To that end, I sent the picture, a note and a return envelope to the venue two dates ahead in Flyleaf’s tour schedule. The other day, I received the envelope and grinned.

With such a small space, the bassist came dangerously close to hitting his instrument on the ceiling, but somehow got away with only near-misses. Sameer was wearing an excellent glow-in-the-dark skeleton hoodie. The bones were accurate representations so when the lights were down, the effect worked. Lacey, of course, was all kinds of stunning. Kyle and I waited around for several hours after the show and as a result, got some stuff signed. The Sharpie isn’t going to stay on the iPod forever though, so I took the picture as soon as possible. Perhaps I could get it laser-engraved. There is also the picture we almost didn’t get thanks to a dead camera battery, but it came back to life just in time. Yes, Lacey makes me look like a polypheme. I can live with that.

I’d never had the willpower to stand around for ages after a show ended before, but this was quite the rewarding experience. It’s kind of a mental battle, as the band waits for most of the crowd to give up and leave, and you try to be one of the twenty or so people who stick it out. I’m inclined to try doing this again after other shows at more intimate venues, maybe a little better prepared. In the meantime, I’m still coming down from the fan-gasm. Connect with fans? Yes, please.

Posted via email from Michael’s posterous

We got there around eleven AM and waited in a line until about 1:20 to get seats inside the actual pavilion, which meant we had a great view of the stage and were out of the direct sunlight to boot. Unfortunately, whenever we left the pavilion and wanted to come back they made us wait in an ever-growing line filled with everybody else that was hoping to get a seat inside. This meant that if I left to go to the bathroom or buy something the only way to get back in a reasonable time was to “merge” with the mob clustered around the entrance gate and push myself along whenever they let a new group of people through. Each time I did this I felt a twinge of sadness for the poor suckers waiting at the back of the line hundreds of yards away, but it was quickly forgotten somewhere between the gate and my seat.

I was a little disappointed with my “lesser” bands. I was very excited to see Mates of State, The Bravery, and Franz Ferdinand, but Franz played on the West Stage during Blink-182 so there was no way I could make it out of the pavilion and over there in time; The Bravery ended their set halfway through their alloted time spot; and while I enjoyed them, all of the people I was with hated Mates of State. Bummer.

The rest of the bands on the main stage were entertaining, with Weezer putting on an excellent performance that definitely made the day for me. They had a trampoline on stage, for crying out loud, not to mention playing themselves offstage at the end of the set with Keyboard Cat. Blink-182 closed the night with an elaborate electronic backdrop and energetic performances of the hits we sung along to in high school. It makes me a laugh a bit, because all of their songs are about being a frustrated teenager and they’re now in their mid-thirties (they were formed in the same year my little brother was born). Like it or not, most of you were big fans when you were that age and they’re one of the dwindling number of multiplatinum music artists.

While many of the performers were not ones I would have paid to see individually, I had a wonderful time. I very much enjoy the whole “unique experience” of going to concerts, and this one was definitely worth the $10 ticket price (which actually went to charity) – even with the $7 lemonades.

Matt Shultz, lead singer of Cage the Elephant, climbed up the side of the stage into the second-floor balcony, literally right where we were standing (Rachel’s water got spilled all over the place in the brouhaha). He handed the mic off the Kyle when he ran out of cord, who held it over the crowd (cheers) before shouting “jump!” Matt ended up climbing back over the railing and leaping from the balcony back into the crowd. Manchester Orchestra was pretty interesting, and definitely loud. The guy on the keyboard/Macbook/half drumset was absolutely crazy. I listened to their albums today at work, and I really like them now. I wish I had done that before the show; I think I would have been able to appreciate them more.

Of course, Silversun Pickups were awesome. We got some waves from the band up in the balcony, and it really felt like they were having a good time. The show was sold out and it seemed like they were impressed with the crowd. I ran down during “Panic Switch” and went crowd-surfing, which I haven’t been able to do in a long time and is an exhilarating experience. When they came back for the encore they played at least three songs, including my favorite, “Catch and Release.”

I love going to concerts and this was definitely one of the best ones I’ve been to. Rams Head is a more intimate venue than places like Pier 6 and I think that helps to make the event more unique – especially when the performers take advantage of the opportunity to interact with the fans. Enjoying music with the artist and fellow fans is the core of the whole “music scene,” yet it is something that gets lost in the current debates and lawsuits over copyright. People may not pay for the music recordings, but will pay far more than the price of a CD for concert tickets, get their friends to go, and buy expensive tshirts while they’re there. It’s all part of the experience: something you can frantically twitter or write about as you recover a few days later. Artists who understand this are in a position to win big in the digital age, as other artistic dinosaurs standing with the RIAA in court and Congress simply fade away.