Picket Fence Cartel Tour: Recap & Review part 1 of 3

On Sunday, March 14, Bry and I headed out to LION in Flushing for the Picket Fence Cartel Tour.  All we knew was that the doors opened at 6, and tickets were $12 at the door.  After driving past the venue and making a very SHARP turn into the parking lot, we walked through the club's (???) big red front door.  Here is a look into what we saw:

The Venue: LION is a brand-new venue (club?) in Flushing.  It's a fairly small space, with a stage at one end of the room, merch to the side, and a ticket table JUST inside the door.  We were skeptical at first, but soon fell in love with the intimacy of this venue.  It couldn't hold more than 100 people comfortably, and there were probably only 50-70 there last night.  We were front and center (literally, I was resting my foot on the stage) for the first two bands, but ended up moved around a bit after the moshing began.

Definition Plexus: This local band shocked me- in a good way.  We said hi to the guys before the show, and found out that they lived about 10 minutes down the road.  I'm not sure if you're aware of this, dear reader, but Flushing, Michigan, isn't exactly known for its happenin' music scene.  I figured a few high school kids would get up on stage and try to scream for 15 minutes while the crowd mostly ignored them.

I was wrong. Terribly wrong.  DefPlex had a sound similar to The Almost.  The lead singer knew how to scream without sounding like a complete idiot, but he could also sing.  Their songs mixed strong vocals with incredibly crisp music, and I could understand almost every word, even though I had never heard their music before.  Definitely a local band that I'll keep my eye on.

I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: Wavorly & Flatfoot56.
Part 3 should be up on Wednesday: Project 86
Aaaand... hopefully some pictures and video by Thursday.

The End of Summer

I find that lyrics can more eloquently express my thoughts than I can. These songs sum up my summer fairly well... Once I'm unpacked, I'll post a few excerpts from my summer journal, and a few pictures.

"Summers almost over and I think I'm changing colors,
It's time to lose myself again
Oh and I've been thinking this year
Maybe I'll be something better
Maybe I'll lose some of this selfish skin
Look into the mirror and it all becomes much clearer
I'm not quite who I once was
But I don’t mind these changes that time and age might bring us
As long as it brings me closer to You.
I'm not scared of being what You want me to
Put me together so that I look more like You
I'm not scared of being what You want me to
Put me together so that I look more like You
I'd do anything, yeah I'd do anything"
-Hibernation Pieces, Ruth

"So long sweet summer
I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet summer
I fell into you
Now you're gracefully falling away
Hey thanks
Thanks for that summer
It's cold where you're going
I hope that your heart's always warm
I gave you the best
Gave you the best that I have."
-So Long, Sweet Summer; Dashboard Confessional

"Let's have a talk about the good times
But you were always giving in
Let's have a talk about the good times
Boy, you were only giving in
The summer is over and I doubt
I doubt I'll be seeing you around
I'll be seeing you around"
-Summer, Man; Taking Back Sunday

"And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
For the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends."
-Friends, Michael W. Smith

"Splashing through the sandbar
Talking by the campfire
It's the simple things in life like when and where."
-All Summer Long, Kid Rock *gags*

"Lead me to the cross, where Your love poured out.
Bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down.
Rid me of myself, I belong to You.
Lord lead me, lead me to the cross."
-Lead me to the Cross, Hillsong

"When the oceans rise, and thunders roar
I will soar with You, above the storm
Father, You are King, over the flood
I will be still, Know You are God."
-Oceans Rise, Hillsong

"And how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Could You tell me, how could it be, any better, any better than this?
Because You're all I want, You're all I need, You're everything, everything."
-Everything, Lifehouse

"Raise your voice in song!
Sing the whole day long!
Hiawatha, sing of Christ, the truth, the WA-A-A-AY
Let His praises ring *whoop*
To the coming King
Hiawatha, sing of Christ
Who lives todaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"
-Hiawatha, Otis Skilling(s?)

Well, look at that- a blog!

Well, here we are. My blog. Welcome, enjoy, and all that good stuff.
In this speech I will be giving 5 reasons why you, judge, will hopefully agree with me when I say that the affirmative team should win this roun- what? Oh! I'm sorry! This is NOT a debate round!
Okay, let's try again!
In this post, I will be giving 5 reasons why you, reader, will hopefully agree with me when I say that this blog is worth your while!

1. Honesty. This blog will be cuttingly honest, sometimes to the point of sarcasm. I will endeavor to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
2. Lack of spelling and grammar errors. I don't know about you, but nothing bothers me more than spelling and grammatical errors, particularly on something public (IE, a blog). I will try my best to use proper grammar and spelling in every post.
3. Photography! I love photography and Photoshop, and from time to time, I will be posting photos, tutorials, and tips. What's not to love about photos, tutorials, and tips?
4. Music. If a=b and b=c, and "a" is "music" and c is "amazing," then "music" clearly equals "amazing." From time to time, I will be reviewing bands, songs, and albums. I will also occasionally post guitar chords for songs, and general guitar tips.
5. Debate! I'm in a debate club, and I love it. Whether you care about campaign finance reform or not, I will be blogging about campaign finance reform from time to time.

There you go... 5 reasons to read and thoroughly enjoy my blog. I hope you agree!