If you know me, then you know that I go to a lot of concerts. Last week, I attended two: Streetlight Manifesto/Dan Potthast/Sycamore Smith on Monday and Yellowcard/New Found Glory/Tigers Jaw on Saturday, both at the Playstation Theater in New York City. Each of the shows put on thoroughly enjoyable performances, but my experiences at both differed greatly because I showed up late to the second one.
On Monday, I left the campus of SUNY Purchase at around 4:00 by bus to catch a train, which brought me into the city by 5. Since I was 2 hours early, I grabbed a bite to eat and killed some time at a Guitar Center, aimlessly jamming in the bass section while my phone charged. I left the store and got to the venue with half an hour to spare, which I spent leaning on a pole and using my phone. The first act, Sycamore Smith, went on at about 8:00 and began what was a night of fantastic music, great camaraderie, and a fun time had by all. After the show, I caught a train back to the White Plains train station, where I took a taxi along with other Purchase students back to school.
It's Saturday when things get interesting. For my Intro to Digital Photography class, my assignment was to take landscape pictures. I decided that I would take a few friends with me to one of my favorite hiking spots: Teatown Lake in Ossining, NY. It's less than half an hour from campus and it takes less than an hour to complete the trail around the lake, so I figured I had enough time to do that and catch the concert later on. My plan was to get there by 3:30, but unforeseen circumstances and things beyond my control ended up with me getting there about an hour and 20 minutes later than I planned. Regardless, the hike was wonderful and many pictures were taken, often to the chagrin of my friends who had to wait for me while I got the shots I wanted. After we left, I made a wrong turn and ended up on I-87 instead of I-287 and ended up in Yonkers, which is not where SUNY Purchase is. Rather, it's 20 minutes in the wrong direction. After a quick drive up the Bronx River Parkway and through White Plains, we made it back to school successfully where I had 20 minutes to collect myself and get ready to catch the Loop to the train station. After catching the 8:03 express straight to Grand Central, I knew I was gonna miss the first band Tigers Jaw, which wasn't a big deal to me because I don't know them well enough to be very upset. On that note, I couldn't forgive myself if I missed even a little bit of Yellowcard because they're one of my favorite bands ever.
When I got to Grand Central, I sprinted to the Times Square shuttle hoping to catch the latest one since a subway is quicker than walking. When I discovered that the doors were locked to the terminal for "maintenance" (of ALL the days!) I groaned and did my best New Yorker get-the-hell-out-of-my-way speed walk up 42nd Street. I made it to the venue, presented my ticket, got my bag checked, and got into the theater just as Yellowcard started playing. This means that had I not been an asshole on the walk there, I would have surely missed some of their set. Despite this, I felt kind of awkward showing up at all because of how late I was. Everyone had already been there and had their adrenaline levels up much higher; it seemed like everyone else was having a good time but me. After a song or two everything was fine however, and I pushed my way up to the front to sing and mosh with everyone else. Yellowcard kicked everyone's asses as did New Found Glory, whose confetti cannons at the end of their set went along great with their most well-known track, "My Friends Over You". After the concert was over I grabbed a Big Mac to go and took a train back to White Plains, where I took the Loop back to my dorm. After this full day of hiking, speed walking, moshing and running, my legs must have hated me.
What I'm trying to say is this: Don't be late to concerts, or you definitely won't have the best experience. I had a fantastic time at the Yellowcard show, but I'm sure it would have been better if I planned my day more efficiently. Oh well, next time.
