Spring Break
Three friends, one band and lots of gas money
Erin Edwards
Issue date: 8/14/08 Section: Features
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I seldom miss a show by any band that I like, but since many of my favorites apparently have issues with playing in North Carolina, I usually have to travel to Virginia or South Carolina to catch them. This time, I headed to the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach to catch Coheed and Cambria, one of my top bands of all time (second only to Incubus). I dragged my two friends and lukewarm fans, Stephen and Maggie, along for the road trip.
12:05 p.m.-Maggie and I pick up Stephen. He says he needs to run by Mendenhall to print out his ticket. I yell at him accordingly for not doing so already.
12:15 p.m.-We run to campus and discover that Mendenhall is closed. I almost leave Stephen in the parking lot. We decide to smooth things over by getting gas and ordering food at Sheetz, then eventually figuring out how to get Stephen's ticket.
12:25 p.m.-We stop at Sheetz. I almost put diesel in my car as Maggie and Stephen order food. I spend too much money filling the car. I grab water as Maggie orders a sub and Stephen apparently orders a well-done steak, because it takes three years to make.
12:45 p.m.-We drive to Kinkos to print off the ticket. This costs Stephen a whopping $1.19 on his credit card. We start randomly talking about blowing up the screen and Kinkos and I get a feeling that we are being too loud, because many are staring. We leave before they call the cops or kick us out.
1:14 p.m.-We finally head out on Highway 13. We start talking about pet peeves and the strange people we knew in high school. Stephen tells us stories about a bizarre girl in his theater class who "absorbed" things with her hand as she grabbed them. He demonstrates with my bag of Cheese Nips.
1:40 p.m.-Maggie and I rock out to "No Diggity" by Blackstreet. I demonstrate my incredible talent of air drumming. The subject comes up about David Bowie and Prince, prompting Stephen to ask why so many women find them sexy. Maggie comments that it's their artistic and musical ability, but I find their man-liner to give them that appeal. I keep that comment to myself.
2:03 p.m.-We start taking MySpace pictures through my sunroof in the car. We try to look as emo as possible.
2:07 p.m.-We mock M. Night Syhamalan's movies. Enough said.
2:20 p.m.- Stephen finds my Homer Simpson slippers in the backseat. I tell him that if you put them on, it looks extremely vulgar. I am right.
2:48 p.m.-Maggie starts taking about our friends that are pregnant. We all agree that we do not like children.
2:54 p.m.-All of us rock out to Barenaked Ladies' One Week. I am embarrassed that I know all of the words.
3:39 p.m.-We stop for a bathroom break. I discover that my toilet seat I use is half missing. As we head back out, I can't get the car above 40mph so I step on the gas as hard as I can and yell at the car. I then realize that I am in first gear. I am made fun of severely.
4:13 p.m.-We reach Myrtle Beach. We pass way too many strip clubs. We finally find House of Blues and I take a picture, almost wrecking the car in the process.
4:25 p.m- We eat an early dinner at Logan's Roadhouse. Stephen believes that in order to prepare for the concert, we should order a Porterhouse 20 oz steak with a bucket of blood. I see a woman with a graphic Texas Chainsaw Massacre shirt on. I lose my appetite.
5:55 p.m.- We head back to the House of Blues and stand in line, which has already extended half a mile or so. As we are talking, we notice the guy in front of us is staring. He starts to invade my personal bubble (three feet). He tries to butt in on our conversations, but it is too awkward. This makes my stomach hurt.
6:35 p.m.- The guy is still staring at us and now letting us know minute by minute what time it is.
7:05 p.m.- The doors finally open. The guy is still staring at us, even as he is walking up to the venue. As soon as we are let in, we bolt in order to avoid him. We keep a watchful eye the entire time.
7:45 p.m.- After walking around forever to find a good spot, we settle on the stairs by the bar. We have a good view of the stage as the opener, Russian Circles, comes out. I am not aware they are an instrumental metal group, so I get a little bored.
9:00 p.m.- Coheed and Cambria come on stage. I freak out a little, along with everyone else. My personal space is invaded yet again as people start thrashing around. I get a mouthful of hair as the guy in front of me starts head-banging.
9:45 p.m.- The concert is amazing, although I get confused when they play a song that I don't know (turns out to be "The Trooper" by Iron Maden.) A couple in front of us starts making out…for 10 minutes. I'm surprised that Stephen is able to see.
10:20 p.m.- Coheed and Cambria come out for an encore. After playing "Welcome Home," they go into playing "The Final Cut." In this song, each member of the band is given a solo. The drummer is given the last one.
10:30 p.m.- The drummer is still banging away on his solo. It almost ruins the entire show.
10:45 p.m.- The show officially ends and we head back to the parking lot. As we are leaving, a guy runs up to the car, sticks his head in the window and screams, "LIQUOR!!!." Then another car passing us talks to us on a megaphone.
11:00 p.m.- After a quick stop to a gas station to get an energy drink, we head back to Greenville.
On the three hour ride home, our conversations touched on music we liked, past relationships, and what we envisioned our future turning out to be like. Perhaps it was the late hours or the Death Cab for Cutie CD playing on repeat the end ride, but I realized that I had a blast with my friends and that it was the perfect way to end the summer.
This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.
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