one (!) of the bars of the place, there was an entire case of Jack Daniels and I was like "gee, wonder who that's for!" I wish I had taken a picture of it, it was pretty hilarious to me.

Eventually more people showed up, and they let us in a little late. Fair to Midland were in the middle of their soundcheck and they played "Whiskey & Ritalin" then Darroh asked if there was anything we wanted to hear. Of course someone screamed "Dance of the Manatee" and he was like "I don't want to ruin my voice, too much screaming in that. But you'll definitely hear it later." So they played "A Seafarer's Knot" instead then they were told there was no time to do more.

So they came down to mingle with everyone. Darroh came down first, and then the rest of the band eventually followed. Ken was like "just talk to one of them" and I was like "dude, I don't even know their names outside of Darroh" D: Their new bassist handed out the posters to have signed so I asked him his name: Ryan. He joined in November after their original bassist left. He's a pretty amazing bassist, and he has these awesomely long headbang-worthy dreads, haha. He signed our posters first, then we started finding everyone else.

Talked to Logan, their new drummer, who is so amazingly personable. Ken asked who he would have to talk to in order to use FtM's music in any of his videos and Logan was like "just use it man" lol. When he signed my poster I was like "so, do these silhouettes reflect the new members? It'd be a little weird if you were signing someone else's face." He was like "oh yea no, this is me haha. We redid this picture." Then we talked to their keyboardist Matt who seemed out of it but otherwise nice. He was trying to figure out where Ken's shirt was from (Night of the Living Dead) but he was lost.

Then I finally saw Darroh was no longer being accosted so I walked up to him. Shook his hand and then he signed my poster. He was like "this is awkward to do sometimes because I'm left-handed" so I told him "I think all the great artists are left-handed." He said "I try convincing myself that." Then I asked for a picture :3

Cliff (guitar) was the last we met. He's basically like the leader of the band. I told him that this was my first time seeing them and might even be the only time because I was going to Japan (unless they played there haha). He was like "oh hey congrats on going to Japan!" After we finished getting signatures we hung around Logan a little bit, then I noticed Kim of Dead Letter Circus had gone back to talk with Cliff near the merch table. I went over and I was like "I wanted to meet you too." We shook hands, and eventually he was like "you should drink. The drunker you are, the better we'll sound :D" lol sorry dude, I was driving.

Here is the poster with signatures, and a closeup of Darroh's because it is epic. Yes, his picture has him wearing a face mask because he is always sick :(





After the meet and greet we had to go back outside to wait for the actual show. It started around 7:30. The first band was a local band and I don't remember their name. Something Blvd... I missed the first half of their set because I went to get shirts at the merch table. The girl running it I guess was DLC's staff because she was Australian and going on about how American money is confusing and makes no sense. I hear ya, lol. I got the tour shirt because it says "I'M A WHALE" and I was sold on that alone.

The local band had attracted a lot of kids and I'm glad they were all just there for them, because they left afterwards. The second band was Lionize, who were good but not my kind of music. Classic stoner rock. Their bassist was cracking me up because he was sooo blazed. Their set seemed to go on way too long. Ken had gone to the bar to get some beer, and when he came back he told me he had been talking with Logan and the drummer of DLC. Seriously he is like the anti-me. It is ridiculously easy for him to talk to people. I hate it.

Anyway, Dead Letter Circus was third. I realized as they were setting up that their guitarist was missing. No idea what happened to him and there's nothing on their website or anything :( They started... and Kim immediately ripped his pants lmao. That's what you get for wearing skinny jeans, guys. DLC's bassist is now my new favorite person because he is so fucking insane on stage. I swore he was going to fall at least 50 times. I am jealous of his balance. He would play with his back basically a C, I was like whaaa. Also his hair is all kinds of weird and amazing. Anyway, DLC are a lot heavier live than they are recorded, it was great. At one point Kim was like "everyone raise your beers!" and no one on the floor did because it was an all ages show, and you weren't allowed to have alcohol outside of the bar. He was like "what are you all driving?" No, dumbass lol. During "Cage", Logan and Ryan of FtM ran out with drums and started wailing on them for the breakdown, it was great. Then at the end of their set, Cliff came out and gave DLC shots.

Fair to Midland came on last. I realized when we had first got in the place that there were no rafters for Darroh to hang from, so I was like "he'll probably stage dive instead." Only I didn't think he would do it right as the first song started. I gotta say I was glad I wasn't in the middle of the audience haha. His mic cord almost choked out the guy next to me. And even though there wasn't really anything for him to climb he still tried his damnedest the entire time. He hung from a pipe like a monkey at one point. They played all the best songs, most of them from the new album which is fine because they're heavier. Darroh's voice is so amazing, even live. And he's the kind of person whose craziness on stage is in direct correlation to how quiet and shy he is in real life, haha. He's out of his mind. He pours tons of water on himself, and I don't know how he doesn't electrocute the shit out of himself with the mic D: Kim from DLC came out to sing with Darroh for "Musical Chairs" though he clearly did not know the words haha (or was too drunk to remember idk). He kept looking back at Darroh to pick up. They ended with an encore of "Kyla Cries Cologne" and I was too sore and thirsty to stick around so we headed home.

What I learned from all this is 1. I am really not familiar with the music scene in the US at all and 2. I am really out of shape for getting back into concerts when I return to Japan haha.